Mississippi Aquarium helping to put shots in arms with BOGO ticket offer

GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) - Concerns over low vaccination rates are growing, and with the more contagious delta variant now accounting for more than 20-percent of total infections, officials are sounding the alarm.

State health officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs took to Twitter this week citing an article from St. Louis, Mo. about that variant saying Mississippians should pay attention to what’s happening there as the variant increases in the Magnolia State. Dobbs tweeting “I predict it will be our dominant strain in one to three weeks.”

In Mississippi, only 35-percent of eligible residents are vaccinated, according to the state department of health. Because of that, three coast organizations came together on Friday to help the state’s vaccination numbers. The Mississippi Aquarium, with the help of CTA, and the Singing River Health System vaccinating South Mississippians. For those that rolled up their sleeves... a buy one get one free ticket offer from the Mississippi Aquarium. Alita Perry, with the health system, is giving out the shots. For Perry, her support for the vaccine hits close to home.

“May daughter is 23 and she is teaching in India right now,” Perry said. “It was very important for me to get her vaccinated before she went back. Considering what’s happening there has certainly shown that it was a good choice.”

With numbers of those getting shots dwindling in the state, Perry wants people to understand that getting vaccinated is about more than just protecting oneself.

“Aside from the fact that it’s free, you should do it for the people around you,” Perry said. “You don’t do it for yourself, or your family, you do it for the people around you. It makes a big impact. There aren’t that many side effects or drawbacks. You hear a lot of stuff in the media, but you’ve got to make your own decisions and do what you feel is right. For me, giving and taking the vaccines was right,” she said.

Despite the the fact that it’s her job, Perry said that giving the vaccine has had an impact on her life.

“We’ve been giving the vaccine since December,” Perry said. “We’ve gone a whole lot of places and given a whole lot of shots. The bottom line is that, on a day-to-day basis.. we have fun. We meet people that we never would have met and touch lives that we never would have touched. We’ve ended up helping people that we might have never had the opportunity to help. It makes a big impact on the community, but more importantly it makes a big impact on people’s individual lives.”

Officials with the Mississippi Aquarium say that they are open to additional vaccine events should they become necessary.

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