NEW ORLEANS — The number of people who have received the COVID-19 vaccine in Louisiana has now surpassed the total number of cases reported since the pandemic began.
According to figures published by the Louisiana Department of Health, 448,122 people in the state have received at least their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. That number is now higher than 414,354 COVID-19 cases officially reported in Louisiana since the first case was discovered 11 months ago. However, that official count does not include people who were infected by the coronavirus but were never tested.
About 190,000 people have received both doses of the vaccine. A little more than 90% of the state population is still unvaccinated.
The vaccine rollout is ramping up across the state. On Tuesday, Gov. John Bel Edwards is set to announce the state’s first mass vaccination site in Baton Rouge.
Gov. John Bel Edwards is readying to receive his first dose of the coronavirus vaccine. His vaccination Tuesday comes a day after he expanded access to the shots to include Louisiana government officials involved in pandemic response work.
The 54-year-old Democrat was scheduled to get his vaccination in the afternoon at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center campus in Baton Rouge, along with several other state officials who are newly able under Louisiana’s latest eligibility criteria.
Edwards widened Louisiana residents' access to the coronavirus vaccine Monday. He lowered the eligibility age from 70 to 65 and added officials handling COVID-19 response work and workers for the March 20 election.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.