GOV EDWARDS GETS VACCINATED - Gov. John Bel Edwards has received his first dose of the coronavirus vaccine Tuesday, a day after he expanded access to the shots to include Louisiana government officials involved in pandemic response work. The 54-year-old Democrat got his Pfizer shot along with Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin and several other state officials who are newly eligible under Louisiana’s latest criteria. Edwards said more than 500,000 people in Louisiana have received a coronavirus vaccine so far.
"As of today, we can say there are more people who have received vaccines in Louisiana than have tested positive for Covid-19," Gov. John Bel Edwards of Louisiana
"As of today, we can say there are more people who have received vaccines in Louisiana than have tested positive for Covid-19," Edwards said. "So there's lots of different metrics to try to measure your progress, but that's one that I think that's meaningful."
The Governor had lowered the vaccine age of eligibility to 65 years, and while he acknowledged that Louisiana’s demand for vaccines is greater than supply, he added that the state will receive more doses in the weeks ahead to help meet the demand. Louisiana’s current coronavirus restrictions and statewide mask mandate will stay in effect through March 3rd. The rules were to expire today but Edwards cited concerns about the more contagious U.K. variant of the virus spreading in Louisiana for his refusal to loosen the rules.
