Lincoln County government staff may soon receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

Emergency Management Director Clifford Galey spoke to the Board of Supervisors Monday morning about county workers receiving the vaccinations.

“We’re working on the shots,” Galey said regarding the vaccine. “Hopefully we’ll get them sometime this month or the first part of next month.”

Vaccines have already made their way to Lincoln County, with the staff at King’s Daughters Medical Center receiving their shipment of Moderna before Christmas.

Testing has continued at KDMC and the Lincoln County Health Department. Galey said he receives a list of who has tested positive for the coronavirus so that it may be passed on to first responders.

“The list is not for public distribution,” Galey said. “That’s put in a program for dispatch so if any of our responders go to someone’s home they can be told.”

With the holiday season ending, Galey expects to see a spike in Lincoln County soon.

“I really expect in the next 10 days to two weeks that we’ll see a spike again,” Galey said.

Many states across the United States have been forced to call in the National Guard to help assist during the pandemic. Galey fears that Mississippi may be next.

“Our hospitals in Mississippi are at that point, they’re close,” Galey said. “I just hope we don’t have any major incidents where you have to be transferred.”

According to a recent report from 60 Minutes, Mississippi was reported as one of the states with ambulances waiting outside for 6-8 hours because the hospitals didn’t have a place to put the patients.

Galey hopes the masks and hand sanitizer can help the situation, even just a little.

“We need everyone to wear their masks,” Galey said. “Even if they don’t think it’s the right thing to do, it is.”