King’s Daughters Medical Center administered more than 500 vaccines Saturday morning.

The staff at KDMC administered vaccines to residents age 75 and above. These residents had made appointments the previous Wednesday.

KDMC Director of Marketing David Culpepper said the second vaccine day the hospital has hosted was a success.

“It went pretty well,” Culpepper said. “It went pretty smoothly.”

Hospital staff began seeing patients at 9:30 Saturday morning and the event lasted until 3 p.m.

Culpepper said he hasn’t heard about more vaccination sites being set up in Brookhaven, but the hospital is waiting to hear whether they’ll receive more doses.

“We’re still waiting for allocation for more vaccines,” Culpepper said. “We’re hoping to get news on Tuesday.”

The event was not a drive-up type event. Patients came to the outpatient lobby and checked in. Once they completed paperwork, they viewed a short educational video and were then vaccinated. After a 15-minute observation period, they were allowed to leave.

KDMC has yet to have a patient suffer any side effects or reactions to the vaccine.

“We’ve been very fortunate,” Culpepper said.

As of Monday, the hospital has administered more than 800 vaccines to community members over the age of 75.

“I think the biggest thing for this population is getting them vaccinated,” Culpepper said. “It’s a tremendous relief, not only for us, but for the community. That age group is at a severe risk for hospitalizations. We want to get that group or as many of them as we can vaccinated.”

KDMC is still the only vaccine site in Brookhaven, as the Lincoln County Health Department is not yet administering vaccines. The closest health department location is in McComb.

“It’s a huge responsibility, but for us it’s very rewarding,” Culpepper said. “It allows us to care for our community. It’s very rewarding to see the hope and renewal in the people coming to get the vaccine. Many of them have stayed at home all this time. Even though we receive the vaccine, it doesn’t mean we need to let our guard down. We still need to take precautions.”