Ronda Gooden

(Jackson, MS) — AARP and Toyota are teaming up to serve communities in and around Marshall County with a new initiative aimed at improving education, outreach and access to COVID-19 vaccines. The two organizations collaborated to provide two Toyota vehicles to Alliance Charitable Foundation of Marshall County to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to homebound Mississippians, as well as to provide rides to vaccine appointments.

In an effort to tell the story of AARP’s work in the state, AARP Mississippi engages with media outlets to reach a range of audiences. One of the ways the state office reaches the African American community is through The Jackson Advocate, the statewide newspaper of record in the African American community. The African American– and woman-owned newspaper recently celebrated its 83rd anniversary.

(Jackson, MS) – AARP Mississippi has sent a letter to Gov. Tate Reeves urging him to develop a comprehensive roll-out plan that communicates clear information to the public and prioritizes older Americans in the distribution of COVID-19 “booster” shots, especially those who are homebound or living in congregate settings. The third shots are now being recommended for the immune-compromised and anyone who is 8 months away from their second shot of either Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines.

Cases of COVID rose among Mississippi nursing home residents and staff over the four weeks ending July 18, according to the latest release of AARP’s Nursing Home COVID-19 Dashboard.

Communities across Mississippi are all working to become more livable for residents of all ages.

The AARP Andrus Award for Community Service is an annual awards program developed to honor individuals whose service is a unique and valuable contribution to society. Last year, AARP recognized 50 outstanding individuals and couples from around the country.

If the COVID-19 pandemic has shown us anything, it’s that access to high-speed internet is not a luxury; it’s a necessity.

Ann Pickett-Parker has been selected by AARP, the nonprofit organization for people 50 and older, to receive the 2020 AARP Mississippi Andrus Award for Community Service, the Association’s most prestigious and visible state volunteer award for community service.

AARP Mississippi will offer a virtual event, Preventing Financial Exploitation Of The Elderly, at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, November 17. To register for this free online event, click here.

The coronavirus pandemic has had a devastating effect in nursing homes and long-term care facilities, causing the deaths of more than 84,000 residents and staff, according to an Oct. 8 analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation—including 991 in Mississippi. Yet federal policymakers have been slow to respond to this crisis, and no state has done a good enough job to stem the loss of life. AARP has called for the enactment of a 5-point plan to protect nursing home and long-term care facility residents, and has fought for public reporting of nursing home COVID-19 cases and deaths.