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NATCHEZ — Adams County Coroner James Lee said three people with COVID-19 died last weekend in Adams County.

The latest deaths included a 75-year-old man, an 83-year-old man and a 94-year-old woman.

Lee said he did not know whether or not they had been vaccinated or not for COVID-19.

In January, Lee reported a total of eight new COVID-19 deaths, including the three which occurred over the last weekend.

All but one of the deaths were among patients older than 65. The youngest death was a 34-year-old man with underlying health concerns, Lee said.

The death toll reflected on the state health department’s website shows a total of 133 deaths out of 6,554 COVID-19 cases in Adams County since March 2020, including 91 long-term care facility cases and 19 long-term care facility deaths.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states more than 81% of COVID-19 deaths occur in people over age 65. The number of deaths among people over age 65 is 80 times higher than the number of deaths among people between ages 18 and 29.

Last week, the Mississippi State Department of Health reported the state’s 10 pediatric death from COVID-19 since the first case of the virus was diagnosed in Mississippi in March 2020. A pediatric death is anyone under age 18.

None of the 10 pediatric deaths were vaccinated. Vaccinations are now available for any child five years of age and older and boosters are recommended for those 12 and older.

Since March 2020, the MSDH has reported one death in an infant under one year of age, two deaths among 1 to 5-year-olds, one death among 6 to 10-year-olds and six deaths among 11 to 17-year-olds.

The MSDH has not provided any further identifying information regarding these deaths.

State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers encourages parents to discuss childhood vaccination with their health care provider.

“Currently we only have seven percent of the 5-11 age group fully vaccinated and 37 percent of the 12-17 age group fully vaccinated. Vaccination is the best protection for our children who are eligible to receive it. For those under 5 years of age, it is critically important that everyone around the infant or child be vaccinated.”

Beyond vaccination and booster shots, the state health department recommends protection efforts such as social distancing, wearing masks and avoiding large crowds.