Tennessee Expands Vaccine Eligibility Next Week | Local News

Nashville (AP) — More than a million Tennessees will soon be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine after the Ministry of Health announced on Tuesday that it expects a large supply of vaccinations.

According to health commissioner Lisa Piercy, the new qualifications include people over the age of 16 at high risk of cancer, high blood pressure, obesity, pregnancy, and caregivers and household residents of medically vulnerable children. Applies to.

“This is a large population,” Piercey told reporters. “There are many people who qualify.”

Tennessees need to check with their county Learn more about eligibility and registration. For people who are not classified in other high-risk groups, the age limit for receiving the vaccine remains 65 years or older.

The state will enter the next phase on Monday, and Tennessee will receive 54,000 doses of the newly approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine. This is in addition to the increased supply of the two-dose Moderna and Pfizer vaccines next week.

Also on Tuesday, country music icon Dolly Parton encouraged people to get vaccinated on video. Posted on social media while she was receiving her first Moderna shot.

“I’m old enough to get it, and smart enough to get it,” said a $ 1 million donation to Vanderbilt University for the development of a highly effective Moderna vaccine. Helpful Parton said.

“I’d like to tell the cowards, don’t be such a chicken squat. Get out there and take your shot,” she added.

By Wednesday, Cumberland County had received about 18,000 doses of vaccine. About 6,500 people, about 10% of the county’s population, are vaccinated against both. That number includes many teachers who were vaccinated last week.

Principal Ina Maxwell would like to thank the Cumberland County Health Department and nurse supervisor Masha Polson for helping arrange for after-school teacher vaccine reservations last Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

“There were many positive comments about how well the event was organized and how helpful everyone was during the process,” Maxwell said.

By February 26, there were 4 COVID-19 positive cases for students and 5 positive cases for school staff. There were 40 students and 12 staff members quarantined for exposure to positive cases of the virus.

Most vaccines in the county are given to people in the high-risk age group, with 3,761 vaccines in groups aged 71-80 and 2,195 vaccines in groups aged 81 and over.

The number of active cases in the county continues to decline, with 72 cases reported on Wednesday. Since the pandemic began almost a year ago, COVID-19 has killed 121 people in the county.

Individuals in the target group can make reservations online. covid19.tn.gov.. The Cumberland County Health Department continues to provide a regional information line at 931-707-9007. This route is available Monday to Friday from 8 am to 4:30 pm.

Separately, state health investigators are investigating whether anyone in Shelby County, including Memphis, has been vaccinated with an expired vaccine. The county’s chief epidemiology officer, David Sweat, said there were no signs that someone had received the expired dose on Tuesday.

The city of Memphis took over inventory and distribution of vaccines from the Shelby County Health Department last week after state officials revealed that several vaccines had been stolen and two children had been vaccinated. These developments emerged after 2,400 vaccines were reported to be wasted due to misunderstandings and inadequate records management in the state’s most populous counties.

As of Tuesday, Shelby County had been vaccinated more than 140,000 times. According to the county health department, more than 42,000 people received the first and second doses. The goal is to vaccinate 700,000 people in the county by August.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms that go away within a few weeks. However, for others, especially the elderly and those with health problems, the virus can cause serious symptoms and can be fatal. The majority of people will recover.

To date, more than 11,400 COVID-19-related deaths have been seen in Tennessee, according to Johns Hopkins researchers. The death toll is the 14th highest in the country and the 18th highest per capita, with about 168 deaths per 100,000.

One in 705 people in Tennessee was positive last week.

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The Associated Press writer Adrian Signs contributed this report from Memphis.