The Shelby County Department of Health is in the process of vaccinating funeral homes and mortuary workers as well as people 75 and older if available, officials said Saturday, Jan. 2.
In a statement released on Saturday, health department officials said all appointments for Saturday and Sunday at the drive-by vaccination rooms had now been filled and were not available.
“We will announce early next week when and where resumption vaccination for 1a1 groups, funeral / mortuary workers and the 75+ population will resume,” the statement said.
WEEKEND INCLUSION OF THE WEEKEND
The Shelby County Department of Health is still vaccinating people in priority groups 1a1. If available, we also provided vaccine to funeral homes and persons aged 75 and over who fall into group 1a2.
All appointments for Saturday and Sunday at our drive-through vaccination rooms are now full and there are none available.
Next week, the Department of Health will begin offering vaccinations in the community environment, including long-term care facilities, of which staff and residents are part of priority group 1a1.
We will announce early next week when and where drive-through vaccination will resume for 1a1 groups, funeral / mortuary workers and the 75+ population.
– Shelby County Health Department, Saturday, January 2nd
Meanwhile, for the second time since the pandemic, the Department of Health reported more than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases in a single day.
The Department of Health reported 1,020 additional cases of coronavirus and 11 more virus-related deaths on Saturday, January 2nd.
The 1,020 coronavirus cases reported on Saturday came from 5,933 test results, yielding a positive rate of 17.2%. However, test results do not reflect the previous 24-hour period and include tests over several days.
On December 17, the Department of Health reported 1,163 new COVID-19 cases, which is the highest daily increase to date. Since March, the Department of Health has reported 68,820 cases of coronavirus and 914 deaths, classifying 61,027 cases as inactive / repaired.
Active business in Shelby County stands at 6,879, an increase from the 6,472 reported Friday. A total of 833,952 coronavirus tests were performed in Shelby County, yielding a positive percentage of 9%.
There were 586 COVID-19 patients in hospitals in the Memphis area at 5 p.m. Thursday, according to the latest information according to Tennessee’s Healthcare Resource Tracking System. The Department of Health will provide weekend hospital data in its Monday update.
The use of hospitals for ICU beds is 95% and beds for acute care are 88%. The number of beds available for ICU beds is 24 with 287 beds open for acute care. Bed capacity is calculated by subtracting beds by patients, unmanned beds and beds that are not otherwise available.
Of the 586 people admitted to the hospital, 157 are beds in intensive care units and 429 beds are in acute care.
Those who are COVID-positive or suspected of having the virus represent 40% of ICU patients and 24% of acute care patients.
As of January 1, 126,887 coronavirus vaccines have been administered in Tennessee, including 1.17% of Shelby Countians who, according to state data, received their first doses of two coronavirus vaccines. The state plans to update the dashboard on Tuesdays and Fridays.