| Nashville Tennessean
Tennesseans 65 and older, K-12 school teachers and child care staff will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations from Monday, Tennessee Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey announced Tuesday.
The expanded suitability comes as the state health department predicts in the coming weeks that there will be more weekly vaccine supplies, despite a three-day delay in shipping and distribution due to the winter weather, Piercey said.
Tennessee is working on Phase 1b of its vaccination plan, a stage that covers residents 65 and older, K-12 and child care staff and first responders. Air traffic control personnel and air cargo personnel are now being added to the phase in the updated vaccination plan, Piercey said.
Some Tennessee counties, such as Warren and Macon, have begun vaccinating teachers as they move quickly through the phases. But teachers in more populous districts, such as Metro Nashville Public Schools and Shelby County Schools, do not have the same access due to the limited amount of vaccines.
In Nashville, teachers will begin receiving vaccinations from Saturday or earlier. Some teachers at Shelby County Schools also offered vaccines Monday morning because shelter against vaccinations with snow and 1,200 available doses risked being thrown away.
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Piercey acknowledged that the distribution of vaccines in some countries is slower than in other countries, but said the move to the next phase would remove ‘all barriers’ to vaccinating teachers. The department has administered more than 1 million vaccines, she said.
“We are removing all barriers to suitability, and in terms of supply, we have never been limited by provinces,” she said.
The state is also ready to receive more vaccine doses to meet the growing demand, she said.
While President Joe Biden’s administration is pushing for weekly drug distribution to counties and pharmacies, Tennessee has seen its weekly doses jump from about 80,000 in January to more than 100,000 this week, according to Piercey. The state expects a 10% increase in allocations next week for at least three weeks, she said, which will increase the total by as much as 12,000.
“I expect we will have 110,000 doses over the next three weeks,” she said.
Federal agencies will also investigate Johnson & Johnson’s 66% effective COVID-19 vaccine by the end of next week, Piercey said. The vaccine may be available in early March, she said. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires one dose and does not have the same strict storage requirements as the two-stroke Pfizer vaccine.
Winter weather stops the distribution of vaccines and causes delays in shipping
Despite the positive outlook, the winter storm that brought freezing rain, sleet and snow delayed the dispatch and distribution of vaccines, Piercey said.
Vaccination centers in central Tennessee have been closed due to icy temperatures and dangerous road conditions, and vaccine appointments have been canceled or delayed.
Vaccine shipments are also delayed by about three days, Piercey said, but she does not know how many doses have been delayed.
“We expect there to be a few or maybe three days delays, and that will lead to us having to double next week,” she said.
But Piercey said the delay did not apply. Three days of delays does not mean less stock, she said.
“We will ultimately have no interruption in the offer,” she said. “It can only be delayed.”
The department will contact those who have made appointments for this week to reschedule, Piercey said. Asked if the delay would affect those in need of a second dose, she said it should be days behind, should not be a cause for concern. Experts recommend a three-week window between two shots of the Pfizer vaccine and four weeks between Moderna’s vaccine shots.
“That date, three or four weeks after your first dose, is the minimum date,” she said. “You have up to six weeks to get that (second) dose. A delay of two or three or even seven days is not going to negatively affect one’s immunity at all.”
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In the updated vaccination plan, Piercey said pregnant women will be admitted to Phase 1c, the next phase available.
“Pregnancy … makes you somewhat more susceptible to infections, and (and) COVID-19 infection during pregnancy can pose a risk to both mom and baby,” she said.
The vaccine test was not done on pregnant women, Piercey said, but they can consult their doctors before receiving the vaccinations, and will be eligible if they choose to be vaccinated.
The department also built an online appointment system Monday morning, allowing applicants to make appointments directly with the province’s health department, rather than simply reporting. Applicants must fill out their demographic information online and choose a date and time for their appointments.
“Before yesterday, people went in and just entered, entered their information and waited for someone to call them,” she said. “With this new scheduling software, you can book your appointment directly.”
Eligible applicants have access to the system at covid19.tn.gov.
Reach Yue Stella Yu at [email protected] or 615-913-0945. Follow her on Twitter at @bystellayu_tnsn.