NASHVILLE, Tennessee (WTVF) – Nashville Mayor John Cooper announced that Metro is moving into the next phase of its COVID-19 vaccinations next week.
Cooper said on Thursday, during Metro’s weekly COVID briefing, that starting Monday, Davidson County is moving to Phase 1c for vaccination. This includes people over the age of 16 who are considered to be at high risk in terms of health complications caused by the virus.
Some of these risk factors include: people with asthma, hypertension, diabetes, people undergoing cancer treatment, organ transplant recipients and other diseases listed online here.
Phase 1c also includes home contacts for high-risk children under 16, pregnant women and home contacts for pregnant women.
This new phase covers 300,000 people. Metro started vaccinating residents over 65 last week. Click here to schedule an appointment.
Cooper said the recent FDA approval of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine means that Metro can expect to get an even greater weekly supply of vaccines as production and distribution increase. Metro will receive 13,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine next week, in addition to the 11,500 doses of Pfizer and Moderna.
“This increase and the ability of public health to get injections quickly and efficiently make it possible to move to 1c,” said Mayor Cooper.
Watch Metro’s full COVID briefing:
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What is COVID-19 (also known as the new coronavirus?)
According to the World Health Organization, coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause diseases ranging from the common cold to more serious illnesses. Examples include Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). A new coronavirus (nCoV) is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans. COVID-19 means “2019 coronavirus disease”, which is when this coronavirus strain was discovered.
What are the symptoms?
The CDC says that patients confirmed to have 2019-nCoV reportedly had mild to severe respiratory disease with:
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
Or at least two of the following symptoms:
- Fever
- Chills
- Repeated tremors with chills
- Muscle pain
- Headache
- Sore throat
- New loss of taste or smell
At the moment, the CDC believes that symptoms may appear two days after exposure or up to 14 days.
Prevention
The CDC is recommending “common sense” measures, such as:
- Wash your hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with dirty hands.
- Avoid close contact with sick people.
- Stay home when you’re sick.
- Cover your mouth and nose with a cloth cover when you are around other people.
- Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue and throw it in the trash.
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.