Less than a week has passed since Hamilton County administered the first dose of the COVID vaccine and less than a week since Hamilton County received the biggest shock of reality that any of us anywhere in the United States could imagine . Nobody was ready for the magnitude of what was going to happen and the first thing you need to know is that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has just ranked Tennessee as the third country in the country on the list of states that vaccinate faster.
It is not difficult to find that, of Tennessee’s 95 counties, none is quicker to put the vaccine in the citizens’ arms than the Hamilton County Health Department. And then there is this: if you could know what the people of Hamilton County have been doing since that awkward start – that in less than a week, you see – we would all start crying with gratitude.
In the past two days, the Ministry of Health administered all doses of a quota of 2,000 that only arrived on Monday. I happily believe that no city and no other state in America can make that claim. However, this is “small potato”, brother. According to a variety of sources, Hamilton County will have a large inoculation center next week with parking for more than 2,000 cars.
The center will have large bathrooms, easy access and all the amenities you can imagine, which will provide more than 2,000 doses of the vaccine on any given day. As it is written, the software is being accelerated to allow for a booking process that can start in the middle of next week, or … use a capture line … in just six days.
Within a few weeks, it is conceivable that there will be no queues, there is no need to arrive at 4 am in the hope of receiving the vaccine. There will be space to wait comfortably for those 30 minutes after applying the vaccine to prevent allergic reactions.
What I’m saying is that nowhere in the United States will there be the same level as Hamilton County next week. And again, I must emphasize … That. Have. Only. I went in. Six. Days. … Since health officials across America realized that all 50 states were that way in our heads.
Are you realizing the enormity of this miracle? But, wait … it gets so good that it will confuse your mind.
Obviously, you want to know where our super center will be. The location will be announced Thursday or Friday. The best spot is the Alstom test site on Riverfront Parkway, but there is not enough parking. This will obviously remain a test site seven days a week. Logic, then, will require that the only place in the county with so much parking available is Volkswagen on Enterprise South.
You say there is no building, but if you call the Pentagon, you will discover some military logistical secrets. With today’s modern technology and emergency resources, the United States has the means to install a durable tent-like structure, with adequate heating and air, large enough to host a horse race. Modular support buildings, sanitary facilities, telephone systems with parking already installed? Oh … imagine something close to … just about six days.
It won’t work, skeptics will cry. “Is very far!” … What, then, to wait six hours in a car? You drive to Bonny Oaks to get your driver’s license. It is less than 10 minutes from Hamilton Place. This is not a big deal. “There is no bus service up there!” Quick answer: “Still”.
Then there are the “attack teams”, Wow! Before Volkswagen falls victim to epilepsy, these “attackers” will be well-organized groups of health department employees who will venture into specific areas across the county to administer the vaccine. On Monday, one of these attack teams hit Orange Grove, our renowned center for the physically and mentally disabled. They even went to the center’s group houses and gave 300 doses of the vaccine in a few hours.
You will hear a lot about attack teams. The health department is working in collaboration with the federal government to provide vaccines for those who are physically unable to eat. The vaccine comes from the state, but, you see, it is carefully distributed outside the package to the general public, as any humanitarian can easily argue.
These attack teams will target certain areas where mitigating circumstances are necessary. Yes, as the vaccine becomes more abundant – several manufacturers will join Pfizer and Moderna in a few months – it will get better. Unbeknownst to you, more than 300 organizations, such as drugstores, emergency care clinics, groups of doctors and the like, have already signed up in the state of Tennessee to become “partners” with county health departments and administer and give vaccines.
The main problem is the availability of the vaccine. According to the CDC, the state of Tennessee has already distributed more than 300,000 in the state and more than 150,000 doses have been given (50.8 percent). Because? Short answer: Other Tennessee counties lack the proficiency of Becky Barnes and the Hamilton County Department of Health.
Some may have noticed that at 6:03 am on Wednesday, the now well-oiled team work from Hamilton County logistics services announced that there were enough donors to meet the 1,000 doses that would be administered when the Chattanooga state infusion center opened. at 9 am This was a great courtesy to the citizens of our municipality, especially since vaccines are still limited to people aged 75 and over.
County Mayor Jim Coppinger explained: “I’m afraid we may have disappointed some people, but it was much better for them to know than to wait in line. Everyone involved wants to serve our citizens in the best possible way. You talk about the continuous effort to do the right thing; it’s amazing what has been accomplished. When we noticed the moving parts of the puzzle, we brought in our Emergency Management people (brave to Chris Adams), the National Guard, the sheriff’s office and every other resource we could imagine. “
Point of clarity: when the 2013 tax split occurred, the city of Chattanooga was released from any obligation to the Ministry of Health. It is fully supported by the county. You certainly recognize that the city has done little to help Chattanooga’s coronavirus pandemic. The city received $ 1.6 million in aid for the coronavirus and gave its employees a single salary bonus. They took $ 800,000 to help “nonprofits” and, while this is certainly noble, they did not offer a nickel to help ease the county’s heavy burden to help care for 180,000 city residents. Not a nickel.
Just between us, pigeons: The $ 1.6 million bonus for employees using COVID’s aid funds raised eyebrows up to Washington. Yesterday, the City Council distributed $ 225,000 for Tivoli and the Memorial Auditorium, $ 75,000 for the Forgotten Children Fund, $ 300,000 for small business aid and $ 40,000 for the Bessie Smith Cultural Center. At the same time, there were three new deaths from COVID in Chattanooga, 525 new cases on Wednesday, with 205 inpatients and 62 in Intensive Care Units. Ask me how are we doing?
If you don’t think we would save millions every year with some kind of “subway rule” like Nashville, Knoxville and Memphis adopted a long time ago, contact the Chattanooga City Council. These are the heartless dandies who openly ignore the fact that a wave of shootings within the city limits in 2020 ended at Erlanger Hospital and with each one there is a $ 25,000 indigent cost in the first 30 minutes. There is no known way for Erlanger to get a penny from him back, but the city of Chattanooga did not budget a penny for Erlanger year after year. Ask me how are we doing?
When the city used $ 1.6 million of COVID’s money to raise employees, the County Commission was horrified. There is absolutely no way for the county to do the same. At the Department of Health, Barnes and his top lieutenants are “salaried”. They are not eligible for increases or bonuses across the county. Instead, Becky must reconcile a precarious budget with the need to hire “at least” 100 nurses and doctors to step forward immediately and meet the needs of a new “super center” that will be online next week.
Do not be deceived; there are “urgent” orders for the Electric Power Board, the Tennessee-American Water Company, bathroom plumbers, carpenters and HVAC engineers, traffic specialists, among others. Verizon says it is building a next-generation phone tower that can meet volume demands. Go ahead, run over there and take a look for yourself.
I’m simply saying that it took the Lord God six days to create the world as we know it, and in exactly the same amount of time, the collective brilliance of Hamilton County has created a gleaming gem of a plan that will outweigh any other efforts in the entire kingdom of God.
On New Year’s Eve, our Hamilton County Health Department was unable to herd a dozen goats. Since then, in just six days, they have emerged as a GOAT, right: “The greatest of all time”.
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On Wednesday night, it is not known when the next doses of vaccine will arrive in Hamilton County. None were scheduled to arrive on Thursday or Friday. If shipments arrive on Monday or Tuesday of next week, these doses can be administered at the new inoculation center. Check the Hamilton County Health Department website regularly for updates. www.health.hamiltontn.org