Shelby County ran out of vaccine on Wednesday, January 6, and is awaiting word from the state when more of the serum will arrive to be administered locally.
As of Tuesday, 49 other counties in the state were also out.
“We are not involved in the state’s decision on how much we receive. We just beg and beg as much as possible, as often and as consistently as possible, ”said Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris. “All we can do is try to get it.”
As of 12:30 pm Wednesday, county officials had heard nothing about when the next shipment would be or how big it would be, forcing them to postpone plans for the next mass clinics.
So far, 24,700 doses have been administered in Shelby County.
“It is very difficult to plan if you do not know how much vaccine you will receive or when you will receive it,” said Harris.
Two hours after Wednesday afternoon, the Department of Health sent a press release saying it was administering the last doses it had received in the state’s first allocation.
“We made several requests for more vaccines,” said Health Department Director Alisa Haushalter.
Without information, the department cannot update the public about when the next clinics will open.
“When we receive an additional vaccine, we will distribute the vaccine following the phased criteria established by the state,” she said.
State quotas are based on population, although it is unclear what the proportion is. Shelby County is one of 29 counties that meets the state’s social distress index and qualifies for additional doses. The state has not said how many extra doses this will mean.
Hospitals receive separate parcels.
On Tuesday, Methodist-Germantown Hospital had enough to start giving second doses to frontline workers who received their first doses 19 days ago.
“We ordered them as needed and we have had no problems so far getting shipments,” said Anna Lopez, director of operations.
Methodist is administering the Pfizer vaccine, which should be stored at ultra-low temperatures. Doses can be administered with an interval of 19-23 days.
“We are going through them quickly,” said Lopez.
In December, the county reserved space at Lindenwood Christian Church, 2400 Union Ave., for two weeks to run one of the two drive-thru clinics for first responders and other frontline workers in category 1a1. Seven days later, he had to close and use the rest of the serum for people in long-term care facilities.
Meanwhile, Shelby County appears to be at the bottom of the state on a vaccination rate, according to a state panel. But the numbers are misleading, says the local health department.
“Preliminary reports from all partner agencies that currently provide vaccines indicate that about 24,700 people have been vaccinated in Shelby County,” said Haushalter on Wednesday.
“However, all of these vaccinations have not yet been entered into the Tennessee Department of Health’s vaccination database, called TennIIS.”
The panel, updated on Tuesdays and Fridays, currently shows Shelby County with a vaccination rate of 1.28%, the second lowest in the state.
If all data were represented, the percentage would be 2.6%. The state average is 2.9%.
The state Department of Health did not immediately answer questions about the accumulation.
The state announced the December 18 panel as a tool to help the public see how the vaccination campaign is progressing. It divides immunizations across the state by day and week and includes a breakdown of the percentage of people who received the vaccine by age and ethnicity.
It also shows the percentage of vaccinees in each municipality. Future versions will show the Tennesseans number that received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The panel also shows how many injections were delivered in health facilities and by public health departments, although not by county. It also does not indicate the amount of vaccine a county received or the time it took to deliver it.
The availability confirmed by the State Health Department varies according to the municipality.
“Counties can progress through the COVID-19 vaccination phases at different times, depending on the supply of COVID-19 vaccines and the interest in receiving them,” said spokesman Bill Christian by email.
Many health departments across the state began administering the vaccine on December 21. Shelby County waited until after Christmas.
About 25% of panel injections given by health departments across the state as of January 4 were administered before the Shelby County Health Department started administering them.
But county officials say these numbers mean little if no more doses are on the way.
“I just don’t know what else you can do except use the vaccine you get,” said Harris.