Drive-thru vaccine sites closed for now
First responder Michael Rosberry received a COVID-19 vaccine Sunday, Jan. 3 at the Shelby County Health Department office on Sycamore View. The health department said Monday the Sycamore View and Lindenwood locations are now closed, and no alternate locations for first responders to receive vaccines have been announced. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
The two drive-thru stations the Shelby County Health Department has used to mass vaccinate for COVID-19 are temporarily closed as it shifts its focus to long-term care facilities.
The sites at Lindenwood Christian Church, 2400 Union Ave., and Health Department’s offices at 1826 Sycamore View Road are closed as of Monday, Jan. 4.
It is still vaccinating health care workers and first responders, who are in part of the 1a1 priority group, the Health Department said in a press release early Monday.
Also, according to the release, when there has been availability, “we have also provided vaccine to funeral/mortuary workers and persons 75 and older, who fall in group 1a2.”
“We will announce later this week when and where drive-thru vaccination will resume for 1a1 groups, funeral/mortuary workers and the 75+ population,” the press release says.
The Tennessee Department of Health reported that no vaccine was available in 38 of the state’s 95 counties as of Monday, Jan. 4, with several other counties only having a limited supply.
Nationally, the number of vaccines given is far below the 20 million the Trump administration said would be administered by Dec. 31, 2020.
Some 4.2 million Americans have been vaccinated out of more than 13 million available doses.
“We have 15 million to 20 million doses of vaccine available,” U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams told CBS early Monday. “We should be hopeful about that while acknowledging we have got to do better and we are going to keep doing better. And I promise you, you will see in these next two weeks numbers increase substantially.”
People in category 1a1 eligible for vaccines in Shelby County include: First responders with direct public exposure including EMTs, law enforcement and firefighters; staff working at COVID-19 mass testing sites; staff and residents of long-term care facilities and residential homes for the aged; and staff and residents of assisted living centers who have direct contact with residents or contact with potentially infectious materials.
They also include staff of other congregate care facilities such as homes for the intellectually or developmentally disabled, detention centers; staff of Department of Children’s Services residential facilities, rehabilitation hospitals and psychiatric hospitals who have direct patient contact or contact with potentially infectious materials.
People who are 18 or older who cannot live independently due to serious chronic medical condition or intellectual or developmental disability are also eligible. So are people who provide health services in K-12 schools or colleges and universities.
The local COVID-19 hotline for questions is 901-222-6275.
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Shelby County Health Deparatment COVID-19 vaccinesJane Roberts
Longtime journalist Jane Roberts is a Minnesotan by birth and a Memphian by choice. She's lived and reported in the city more than two decades. She covers business news and features for The Daily Memphian.
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