As more Memphis neighborhoods and suburban municipalities opened inoculation locations in recent weeks, Bartlett officials continue to express frustration about the lack of a spot in their city.

The Appling City Cove vaccination site is located close to the Bartlett border at 2355 Appling City Cove in Memphis. The former city inspection station remains the closest site for Northeast Shelby County, an area that includes Bartlett, Arlington, Lakeland and Millington. This week, the Appling site is open for just two days and hours were cut, resulting in more disappointment for Bartlett Mayor Keith McDonald.

“If they’re going to stick with Appling to cover not just the (four) municipalities, but a large area of Cordova and the areas that are deannexed, areas in Memphis that are close, it would be valuable to all of us to bring that up to five days a week, six, seven hours (a day) at least, and first and second doses,” McDonald said.

Early data shows Bartlett vaccination rate lags other suburban cities

Initial data showed Bartlett with the second lowest vaccination rate in Shelby County behind Memphis. Bartlett, the county’s second largest city, has proposed two potential permanent vaccine sites to have a more centralized location in the city, and provide greater access to other nearby municipalities.

One is a drive-thru site and the other an indoor site. McDonald declined to give more specifics in an interview Wednesday, though any funding for a Bartlett site would likely come from the city’s reserve, McDonald said.

Another issue facing Bartlett is a cap on the number of vaccines the Shelby County Health Department receives from the state each week, an issue beyond the city’s control. The Health Department will receive about 11,000 doses each week for the remainder of February, and those are to cover the entire county.

The ‘buck stops’ at Shelby Co. Health Department

Until that number rises, demand will remain greater than supply not only in Bartlett but countywide. The Health Department did not return a request for comment on this story.

While Bartlett Position 2 Alderwoman Emily Elliott is frustrated with the entire local vaccination process, she also called on the state to increase its dosage allotment to Shelby County at the Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting Tuesday night.

“We’ve got 900,000 or so people (in Shelby County), I don’t know why we aren’t getting our fair share,” Elliott said.

Position 6 Alderman Kevin Quinn said Bartlett constituents feel overlooked by the Health Department and don’t understand why the city doesn’t have a site yet.

“I think it’s very important because Bartlett is such a large area. Appling isn’t necessarily close to the Bartlett citizens, even though it’s close to Bartlett city limits,” Quinn said. “I also realize Bartlett could serve some other parts of the county … That’s why I think it’s a larger question even in Bartlett. It still surprises me that Bartlett is being shoved to the side.” 

Currently, the only site outside of Memphis is Germantown Baptist Church, a collaborative effort by Germantown and Collierville. Bartlett officials even monitored the site last week to see how the operation worked. McDonald said discussions occurred with Bartlett, Lakeland and Arlington to create a similar partnership, but a lack of guarantee on vaccine doses received each week from the Health Department halted those plans.

Hair growth business rooted in Bartlett

Other municipalities including Bartlett are exploring using schools as potential vaccination sites. The Lakeland School System is partnering with Arlington Community Schools and the Millington School System on a Memorandum of Understanding to offer Arlington High School as a potential vaccination site for Phase 1B.

No decision has been made as of yet, but Collierville and Germantown have a similar agreement in which Collierville High School would be used a site and Bartlett City Schools is offering Bartlett High as a site.

Reporters Abigail Warren and Michael Waddell contributed to this story.