Hundreds of cars lined up Saturday, March 6, at the Pipkin Building to receive coronavirus vaccine doses and there were no issues at the site, which has seen its share of problems.

More than 1,100 Pfizer shots were available to those who made an appointment.

Among them were Eileen and Dan Wood, who were getting their second dose. Dan said Saturday was better than the first, which was a holiday.

“Valentine’s Day,” Eileen said.

“What a guy, to give his wife a present like that,” Dan joked.

Both have already had COVID-19. They caught it in late July when Dan’s mother came home from the hospital. The home health aide who attended to his mom had coronavirus.

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“We came through it,” Dan said. “No problem.” 

“I mean, he had some fever,” Eileen said. “I lost taste and smell. We weren’t fatigued really. We weren’t really concerned.” 

When the couple got their first doses, the Shelby County Health Department was in charge of vaccine distribution at the Pipkin Building. This time, the City of Memphis was in command.

“The city assumed responsibility of vaccines on Feb. 23, but we have had a presence here the whole time,” said Maria Fuhrmann, chief of staff for Mayor Jim Strickland. “The Health Department is still involved with the task force and the overall process.” 

Different doses are available on different days.

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“I think there’s been so much anxiety among the public about getting a vaccine, whether it’s your first or your second,” Fuhrmann said.

On Saturday, the site was giving only Pfizer vaccines. There are also specific days for those who need the Moderna shots.

“For example, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday is second dose Moderna only,” Fuhrmann said.

The vaccination site runs with a specific goal now, said Tiffany Wright with University Clinical Health, a branch of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.

As of 10:30 a.m. Saturday, about 110 cars had come through the two vaccination lanes.

“Our goal is to do about a 100 to 110 per hour. So, we are on target with that,” Wright said.

The line moved smoothly Saturday morning at the appointment-only site.

“Each of our cycles contains about 22 vehicles. Of course, in those 22 vehicles you could have one passenger, two, three people, sometimes four,” Wright said.

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Memphis Fire Department and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) personnel were on hand to keep the process orderly.

“They (FEMA) are taking the paperwork from the people we are giving the vaccine to and they are putting it into the Tennessee system,” Wright said.

After about 30 minutes, Eileen and Dan Wood were finished. They are now fully vaccinated and glad it is done, but said they will continue to stay safe and wear masks and would like for everyone else to do so as well.

For more information on getting vaccines, visit covid19.memphistn.gov or call 901-222-SHOT.