There are 33 article(s) tagged COVID 19 vaccines:

• June 2022

  • Republican leaders tout ‘Truth in Sentencing’ crime bill

    House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally held a ceremonial signing of the bill at City Hall in Memphis.

    By Bill Dries June 28, 2022

• May 2022

  • COVID case rates rising again, health director says

    The seven-day rolling average is now more than five times higher than what it was three weeks ago, Dr. Michelle Taylor told the Shelby County Commission.

    By Aisling Mäki May 10, 2022

• April 2022

  • Shelby County sees uptick in COVID cases

    The increase in cases aligns with national data, which shows new cases trending upward in many parts of the country as precautions like social distancing and mask wearing are loosened.

    By Aisling Mäki April 30, 2022

  • Second COVID-19 boosters available to anyone ages 50 and over

    Shelby County Health Department says second COVID booster doses of either Pfizer or Moderna are available to anyone ages 50 and over, regardless of their health conditions. 

    By Aisling Mäki April 26, 2022

• October 2021

  • Many current GOP lawmakers voted for a vaccine mandate in 2013

    Tennessee Republicans are firmly anti-mandate today. But in 2013, they supported a requirement that college students get vaccinated against meningitis.

    By Ian Round October 31, 2021

  • Pfizer asks U.S. to allow COVID shots for kids ages 5 to 11

    Pfizer asked the U.S. government Thursday to allow use of its COVID-19 vaccine in children ages 5 to 11.

    By The Associated Press October 07, 2021

• September 2021

  • Here’s who can get a COVID-19 booster shot in TN

    Some groups may get a booster dose, while other groups should get it, state health officials said. 

    By Ian Round September 27, 2021

  • Biden order prompts debate about liberty

    The Biden administration’s recent announcements regarding COVID-19 vaccines have set up a challenge with conservative states like Tennessee and raise legal questions. 

    By Ian Round September 20, 2021

  • COVID-19 spreading questions faster than answers; maybe this will help

    In the first of two parts, leading physicians speak to the history of COVID-19, its possible origins, the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, and the the role of masking, among other topics. 

    By Don Wade September 07, 2021

  • Answers to COVID questions follow the science, not a wish list

    In the second of two parts, Dr. Jon McCullers of UTHSC and Dr. William Schaffner from Vanderbilt Medical Center tackle questions about vaccination, length of immunity, ‘long COVID,’ the possibility of COVID ‘passports’ and continuing to live in a coronavirus world. 

    By Don Wade September 07, 2021

• August 2021

  • Germantown backs off vaccine mandate

    Germantown is “setting aside” its vaccine mandate for full-time employees. The city announced Tuesday it would require all full-time staff to receive a COVID-19 vaccination as an employment policy.

    By Abigail Warren August 05, 2021

• July 2021

  • Tennessee Republicans remain low-key on call for vaccination

    While many Republican leaders nationwide are now calling more strongly for COVID vaccinations in light of the Delta variant, Tennessee’s leading Republicans have remained more muted.

    By Ian Round July 29, 2021

  • CDC recommends new mask guidelines, even for those vaccinated

    The change reflects research that shows the vaccinated can transmit the COVID-19 virus to others.

    By Jane Roberts July 28, 2021

  • Top vaccine official at state health department fired

    Dr. Michelle Fiscus, the top vaccine official at the Tennessee Department of Health, confirmed in a statement Monday, July 12, that she has been fired.

    By Ian Round July 13, 2021

• June 2021

  • Opinion: I am not an anti-vaxxer; I just don’t want the vaccine

    Now more than ever, America is a country of choice. The efforts to persuade and coerce citizens into taking the vaccine just do not sit well with me.

    By Erica May June 26, 2021

  • Lawmakers look to dissolve state Health Dept. over teen vaccines

    Republican state lawmakers floated the idea of “dissolving and reconstituting” the Tennessee Department of Health Wednesday, June 16, because of vaccine messaging they said amounted to “coercion.”

    By Ian Round June 17, 2021

• May 2021

  • State concludes health department needs more training, better chain of command

    A Tennessee Department of Health report on Shelby County vaccine distribution problems recommends more training and establishing a clear chain of command but concluded no one needs to get revaccinated. 

    By Ian Round, Bill Dries May 14, 2021

  • Opinion: Note to unvaccinated millennials: ‘You are not invincible’

    More than 95% of doctors have gotten vaccines, according to one survey. Do you think we would immediately have taken those shots when offered if we were concerned about their safety?

    By Evan Sander May 13, 2021

  • Herrington: Road recklessness gets real when your kid takes the wheel

    Road recklessness has been notable for more than a year, the rise perhaps coinciding with pandemic shutdowns. But it doesn’t seem to be diminishing, even as COVID restrictions ease.

    By Chris Herrington May 07, 2021

• April 2021

  • Opinion: Vaccine passports have long been required by schools

    At various times throughout our history, all levels of government have mandated vaccines and not once have we drifted down that slippery slope towards tyranny.

    By Bryce W. Ashby April 08, 2021

  • Opinion: Vaccines are great; vaccine passports are not

    This pandemic has at times warranted the federal and state government assuming emergency powers. Those powers should have been limited in scope and rescinded as quickly as possible.

    By Daniel Chatham April 07, 2021

• March 2021

  • How the City of Memphis is winning the vaccination effort

    Where the Shelby County Health Department failed, the City of Memphis is so far succeeding as the authority over the local COVID-19 vaccination process. It’s a combination of leadership, an effective command system that touches all levels of the operation and a resolve to be accountable. 

    By Don Wade March 29, 2021

  • Opinion: County mayor urges move beyond ‘vaccine skepticism’

    ‘All told, Shelby County has lost over 1,500 lives,’ Mayor Lee Harris writes. ‘That’s more than the number of soldiers from Shelby County lost during the Vietnam War, Korean War and World War II, combined.’

    By Lee Harris March 28, 2021

  • Arlington High hosts second COVID-19 vaccination day

    The available doses were initially earmarked just for school employees from the Arlington, Lakeland and Millington municipal districts. Some town employees, day care center employees and senior citizens 65 and up in the Arlington area were later added.

    By Michael Waddell March 27, 2021

  • The Memphis 10: No more passes for the General Lee, and shots all around

    The iconography atop the General Lee is the battle flag of a slavery republic. Violence in the name of white supremacy is its inherent, explicit meaning.

    By Chris Herrington March 25, 2021