Gov. Bill Lee declared Pfizer’s vaccine “safe” as Tennessee gave its first doses to health care workers while recording some of the nation’s highest rates of virus spread. The Republican governor reiterated that the shots will be optional for people in public schools.

The COVID-19 vaccines now becoming available offer the hope of curtailing the pandemic, but may not be available to the masses for months — and not all automatically trust that the vaccine will be safe. 

From Dec. 11 to Friday, Dec. 25, the Health Department reported an average of 765 cases a day and 6,510 test results a day with a 11.8% positivity rate. Eight of the 10 highest daily increases of new cases occurred in this period.

New Shelby County coronavirus data will be included in Sunday’s update, according to an email from the Health Department.

Memphis is lit. Well, at least its fireplaces and backyard fire pits are. More people are staying home for longer periods of time during the pandemic, and that has created demand for seasoned firewood.

Shelby County Schools leaders recently revised how the Memphis district handles sexual harassment complaints after pressure from former and current students who championed the change starting four years ago. 

Shelby County’s hospital beds are filling up even though the county has one of the lowest new case rates in Tennessee, according to a New York Times database.

Many of the Lunches ‘n Love volunteers don’t have to imagine what it was like for those walking into the parking lot, hoping to leave with more than they came. They were once homeless themselves.

Friday’s 619 cases come from 4,909 tests, giving Christmas Day a positivity rate of 12.6%. 

During a November video call with his algebra teacher, the 14-year-old had a terrible realization: There was a tab he never clicked on, where his teachers had noted missing assignments. Jalan, typically an A student, had 73 assignments in seven classes that were overdue. 

The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast offers a review of the year 2020 centered on four major events. Three of the four were national in scope. The fourth is a local story that has broad implications for the gap between aspirations and the reality of governing.

First-time users accounted for 85% of campaign ride redemptions, growing the service’s new use rate by 263%.

Memphis-based Crye-Leike has more than 3,200 sales associates and offices in nine states.

The Shelby County Health Department reported 611 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, Dec. 24. The new cases come from 5,207 tests, giving the day a positivity rate of 11.7%.

An old-time Christmas story, read aloud by Scott Morris, Kirk Whalum and Geoff Calkins.

The last County Commission meeting of the year included important decisions on governing in a pandemic, with a path to nine votes through compromise and the fine print of the newest health department directive.

Affected property owners oppose the design for replacing the Poplar Viaduct that would remove direct access between Scott Street and Poplar Avenue. City and state engineers say keeping the connection would be less safe.

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office announced Wednesday, Dec. 23, it has reached a settlement in a federal lawsuit alleging failure to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in the Shelby County Jail. 

More than 5,000 counseling sessions have been conducted since the first two Universal Parenting Places opened in Memphis in 2015.

The University of Memphis law school legal clinic will be renamed in honor of James ‘Jim’ Gilliland Sr.

According to the Tennessee Healthcare Resource Tracking System, 95% of area ICU and 91% of area acute care beds were in use.

Each coronavirus surge in Shelby County came with an increase in cases, hospitalizations and deaths that preceded the previous one as transmission rose significantly.

For perspective, the death toll for first nine months of the pandemic is 821 as of Tuesday, Dec. 22.

The grant is for a project at Belle Forest Community School.

The city’s representatives in the U.S. Senate split on the bipartisan $900 billion package while the city’s two Congressmen both voted for the bill.