A proposal by Commissioner Tami Sawyer to require County Commission approval for any sheriff to acquire surplus federal military equipment was postponed.

Republican commissioners said their “no” votes were because of concerns about the use of county reserves to create the $2.5 million fund. Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris is asking Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee to reimburse the county funding with state money.

Through January, the Shelby County Health Department will be vaccinating in a drive-thru line at the Pipkin Building. 

The commission votes Monday, Jan. 11, on a $1.2 million relief fund for restaurant workers. The fund’s fate could point the way toward a greater change in the priorities of county government called for by the Democratic county mayor and majority on the commission.

Variant doesn’t appear to be more virulent but could ramp reproduction rate here from 1.07 to 1.57 and dramatically increase deaths. 

Appointments may be made online, now. People without internet access may call 901-222-SHOT to schedule an appointment beginning Monday at 8 a.m.

Portal will not reduce demand for the shot or scarcity of supply, but is expected to eliminate long lines, disappointment.

The Shelby County Commission votes Monday, Jan. 11, on the proposed $2.5 million fund drawn from county reserves. 

The Health Department expects to double down on enforcement, targeting workplaces associated with spread, including warehouses and other industrial settings.

Even as the COVID-19 vaccine supply in Shelby County remains low, discussion is ongoing about how to ensure when that changes how it’s distributed in an accessible way to all communities countywide.

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Each time the Shelby County Health Department announces more locations for vaccination distribution, suburban spots are excluded.

The EDGE board approves more grant money for restaurants and grocers that are affected by the pandemic and the latest restrictions.

Harris took the proposal for grants of $1,000 per qualified worker to commission committee sessions Wednesday, Jan. 6.

COVID-19 is now the third-leading cause of death in Shelby County and has killed five times more people than the 173 who succumbed to complications from influenza in 2019.

Director Alisa Haushalter says the early days of the rollout are going to be bumpy and people will have to make their vaccination plans based on where and to whom the shots are being given that day.

Drive-thru sites were busy all weekend; the Health Department will announce later this week when and where drive-thru sites will reopen. 

Beginning today, funeral workers can begin getting vaccinated against the coronavirus.

From an ongoing budget battle to police reform and new voting machines, these are five critical votes by the Shelby County Commission in 2020 as chronicled in The Daily Memphian’s County Commission Scorecard.

Two drive-thru stations have a combined capacity to vaccinate 3,000 people a week.

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.

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.

Fund to help service industry workers is created as new Health Directive 16 will put more strain on service industry workers. 

The delay in the final vote on requiring County Commission approval for the sheriff to acquire surplus military hardware came after Sheriff Floyd Bonner complained he hadn’t been consulted. County Mayor Lee Harris disputed that assertion.