TN well off 2020 COVID-19 vaccination goal

Tennessee is not even halfway to its COVID-19 vaccination goal for the year because of delayed shipments of the doses, officials said Wednesday.

State health officials initially expected to administer the first round of vaccine doses to 200,000 people by the end of the year. But one day away from the deadline, only about 90,000 doses had been administered.

Tennessee Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey said tens of thousands of doses were delayed by about a week. Those kinds of delays, she said, were outside of the state’s control.

The delay highlights a key challenge for the state moving into 2021. Even if the expected waves of shipments make it to the state on time, it could take years to vaccinate all Tennesseans.

Immunization Program Medical Director Michelle Fiscus said under the “absolute worst-case scenario,” where the current rate of shipments continues as is, Tennessee won’t be able to finish vaccinations for all of its residents until May 2022.

Health officials say at least 70% of the population must be completely vaccinated in order for restrictions like masks and social distancing to be eased. Fiscus said the state wouldn’t hit that marker until August with its current supply.

But Piercey and Fiscus were optimistic Pfizer and Moderna would increase production of their two-dose vaccines in the coming months.

They also expected new vaccines from other providers to get federal authorization soon. If that happens, Piercey said, Tennessee residents could get access to a vaccine faster.

“We are hopeful and expect that that timeline will be accelerated,” Piercey said.

Tennessee is still in the earliest phases of its vaccination plan. Vaccine access has largely been limited to health care workers, first responders and patients and staff in long-term care facilities.

But on Wednesday, Piercey said, some Tennessee counties had begun vaccinating elderly residents who are 75 or older.

Rural counties with smaller populations of health care workers were moving forward more quickly with broader vaccinations, Piercey said. The state will keep information online about the availability of vaccines in different counties.

Meanwhile, the state announced that teachers would move up and are next in line to receive the vaccinations.

ANDREW NELLES/ THE TENNESSEAN Alexa Zarlengo, registered nurse, receives a COVID-19 vaccine from fellow nurse Debbie Mahoney at Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital West in Nashville on Dec. 17, 2020.