Meharry leader critical of TN vaccine roll-out
Dr. James Hildreth, Meharry Medical College president and a leading voice in the fight against the coronavirus, criticized Tennessee’s COVID-19 vaccine roll-out, which didn’t allocate the first wave of doses to small hospitals or health care providers.
Hildreth said HCA Heathcare shared some of its COVID-19 vaccine allocation with Meharry after the historically black college in Nashville was “somehow” left off Tennessee’s distribution list for the first shipment of Pfizer vaccine doses.
Hildreth said the doses from HCA would go to “front-line healthcare providers.” A Meharry spokesperson said about 100 doses would be targeted to staff providing care in local clinics.
“I am so proud of Meharrians who have done their part in the fight against COVID-19,” Hildreth said Sunday in a tweet.
Tennessee distributed 56,000 to 67,000 doses of Pfizer’s two-dose vaccine last week to major hospitals, which began vaccinating employees Thursday.
The state’s distribution plan called for smaller organizations and local health departments to get doses of the Moderna vaccine, which is being delivered in batches this week.
Patrick Johnson, senior vice president of institutional advancement at Meharry, said a partnership with HCA allowed the college to get faster access for its clinic staff. Johnson said it was “inexplicable” that the state’s plan didn’t include earlier doses for Meharry, particularly given the institution’s role in COVID-19 testing and treatment.
“There wasn’t anyone in the room that said, well what about the front-line workers who are part of one of the smaller health systems but they’re carrying one of the most important roles?” Johnson said.
Johnson said Nashville leaders “took the exact opposite approach.” The Metro Nashville Public Health Department allocated a portion of its Moderna shipment to Meharry staff working at city testing sites.
Johnson said Meharry staff was in communication with the state Monday, and that state officials said they would ensure Meharry had access to the vaccine as soon as possible.
Talking to reporters Monday, state health commissioner Lisa Piercy said the first round of Pfizer doses were earmarked for larger health care providers because the company only shipped the vaccine in high-quantity “trays.”
Hildreth said the state hadn’t engaged him in conversations about the virus response and that he had never reviewed a vaccine distribution plan.
Gov. Bill Lee spokesperson Laine Arnold said Hildreth was part of a group that evaluated the distribution plan. When asked for details on Hildreth’s role, a state health official said he had been included on an email distributions list for the Office of Minority Health and Disparities Elimination, which presented the plan during stakeholder meetings in November and December.