Shelby County health department is running a COVID-19 vaccine site again
Nearly eight months after the state stripped Shelby County of its ability to distribute vaccines, the county is opening a vaccine distribution site at the Shelby County Health Department, 814 Jefferson Ave.
“We have received approval and authorization to resume being a vaccine provider,” said Dr. Bruce Randolph, health officer for Shelby County. “We have completed all the necessary requirements and we are now one of the 100 or so vaccine providers that we have in Shelby County.”
The site at 814 Jefferson will be open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Initially it will only offer Pfizer, but it is likely to later offer Moderna and Johnson and Johnson, Randolph said.
The news comes months after the Tennessee Department
of Health stripped Shelby County of its ability to participate in the vaccine distribution process, instead sending doses to the city of Memphis, local hospitals and pharmacies.
The city of Memphis will continue to be a vaccine provider, Randolph said.
At the time, State Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey said the county did not adequately track soon-toexpire doses and had a stockpile of more than 51,000 unused doses, which was about 30,000 doses too many.
State officials would go on to say that more than 2,510 vaccine doses were allowed to expire in Shelby County on seven separate days dating back to Feb. 3.
Katherine Burgess covers county government and religion. She can be reached at katherine.burgess@commercialappeal.com, 901-529-2799 or followed on Twitter @kathsburgess.