Hamilton County leaders and health experts are taking a hopeful tone as the COVID-19 vaccine hits Chattanooga despite clear warnings about the dangers that could be gathered by Christmas could mean in the coming months.
Becky Barnes, administrator of the Hamilton County Department of Health, said the department received 1,500 doses of the Modern vaccine on Tuesday and expects to receive an additional 1,800 doses on Wednesday. More doses are expected to arrive intermittently in the coming weeks.
The arrival of the shipment begins the immediate distribution of the vaccine among those who are at the forefront of the fight against the virus and those most at risk of serious cases, including hospital staff, first aid, staff home health care, as well as staff and long-term residents. long-term care facilities, according to the state distribution plan.
The health department will begin administering vaccines at 9 a.m. Wednesday morning at an emerging site at the Tennessee Riverpark Hubert Fry Center. The nearby park will be closed Dec. 23 and Dec. 26-29 while vaccines are distributed.
Barnes said the initial shipment is not enough to vaccinate all people in Hamilton County who meet the requirements for the first phase, so the health department works with each organization to vaccinate a percentage of each group. About 11,000 people qualify for the first phase in Hamilton County, although the health department will not have to vaccinate the entire group because some organizations such as long-term care facilities already have contracts with other groups to carry out vaccines.
The health department will send vaccine-dose equipment to facilities where people cannot access the vaccination site, Barnes said.
“Today is truly a historic day for us in the health department and also for the community,” he said.
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Hamilton County Press Conference on COVID-19 Vaccines
The news comes when Hamilton County is in some of the worst weeks of the pandemic to date. On Tuesday, the health department reported 519 new cases and 3,927 active cases. Meanwhile, COVID-19 is collapsing across Tennessee, making the state the worst in the country for per capita cases. The increase has led to rapid criticism of Gov. Bill Lee, who has continued to decline opportunities to implement a state mask mandate. Instead, the governor has left the decision in the hands of local county mayors to create these requirements.
“The reason state-wide mask mandates, I think, aren’t useful is because they’re controversial,” Lee said. “Everyone who wants a mask warrant already wears a mask.”
Instead, the governor issued a new executive order on Sunday restricting public meetings to a maximum of 10 people.
Rae Bond, chair of the Hamilton County COVID-19 Joint Working Group, said local residents should be cautious with the Christmas holidays within days. The voice of caution and following recommendations not to meet with people outside your home echo similar calls throughout the day of Thanksgiving.
The recent increase in cases and hospitalizations is related to the meetings that still took place, Bond said during a news conference Tuesday.
“We had a significant increase in cases that has been attributed to the meetings,” he said. “Most cases of COVID in our community are found in people under the age of 40. Although they can fight the virus successfully and even have only a few minor symptoms, when they share the virus with older friends or relatives or older colleagues these people may not be so lucky. “
Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger said local hospital systems are “stressed” and “stretched” and urged people to follow directions to wear a mask, wash their hands and keep their distance. others. The good news is that the vaccine has arrived, but it will be weeks before many can access it, so the community needs to be vigilant, Coppinger said.
“What we are seeing right now in our hospitals and in our community is certainly a fairly large increase in the number of new cases as a result of the Thanksgiving meetings,” he said. “What we want to do is reconnect with the community and ask you to think it through, think it all out as you plan your Christmas meetings.”
Contact Wyatt Massey at [email protected] or 423-757-6249. Follow him on Twitter @ news4mass.