MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Shelby County Health Department says it will begin transitioning day-to-day management of the Pipkin building vaccination site to the City of Memphis at the beginning of March.
The Pipkin location was one of three sites open on Saturday that experienced reportedly long wait times. Several people told WREG-TV they waited a little more than three hours for their shot at the Pipkin Building.
One man told us he got in line for a noon appointment for his elderly parents and he didn’t make it to the front of the line until 3:30 p.m.
Jim Wingett said at one point traffic was backed all the way down Central and wrapped around East Parkway.
“I just can’t believe that we can’t get more organized than this as a community. It’s hard to reconcile in my mind,” said Wingett.
The health department isn’t addressing those problems but said, “the transition will allow the Health Department to deploy more of its personnel and resources to providing vaccinations to vulnerable groups and communities while still providing vaccine oversight for the mass vaccination drive-thru sites.”
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris’s office also issued this statement:
“Mayor Harris has invited the City of Memphis to operate as the new site manager of the Pipkin vaccine dispensing site. We think this change bodes well for success. The City of Memphis brings a strong law enforcement presence and traffic-control expertise and is the owner of the Pipkin property. Additionally, the City has seen success at the Appling dispensing site. We are grateful for the expansion of our partnership with the City of Memphis. There is still much work to do, but when we come together, like this, we can go much further in our battle against this virus.”
Last week, owners of a local Chick-Fil-A restaurant gave city leaders advice on how to deal with the long lines at the COVID-19 vaccination sites.
We are still waiting to hear back from the city about any changes they plan to make at the Pipkin site once they take over.
The Pipkin Building, along with four other vaccination sites around the county, will be closed due to weather conditions Tuesday, the health department announced.