MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Shelby County health leaders say they’re expecting a high demand of the COVID-19 vaccine now that more residents are eligible to receive it.
“I just feel good,” said Tyler Washington. “I know I’m keeping my children safe and my mom safe.”
Washington was in line early Friday morning with a friend to get vaccinated. He wasn’t alone. The City of Memphis has officially opened the doors for everyone over 16 to get the shot. Those under 18 must have a parent or guardian with them.
The city says with eligibility widening, it’s expecting a huge demand for vaccines.
“As many vaccine doses that I have on hand, that’s how many appointments I will have next week,” City of Memphis COO Doug McGowen said.
Even though the city of Memphis is anticipating possibly running out of vaccines by next week due to the large turnout, there are still several options for people to choose from when it comes to picking a site to be vaccinated.
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“Each provider here in the city of Memphis tells the state how much that they’ll need. They send those out and we’re ready to go with what we have,” said Dr. Ted Lyons, co-owner of Shot Rx.
“We have a team full of nurse practitioners, nurses, pharmacists who are immunizers that can go out to any location,” he added.
He said they are expecting a surge of people ready to be vaccinated, but they’re more concerned about the weeks following once the excitement calms down. They said they want to do their part to keep the momentum going by continuing to educate the public.
“We want Memphis to pull up to a site, pull up your sleeve so we can pull Memphis back up,” said Dr. Lyons. “We don’t want people to have lull where we go from being 30% vaccinated, but it takes us forever to get 50% vaccinated and 70% vaccinated.”
Shot Rx is hosting a Moderna vaccination event and food giveaway Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Limit Breaker Church located at 6720 East Raines Road. The event is first-come, first-serve while supplies last.
For a list of vaccination sites near you, click here.