MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Health officials in Shelby County announced new details about the federal vaccination site which will open at the Memphis Fairgrounds next week.
Starting next week, the federal government and its teams will take over the Pipkin Building as a mass vaccination site that will run 12 hours a day, seven days a week with the ability to vaccinate thousands each day.
“That’s part of the parcel in this effort and make sure people with social vulnerabilities have as best opportunity as they can to have access to the vaccine,” said City of Memphis COO Doug McGowen.
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The designation means that Shelby County is about to see a major influx of vaccines. The federal government will have 21,000 vaccines at their disposal each week through FEMA. Those doses will be in addition to the ones allocated to Memphis through the state of Tennessee.
“Since they’re bringing us the additional 3,000 vaccines a day, the 1,500 we had been allocating to the Pipkin site will be distributed throughout the other fixed site pods,” McGowen said.
There will a tent about the size of a football field, additional freezers for vaccine storage and distribution, additional personnel will be brought in, along with partnerships with churches and MATA to provide transportation.
“We had rides for testing. They will continue that program,” McGowen said. “In addition to bringing vaccine to our church partners, we’re asking churches to bring people to the vaccination site.”
Next week, the city of Memphis anticipates having more than 50,000 vaccine appointments available.
If all goes according to plan, 63,000 people will be fully vaccinated by the end of six weeks.
As for others getting the vaccine, health experts say it’s still urgent because that new UK COVID variant is here, and young people are spreading it.
“In that younger age group, people in their late teens, their 20s, 30s and 40s..that’s where the variant is spreading the most and the vaccine can protect you,” said David Sweat, deputy director of the Shelby County Health Department.
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The Memphis facility is just one of 25 sites the federal government will take over. Two others were announced this week in St. Louis and Indiana. Members of the military will help administer the vaccines.
