COVID vaccine events in Nashville have slowed — but not stopped

The Metro Public Health Department closed its drive-thru vaccination sites over the summer, but some community groups, like FiftyForward and key houses of worship, continue to host smaller vaccine events that remain free and open to the public.

St. James Missionary Baptist Church in North Nashville is offering booster shots on Wednesdays for the foreseeable future. Pastor George Brooks doesn’t just allow his church building to be used for vaccinations. He talks about shots from the pulpit, reminding parishioners that the vaccine boosters are now more protective against the omicron variant.

“I don’t look at it as pushing it on anyone,” he says. “It’s stating the facts and leaving it up to them how they deal with the facts.”

More: First Lady Jill Biden promotes booster shots at a Nashville church, as county’s vaccine rates lag

The vaccines have been credited with helping keep down hospitalization rates and fatalities. Even though Tennessee’s vaccination rates lag much of the country, hospitalizations have dropped by more than half since a small surge in July and August.

Pop-up vaccination events (see the schedule here) are available most days in Davidson County, though doses for kids are not always available. The new bivalent booster is not authorized for children as young as five years old.