It’s been a slow start to COVID vaccines for kids outside Nashville. Some county health departments didn’t receive their first doses until midweek. As of Wednesday, others are still waiting.
For both Putnam and Trousdale counties, it will be at least Friday before they start giving out the lower-dose vaccines because they didn’t have them Wednesday and Thursday is a holiday. Rutherford County warns that its supplies are limited.
State officials say they had only about 900 doses for the seven counties surrounding Nashville to start this week. But shipments from the federal government are expected to ramp up. State data shows fewer than 7,000 doses have been given across Tennessee through Wednesday.
The state is relying more on pharmacies and primary care offices in this phase of vaccination. It’s also backing off its promotion efforts after state lawmakers threatened the agency over how it pushed vaccines for adolescents.
Meanwhile, Nashville received its first 1,500 doses last week and another 4,000 on Wednesday. The city has been hosting school-based vaccination events, which reached capacity on Monday, and offering the shots daily at drive-thru centers since Monday morning.
Thursday at 5 p.m., the school district is hosting a virtual townhall on Microsoft Teams with Dr. Ritu Banerjee, a pediatric infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt, to answer questions from parents.
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