Dr. Lisa Piercey, Tennessee Health Commissioner, gives Wendy Lampley of Rutherford County EMS Tennessee's first dose of Moderna's COVID vaccine. Her department decides who gets vaccine and when, and right now she says the state could handle five times as much.
Every state is pointing fingers at the federal government as the cause for the vaccine rollout not going more quickly.
States like Tennessee also haven’t been using every shot as soon as they arrive, but in an interview with WPLN’s Nina Cardona, Dr. Lisa Piercey, the state’s health commissioner, says Tennessee could handle five times as much as it’s getting now, which was roughly 93,000 doses this week.
Interview highlights:
- Piercey says each county is inoculating residents at different speeds because the state didn’t want anyone to slow down as other places catch up.
- Piercey says the state has a relatively low among of wasted doses. Eight doses at a vaccination site went to waste at the end of the day recently. Another 30 doses spoiled because of refrigeration issues.
- Piercey acknowledges that “vaccine tourism is real.” The state has encouraged people to get vaccinated in their own county, but she doesn’t fault a teacher or senior for driving to another county where the waitlist isn’t quite so long.
- As more people become eligible, the state intends to work with employers to set up vaccination sites nearby or to give company nurses the doses to administer.
WPLN’s Blake Farmer contributed to this report.
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