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With testing and vaccination at a trickle, a key Nashville site will close at the end of the month

By

Blake FarmerWPLN News (File)
Cars waited for COVID tests on Wednesday before Christmas at one of Nashville's two drive-thru sites. The site on 28th Avenue North will now close, perhaps permanently, on Friday.
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Nashville leaders have decided to close down the city’s central COVID vaccination and testing site. They say demand has dried up, with just a trickle of cars coming through each day.

It’s the drive-thru site on 28th Avenue North off Charlotte Avenue that’s closing after April 29. Between that site and the one on Murfreesboro Road, they were administering 600 tests a day in January. Since March, they’re averaging fewer than 100 tests a day. And vaccinations have dropped to 10 a day, according to the Metro Public Health Department.

“Expanded testing options including accessible at-home tests, testing through primary care providers and the MPHD strike team present multiple ways to continue offering testing and scale up if needed,” says Dr. Gill Wright, the city’s health director, in a statement.

The city has seen a moderate rise in infections this month. But Wright says Metro epidemiologists don’t anticipate a surge due to the B.A.2 COVID variant.

The free testing and vaccination sites have been a coordinated effort between MPHD, the Office of Emergency Management and Meharry Medical College. The city has also had sites at Meharry and Nissan Stadium. Both closed for logistical reasons, not for lack of demand.

“The progress against the pandemic and closing the 28th Avenue North site shows promise in the Nashville community in moving forward against the pandemic,” says Dr. Cherae Farmer-Dixon, dean of Meharry’s school of dentistry.

Nashville’s testing and vaccination site in an old Kmart parking lot on Murfreesboro Road will remain open for the foreseeable future. The hours are 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on weekdays, though bad weather often results in last-minute changes or closure. The site is closed on weekends.

The local health department also plans to continue offering pop-up testing and vaccination clinics, which are updated on this calendar each week. Currently, 65% of Davidson County residents are fully vaccinated, according to MPHD data.

Correction: A previous version of this post misstated the date the 28th Avenue North site would close.

Blake Farmer, Host, This Is Nashville

Blake Farmer is the host of “This Is Nashville,” the flagship weekday show of Nashville Public Radio. Previously, Blake spent 16 years at WPLN News, serving as host, editor and news director. Before a two-year radio hiatus with a Nashville-based healthcare company, Blake was one of the country’s most prolific healthcare audio journalists. He produced stories for both local and national programs, extending the reach of his reporting through a partnership with KFF Health News. Outside of work, Blake can be found running or biking on roads that other Nashvillians consider too busy for such activities. So far, he has always made it home to his wife of 20 years and two children.

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