Some Memphis-area hospitals anticipate beginning to inoculate frontline healthcare workers this week with their first shipments of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine. But, the Shelby County Health Department is slated to receive its initial allotment of doses from Moderna, which has yet to receive regulatory approval for its vaccine but is expected to be cleared for distribution in a matter of days.
The health department intends to vaccinate first responders, but the effort likely won’t begin until after Christmas, department director Dr. Alisa Haushalter said at a press conference Tuesday.
“We’re coordinating with the municipalities, particularly their EMS providers to make sure they’re first in line,” Haushalter said, noting that they could begin providing the shots December 28. “We will receive our vaccine [allotment] in dribs and drabs.”
In November, the Health Department said they expected 22,000 doses of vaccine before the end of the year, but that was before they knew which vaccine candidate they would receive. Officials now say amounts remain in flux.
The state of Tennessee expects 56,500 doses of the Pfizer vaccine to be split among 74 hospitals across the state and to reach them on Thursday.
While the logistics of vaccine distribution may be the most immediate challenge, the next hurdle health officials face is assuring the public it's safe and effective.
Even medical workers are expressing some hesitancy. Based on an preliminary, internal survey of hospital staff within the local Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare system, 45 percent said they will definitely get vaccinated. About a quarter said they were unsure and 28 percent said they would not, according to a press release.
Methodist Le Bonheur said in an email while vaccinations are not mandatory, “we are encouraging our employees to get vaccinated to protect themselves, their loved ones and patients. It is the only way we will be able to begin to turn a corner with this insidious virus.”
The roll-out of the vaccine campaign comes as Shelby County hospitals are pushed closer to capacity and transmission of the coronavirus grows exponentially. Area ICU beds were 97 percent full on Monday. Locally, there's an average of 670 new COVID-19 cases per day over the past week.