Next Wednesday teachers and other school and childcare staff, as well as those over age 65 can start lining up for their COVID-19 shots in Shelby County.
Health officials previously predicted there wouldn’t be enough vaccine doses available for these groups until early March.
Health department director, Dr. Alisa Haushalter, said Shelby County Schools and municipal districts will, for the most part, be handling sign up and logistics for the vaccination campaigns in schools.
"We will provide the vaccine and be on site for chain of custody," she said at a press briefing Friday afternoon.
The news comes as the health department will be playing catch up on thousands of appointments that had to be postponed this week due to winter storms that shuttered vaccine operations. The first round of rescheduling beginsSaturday.
About 1,300 doses of the Pfizer vaccine didn’t make it into arms before they expired while vaccination sites were closed.
Haushalter, said the vials were discovered after staff returned to work following last Thursday’s ice storm.
“On [last] Friday, we were here and were reviewing the inventory with the pharmacist, and at that time recognized that there was a bag of vaccine that was prepared for use that had already expired on that date,” Haushalter said.
The Pfizer vials have to be used within five days after they are thawed.
The health department was able to save about 2,000 doses on the verge of expiring during the snow storms by creating some last-minute strategies to get doses to teachers from all across Shelby County.
They also offered shots to detainees at correctional facilities. Haushalter estimated that between 500 and 600 doses went to these locations.
