Health department begins distributing Moderna vaccine

JACKSON, Tenn. — The Jackson-Madison County Regional Health Department received the first doses of the Moderna vaccine this morning.

“I’ve been frustrated, worried, scared, downright angry at the world on how they acted over this,” said Wayne Arnold, regional hospital director for the health department. “For the first time, I feel hopeful.”

On Monday, Arnold was the first person at the Jackson-Madison County Regional Health Department to receive the Moderna vaccine.

The first shipment arrived Monday, just days after healthcare workers received the first doses of the Pfizer vaccine at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital.

Healthcare workers and first responders are slated to be the first to receive these vaccinations.

Arnold says he knows there have been concerns about the effectiveness of these vaccines, and he’s urging residents to do their own research.

“Get your research and information from a sound scientific source. Don’t depend on the Internet, don’t depend on what your friends on Facebook are saying,” Arnold said.

Jackson-Madison County Regional Health Department director Kim Tedford helped distribute the vaccinations, and she says she’s hopeful this is a step toward decreasing the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths.

“Our hope is that we have a large uptick from the vaccine and numerous people will make that decision to take it so we can get toward immunity,” Tedford said.

Tedford says after receiving the first vaccination, your chances of immunity begin to increase.

“Ten days after you receive it, then you have the potential to have an 80 percent efficiency rate with the vaccine, so that’s going to decrease your chances of getting COVID-19,” she said.

The health department received 500 doses of the Moderna vaccine. At this time, vaccines are only being given to health officials, first responders, and long-term care facility residents and staff.