Open letter addresses FDA approval of COVID-19 vaccine
JACKSON, Tenn. — Amy Garner, the Chief Compliance & Communications Officer for West Tennessee Healthcare, has released a public letter to the community.
The letter comes after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
Garner’s letter says the vaccine will continue to be available through emergency use authorization for those over the age of 12.
Garner says receiving the vaccine is highly recommended:
“As the region’s largest healthcare system, providing the highest levels of specialized care during this pandemic, we are pleading for the public to get vaccinated against COVID-19. We are taking care of some of the highest numbers of COVID-19 patients in the state of Tennessee, and the majority of our hospitalized patients 90% are unvaccinated.”
Garner says those working in healthcare are being exhausted by the increasing number of hospitalizations, and they need your help to slow it down.
“The number of patients in our facilities threatens to overwhelm our healthcare system, and we need your help in fighting a war – a war against a virus for which there is a tool to fight it – the vaccine. Please know that we are doing all that we can to support and serve our communities, but we desperately need your help.”
The letter says a third dose is also approved for certain immunocompromised individuals.
To find a vaccine near you, use this tool.
You can read Garner’s full letter to the public here.
You can find more information on the COVID-19 pandemic here.
