State updates vaccination schedule, offers new online tools

JACKSON, Tenn. — The Tennessee Department of Health is answering some pressing questions about the vaccine rollout in Tennessee.

Major changes are coming to the vaccination schedule in Tennessee, starting with certain rural counties opening the vaccines to anyone 75 years or older.

“Counties that have less of a healthcare workforce are going to be starting 75 plus today. So any Tennessean aged 75 and older,” said Tennessee Department of Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey.

Piercey says the phases and who is in them is determined by risk, not importance, explaining some of the changes.

“We have a cross cutting focus on equity, but our overarching principle in determining all of these phases is risk. Risk to our overarching health care structure, risk to individual health outcomes, risks to our society and economy,” Piercey said.

To see if your county is one of those, you can head to the new page on the health department website, which tracks vaccination progress.

There’s also been a change in the groups. Teachers are now in group 1b, right behind healthcare workers. Despite the change, Piercey was firm that school reopenings will not be tied to vaccine progress.

“That is not a link we’re making there. We staunchly advocate for schools to be open prior to teachers being vaccinated. We do not advocate at all for holding back on school reopening for teacher vaccination,” Piercey said.

Finally, there will be a new notification system, which will let you know when you are able to get the vaccine.

“This is going to be really important for folks, because not only does it help them determine which phase they’re in, it will also allow them an option to be notified when their phase comes online,” Piercey said.

The sign up for the notification system has not launched yet. To find more COVID-19 information, click here.