COVID-19 vaccination expands to residents with serious health risks and their caregivers March 8

By Diana Fedinec

Shelby County Health Department, in alignment with the Tennessee Health Department, will move into Phase 1C of the Tennessee COVID-19 Vaccination Plan effective Monday, March 8, 2021.

While 65 years of age or older will remain the basic age eligibility requirement, this next phase expands eligibility to include residents as young as 16 years old who also have health conditions that put them at risk of serious illness from coronavirus infection. Caregivers of people with high-risk medical conditions and women who are pregnant also will be eligible to receive the vaccination.

According to the SCHD vaccination plan, serious health conditions under Phase IC include:

• Chronic renal disease
• COPD
• Pulmonary fibrosis
• Moderate to severe asthma
• Obesity (BMI>30)
• Sickle cell disease
• Cerebrovascular disease or stroke
• Dementia
• Liver disease
• Heart conditions (heart failure, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathy, hypertension)

See a detailed list of the high-risk health conditions, here: https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/health/documents/cedep/novel-coronavirus/COVID-19_Vaccination_Plan.pdf.

Individuals in the prior phases, including those 65 years old or older, first responders, health care workers, teachers and child care workers who have not yet been vaccinated remain eligible for vaccination during phase 1C.

To register for an appointment at City of Memphis and Shelby County vaccination locations, visit the City of Memphis COVID-19 site at https://covid19.memphistn.gov/. Available appointments will be posted each Friday for the following week. Individuals without access to the internet or need assistance in making an appointment, may call 901-222-SHOT (7468).

For more information about the Coronavirus, visit the Centers for Disease Control or Prevention or Shelby County Health Department sites.

All Southwest students, employees and visitors who test positive for COVID-19 are encouraged to self-report online on the coronavirus section of the Southwest website. The form only takes a few minutes to complete and all information will be kept strictly confidential.

Please review the College's infectious disease policy and stay tuned for updates via email and on the College’s coronavirus website at www.southwest.tn.edu/coronavirus