The Johnson City Press on the coronavirus vaccine being used as a political favor in one Tennessee city:
Perhaps Carter County Mayor Patty Woodby’s decision to offer “extra” novel coronavirus vaccinations to members of the County Commission and their families can be chalked up to a rookie mistake.
After all, she’s only had the job since September. The Commission appointed her on an interim basis immediately following the death of Mayor Rusty Barnett and then elected her in November to fill out his term, which expires in 2022.
But Woodby has been around the courthouse much longer. She’s been a county employee for 10 years and a commissioner for two. Prior to her appointment, she was deputy clerk of the Carter County Circuit Court. As a commissioner representing Roan Mountain and the body’s vice chairwoman, she began presiding over meetings when then-Chairman Ray Lyons’ health started failing and assumed the role on a regular basis after he resigned.
Holding thousands of COVID-19 vaccinations in Tennessee as an âemergency reserveâ may not top the list of dumb ideas, but if not, itâs got to be a close second.
When everyone in Tennessee has received a vaccination, a reserve would be justified. But in a state that ranks second in the nation for new COVID-19 cases per capita, refusing to release a single vaccination as quickly as possible is indefensible.
That the state plans to put more than 5,000 doses in a closet somewhere will kill an estimated 50 to 100 people. Numerous studies using a range of methods estimate that some five to 10 people will die for every 1,000 people with COVID-19.
Kimberlee Kruesi
Associated Press
As states rush to inoculate health care workers on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic, only Tennessee has prioritized building its own emergency reserve of the coveted vaccine.
An Associated Press review of each state s COVID-19 vaccine distribution plans shows that Tennessee alone has specified it will hold back a small portion in case of spoilage of vaccine shipped to facilities. The state s initial shipment of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine that arrived Dec. 14 was not distributed for inoculation, so health care workers had to wait until the second shipment arrived days later.
The move has baffled health care leaders, who say medical workers should take priority, especially as the state hits record case numbers.
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The Latest: One in 5 prisoners in the U.S. has had COVID-19, and 1,700 have died
The latest on the coronavirus pandemic from around the U.S. and the world.
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Family members of inmates in the Utah prison system hold candles and say a prayer following a rally Oct. 13 outside the Department of Corrections office in Draper, Utah.
Steve Griffin/The Deseret News via AP
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. One in every five state and federal prisoners in the United States has tested positive for the coronavirus, a rate more than four times as high as the general population. In some states, more than half of prisoners have been infected, according to data collected by The Associated Press and The Marshall Project.