NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Nashville Mayor John Cooper announced that Metro is moving to the next phase of its COVID-19 vaccinations next week.
Cooper said Thursday during Metro’s weekly COVID briefing that starting Monday, Davidson County is moving into Phase 1c for vaccinations. This includes people over the age of 16 who are considered high-risk in terms of health complications from the virus.
Some of those risk factors include: those with asthma, hypertension, diabetes, those undergoing cancer treatment, organ transplant recipients and other conditions that are listed online here.
Phase 1c also includes household contacts of high-risk children under 16 years old, pregnant women and household contacts of pregnant women.
This new phase covers 300,000 people. Metro began vaccinating residents 65+ last week. Click here to schedule an appointment. Those who are eligible for vaccines in Phase 1c can begin signing up for appointments Monday at 7 a.m.
Cooper said the FDA's recent approval of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine means Metro can expect to get an even larger weekly supply of vaccines as production and distribution increase. Metro will get 13,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine next week, in addition to the 11,500 doses of Pfizer and Moderna.
"This ramp up and public health's ability to get shots in arms quickly and efficiently make it possible to move on to 1c," Mayor Cooper said.
Watch Metro's full COVID briefing:
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COUNTY-BY-COUNTY CASES IN TENNESSEE
What is COVID-19 (a.k.a. the new coronavirus?)
According to the World Health Organization, coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases. Examples include the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV)and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). A novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans. COVID-19 stands for "Coronavirus disease 2019," which is when this strain of the coronavirus was discovered.
What are the symptoms?
The CDC says patients confirmed to have the 2019-nCoV reportedly had mild to severe respiratory illness with:
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
Or at least two of the following symptoms:
- Fever
- Chills
- Repeated shaking with chills
- Muscle pain
- Headache
- Sore throat
- New loss of taste or smell
At this time, the CDC believes symptoms could appear as soon as two days after exposure, or as long as 14 days.
Prevention
The CDC is recommending "common sense" measures such as:
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
- Stay home when you are sick.
- Cover your mouth and nose with a cloth face cover when around others.
- Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.
