MEMPHIS, Tennessee — Congressman Steve Cohen held a virtual COVID-19 vaccine town hall Monday night. Cohen invited a panel of experts which included local leaders, doctors, and public health specialists, including
Monica Webb Hooper, Deputy Director of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), National Institutes of Health;
James E. K. Hildreth, infectious disease expert and President of Meharry Medical College. Dr. Hildreth is on the President’s COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force and served on the FDA Advisory Panel that recommended the emergency use authorization of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines;
Jeff Warren, family medicine doctor, Memphis City Councilman, and Council Representative to the Memphis/Shelby County COVID-19 Joint Task Force;
Manoj Jain, infectious disease specialist, advisor to the Memphis-Shelby County COVID-19 Joint Task Force;
Tiffany Collins, Deputy Director of the General Services Division – City of Memphis, which is leading vaccine distribution in Shelby County.
The goal of the town hall was to have a clear and honest discussion about the vaccines, as well as the Memphis area's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. One big question continues to be how to get an appointment if you don't have internet access.
“What we've decided to do --with the support of the state Tennessee-- is keep open 222-SHOT. The state is going to back up the line with hundreds of call takers. So, that will address some of the equity issues as it relates to internet accessibility," said Dr. Tiffany Collins, Deputy Director of the General Services Division with the City of Memphis.
If you don't have internet access and need to make an appointment for the COVID-19 vaccine in Shelby County, call 901-222-7468. That phone line is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.