MEMPHIS, Tenn. — FEMA is pulling out of its operation of the Pipkin building COVID-19 vaccine site in midtown Memphis Wednesday. Starting May 20, the Pipkin site will be open 9am-6pm Monday to Saturday. No appointments are needed.
Meanwhile, the Memphis and Shelby County Joint COVID-19 Task Force said Tuesday those ages 65 and older in Shelby County have nearly reached herd immunity in vaccinations. However, only 25% of people ages 20 to 30 are vaccinated.
Broken down by areas, the task force said the east side of the county - which is Germantown, Collierville, and east Memphis - is much closer to herd immunity than the west side of the county. That area includes downtown, south and north Memphis, and Frayser.
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris re-affirmed what the CDC had to say about masks for those fully vaccinated.
"If you're vaccinated, you're safe. No mask, no social distancing. That was the message a few days ago from the CDC and President Biden - our federal partners have advised that we can eliminate masking in most circumstances for vaccinated individuals,” said Harris.
The task force said COVID transmissions have been slowly declining since the Easter holiday. However, the Memphis metro area is not completely out of the woods yet. We still have a higher number of cases compared to the rest of the state. Health leaders said they aren't worried the world barbecue contest will lead to a spike in cases.
"We once again had an event in Shelby County, here in Memphis, that people could come together and do so safely. Because it was an outdoor event and per the CDC guidelines, if you're outdoors the risk of transmission is extremely low. And if you're fully vaccinated, it's perfectly safe to be around people without a mask on,” said David Sweat with Shelby County Health Department.
Also mentioned was vaccinations for kids 12 or older, which opened up last week. So far, about 1800 children in that age group have been vaccinated in Shelby County. As the task force continues to push for higher vaccination numbers, they are encouraging employers to give incentives, like time off work to employees who want to be vaccinated.