MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The shots just keep on coming. And no, I am not talking about March Madness or the NIT. I’m talking about shots in the arm to protect ourselves from COVID-19. And these shot numbers continue to be encouraging.
So far, more than 170,000 people in Shelby County have received one vaccine dose – and roughly 75,000 have gotten two doses. I am one of those, and I could not be happier. But this is about more than numbers. It’s about all of us pulling together to fight this dreaded virus that has claimed more than 1,500 lives in Shelby County.
When the first local cases were confirmed in March of 2020, no one could have anticipated that we would spend a full year mostly locked down in our homes, working and taking classes virtually on laptops, tablets and cellphones – and wearing masks and keeping our distances when we did venture out. But all of it was necessary as we waited for the vaccines.
The embarrassing missteps by the county health department appear to have been remedied – with the city of Memphis taking over most vaccine sites. And now, a sense of relief is slowly replacing despair. But let’s remember, we are not in the clear just yet, which means we must continue doing the things to protect ourselves and others – as those life-saving shots keep getting – into arms. And that’s my point of view.
