People all over the country are impatiently waiting their turn to receive the COVID-19 vaccine! The rollout is taking a lot longer than originally expected, so they're taking matters into their own hands! People all over social media are stating that they are actually traveling to different counties within their state to receive the COVID-19 vaccine!
According to our news partner, Fox 17 Nashville: The Tennessee Department of Health is encouraging Tennesseans NOT to engage in what they're calling 'vaccine tourism.'
Dr. Lisa Piercey is the Health Commissioner for the Tennessee Department of Health and is very clearly aware that some Tennesseans are traveling outside of their residing county in order to get the COVID-19 vaccine. She is currently asking people NOT to travel across county lines to get their shots.
Quick reason why: Each county has a specific vaccine allocation that is based on that specific county's population!
Dr. Lisa Piercey stated:
We’ve always said these vaccines are not constrained by county lines or by state lines, so there is no prohibition on that. However, we do encourage people to get vaccinated in their own county. There’s a really important reason why. That is because that county’s allocation is based on their population. It doesn’t account for people coming in from another county or even another state.
Here's to hoping they ramp up the availability of vaccines to ensure all teachers, frontline workers, and other high risk people are able to get them!