The Shelby County Health Department is now in Phase 1b of the state’s COVID-19 vaccination plan. This phase makes vaccination available to residents who are 65 years and older, teachers, and childcare staff.
Vaccination appointments may be made at this website: https://covid19.memphistn.gov/vaccine/.
Other Vaccination Providers
Other providers are also vaccinating persons in the priority groups, including:
- Veteran’s Administration – Now vaccinating all veterans age 65 and older at the VA Medical Center at 1030 Jefferson Avenue. Veterans must be enrolled with the VA at www.va.gov to receive vaccination.
- Walmart – Now vaccinating those in group 1a1, 1a2, 70+. To schedule an appointment, go to https://www.walmart.com/cp/1228302
VaxQueue is Now Available
Mayor Lee Harris and the Shelby County Health Department now offers “VaxQueue”, a standby list for those who want to be notified when they may be able to access the COVID-19 vaccine.
To be added, visit https://shelby.community/covid-19-vaccine/
Health Directive No. 18 in effectFor more information and the complete text of HD18, please visit Shelby County Health Department COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions & Directives page.
Shelby County COVID-19 Cases | |
| Total Shelby County Cases | 87,449 |
| New Cases Today | 220 |
| Deaths Total | 1,479 |
| Deaths Reported Last 24 Hours | 19* |
| Total Tested in Shelby County | 1,012,618 |
| Tennessee Total Cases | 768,946 As of 2:00 p.m. 2/24/21 |
| Numbers current as of 10:00 a.m. 2/25/2021 |
*Note: There are 19 new deaths reported today with Investigation death date ranging from 12/17/2020 to 02/19/2021.
Contact Tracing via Text
In order to perform more efficient and effective contact investigations for COVID-19, the Shelby County Health Department has launched case notification by text message to the public. Learn more at https://shelby.community/contact-tracing/
Early Treatment
An effective early treatment is available for persons who test positive and have the following risk factors:
- Anyone over age 12 with obesity, chronic kidney disease, diabetes, or whose immunity is compromised by disease or prescription treatments.
- Anyone age 12-17 with sickle cell disease; neuromuscular disorder; dependence on medical intervention, such as a breathing or feeding tube; or a lung disorder such as asthma that requires daily medication.
- Anyone over age 55 with cardiovascular disease, hypertension, COPD or other chronic respiratory disease.
- Anyone over age 65.
If you test positive, and have any of these risk factors, ask your health care provider about early COVID-19 treatments. The Shelby County Health Department, in collaboration with the Shelby County Joint Task Force, has created an online hub for COVID-19: https://shelby.community/ for testing information, frequently asked questions and resources both communities and businesses.
COVID-19 Testing Availability
Shelby County has plenty of testing capacity available, and anyone who thinks they need a test should get one. To find a testing site near you, visit: https://covid19.memphistn.gov/resources/covid-19-testing-sites-in-shelby-county/.
Health Department Hotline
The Health Department is committed to providing as much information as possible to the public as the COVID-19 situation continues to develop. The Health Department’s hotline number 901-222-MASK (6275), was activated March 12, 2020. Since that date, it has fielded thousands of calls from the general public about COVID-19.
Below are statistics about calls into the hotline since March 12, 2020, and a daily number of hotline calls fielded yesterday.
| Health Department Call Center Statistics | |
| Total Calls Received since 3/12/20 | 28,790 |
| Total Calls Answered 2/24/21 | 279 |
The COVID-19 hotline is answered each day, including Saturday and Sunday, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. After-hours calls are returned as soon as possible on the next business day.
COVID-19 Joint Task Force Press Conference
The Health Department is also providing a live bi-weekly update for media partners each Tuesday and Thursday afternoon at 12:00pm via GoToMeeting through the COVID-19 Joint Task Force. Interpretation services for the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities are available.
Public Viewing: The public can watch the briefing live on the Health Department’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ShelbyTNHealth.
Keeping Shelby County residents, elected officials, and faith and community leaders informed is an important part of our strategy to control the spread of COVID-19 in our community.