Hear how the state of Tennessee administered 1 million doses in under 8 weeks
In this episode, we talk to Dr. Michelle Fiscus, Medical Director of the Vaccine-Preventable Diseases & Immunization Program at the Tennessee Department of Health. This conversation highlights Dr. Fiscus’ deep insight into vaccine distribution, vaccine efficacy and how the State of TN delivered one million COVID-19 vaccines in under 8 weeks.
Discussion Points:
- 1:50 – Introductions
- 4:55 – Role of the TN Health Department
- 8:40 – Addressing vaccine hesitancy
- 10:13 – Importance of education and communication
- 10:56 – History of vaccine hesitancy, building back trust
- 12:30 – Who’s excluded from the vaccine?
- 15:50 – 11,000 COVID related deaths in Tennessee (or 1 in 680)
- 17:23 – COVID-19 long-term impact
- 19:25 – Department of Health, Emergency Preparedness & “Flight Flu TN”
- 20:10 – Points of Dispensing (PODS)
- 23:08 – 1 million doses in under 8 weeks
- 23:25 – Vaccine supply, storage and distribution
- 26:47 – Vaccine supply in the next 30, 60, 90 days
- 32:11 – Thank you to health care workers
- 35:00 – Magnitude of effort to contact trace and vaccinate
- 37:35 – Importance of routine vaccines
We encourage you to share this podcast with friends and colleagues. To hear the latest updates from Dr. Fiscus and a leading panel of experts on COVID-19, please listen to our webinar.
Dr. Michelle Fiscus is a board-certified pediatrician who practiced general pediatrics in Franklin, TN for 17 years. She now serves as medical director of the Tennessee Vaccine-Preventable Diseases and Immunization Program at the Tennessee Department of Health.
Dr. Fiscus is an associate clinical professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. She is a past-president of the Tennessee Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (TNAAP) and now serves on the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Pediatrics as District IV Chair.
