As attention turns to vaccination, Tennessee is feeling pretty good about their efforts. According to a release from the Tennessee Department of Health:

Within four weeks of Tennessee receiving its first doses of COVID-19 vaccine, more than 221,000 people in the state have received vaccinations, and the Tennessee Department of Health is distributing COVID-19 vaccinations as rapidly as supplies are received from the federal government. Tennessee is one of the most successful states in the U.S. at quickly administering vaccine, having administered more than 50 percent of the vaccines received by the state.

Pharmacies, including Walgreens, CVS and some local independent pharmacies are partnering to vaccinate the residents and staff members of long-term care facilities. These efforts began the week of December 28, 2020.

Nursing homes are prioritized first, as their residents require higher levels of medical care, with assisted living facilities and homes for the aged as the next priority. Since December 28, 2020, CVS has vaccinated staff members and residents at 58 Tennessee nursing homes, and Walgreens has vaccinated staff members and residents in at least 125 facilities. Walgreens plans to complete COVID-19 vaccinations at all of their nursing home facilities by January 25.

Tennessee assisted care living facilities and homes for the aged will also begin vaccinating their staff members and residents Jan. 13 through the federal partnership with Walgreens and CVS. While COVID-19 vaccine supplies remain limited, the state is also prioritizing vaccination of Tennesseans aged 75 or older. Additional priority populations will be able to receive COVID-19 vaccinations as quickly as vaccine supplies allow, as outlined in the Tennessee COVID-19 Vaccination Plan.

Availability of vaccines varies by county. Tennessee counties may progress through COVID-19 vaccination phases at different times depending on supplies of vaccines. Tennesseans can learn what phase they will be in for receiving vaccine at https://covid19.tn.gov/covid-19-vaccines/vaccine-phases/.

Metro Nashville

As of 9:30 today, the city reported 77,401 confirmed cases, an increase of 288 in 24 hours. Of note, however, assessment centers have been closed or had limited hours due to inclement weather and because of weekend vaccine distribution, which might impact the number of tests and reported cases. There are currently 6,868 active cases in Nashville, 70,013 inactive or recovered cases and 581 active hospitalizations. With 520 deaths, the city has a case fatality rate of 0.67%. In Davidson County, the number of tests and positivity rate is miscalculated today (website shows less than 90,000 total tests but then 1.6 million results and a 955.8% positive rate). We'll bring you updated numbers when corrected.

Out of 8 metrics on the trend lines, Nashville has 2 in the green, 2 in the yellow and 4 in the red - 14-day new case trend, ICU bed capacity, new cases per 100,000 residents and seven-day positivity. With a goal for transmission to be less than 1.00, the city's current transmission rate is in the green at 1.03. The 14-day case trend continues in the red with new cases categorized as increasing. Public health and testing capacity remain in the green, as they have throughout.

As of 9:30 am this morning, hospital floor bed capacity remained in the yellow with 14% availability, while ICU beds have dropped to some of the lowest levels we've seen at 6% capacity. The goal for both hospital and ICU bed capacity is 20%.

The New Cases per 100K Residents has remained in the red for the last few weeks. The goal of the seven-day rolling average is to be less than 10. Currently, Nashville sits at 86.2 as of 9:30 am this morning. The goal for the 7-Day Positivity Rate is to see a figure at 10% or less. Currently, Nashville is in the red with a rate of 18%.

More detailed data is available on the Metro Dashboard. Click here for details.

Nashville remains in a modified Phase 3 of COVID Reopening with new restrictions having been put in place over the last couple of weeks, including the Rule of 8 for indoor gatherings without a pre-approved event plan. The city also continues its mask mandate, with several nearby counties having reinstated similar mandates after letting them expire earlier. Governor Bill Lee extended the Tennessee State of Emergency tied to COVID-19 through February 27.

Vaccinations are in the 1a1/1a2/75+ phase, which means high exposure healthcare workers, long term care residents and staff, first responders, those ages 75 and older, outpatient healthcare workers and mortuary workers should be, or will soon be, eligible for vaccines. With attention turned toward vaccination, assessment sites are closed currently on weekends.

Tennessee State

Today's info will be updated when it becomes available.

As of yesterday afternoon, the Tennessee Department of Health reported 660,874 cases of COVID-19 across the state (up 3,478 from the day before) with 579,345 cases defined as recovered or inactive. Currently, there are 3,048 hospitalizations (a net decrease of 9 over the previous day), and 8,011 deaths from the virus statewide (an increase of 146 in 24 hours) for a death rate of 1.21. The state has conducted nearly 5.9 million tests (an increase of 14,953 in 24 hours) with a 17.17% positivity rate for the day. Hospital capacities stand at 14% of floor beds (1,606 beds) and 9% of ICU beds (174 beds) available statewide.

For information on vaccination distribution, visit the TDH vaccine dashboard at www.tn.gov/health/cedep/ncov/covid-19-vaccine-information.html. This dashboard is updated each Tuesday and Friday.