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With variant spread increasing, vaccine appointments go unfilled in Northeast Tennessee

A more transmissible variant of the novel coronavirus is now widespread in Northeast Tennessee and is fueling new cases and hospitalizations across the region, Ballad Health officials said Wednesday. “Today, I think we’re seeing that we do have a fair amount of spread (of the B.1.1.7 variant) in the region,” said Ballad Chief Operating Officer Eric Deaton. “B.1.1.7 has overtaken the original strain of COVID-19 in the region, and really now the B.1.1.7 strain is the dominant strain that we’re seeing.” The B.1.1.7 variant was first identified in the United Kingdom last September, and is the dominant strain of COVID-19 in the United States.

Have we seen the worst of the pandemic? Experts are cautiously optimistic

It was a brutal three months in Northeast Tennessee: Between Nov. 1 and Jan. 31, COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths soared to record highs, infecting more than 32,000 and killing 636. Now, local health experts are cautiously optimistic we’ve seen the worst of the pandemic — that after nearly a year of battling the virus, this is the beginning of the end. Though the curve of new cases has fluctuated wildly from month to month over the past 11 months, this time feels different. Over the past seven weeks, the region’s seven-day average of new cases has experience a steep and rapid decline — tumbling from 456.2 on Jan. 7 to 83.6 as of Saturday, bringing Northeast Tennessee more in line with averages reported in early October.

Mass vaccinations for first responders underway at Freedom Hall

A line of cars wrapped around the Liberty Bell complex and Freedom Hall on Wednesday, carrying first responders who were eligible to receive some of the first doses of Moderna’s novel coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine in the region. “We’re going to keep vaccinating until we run out of vaccine,” said Dr. David Kirschke, the medical director of the Northeast Regional Health Office. The drive-through event Wednesday served as the first round of vaccinations for first responders in Washington County. Kirschke said the Health Department is primarily vaccinating first responders, who have top priority in the state’s vaccination plan and appear in one of the earliest phases.

Northeast Regional Health Office vaccinates several first responders in Washington County

In the midst of a brutal surge in novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infections that’s marked Tennessee as the state with the nation’s worst outbreak, Tuesday was a welcome day of hope and joy for several of Washington County’s first responders and officials at the Northeast Regional Health Office. Inside the health office, six first responders from five police, fire and EMS agencies in Washington County became some of the first in the region to receive the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine — a “historic event” that local health officials have been preparing for for months. “I am so pleased you are here to document some of the first COVID-19 vaccinations being given in our public health region,” said Regional Director Rebekah English. “We are honored to share this historic event with you.”

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