Holding thousands of COVID-19 vaccinations in Tennessee as an âemergency reserveâ may not top the list of dumb ideas, but if not, itâs got to be a close second. When everyone in Tennessee has received a vaccination, a reserve would be justified. But in a state that ranks second in the nation for new COVID-19 cases per capita, refusing to release a single vaccination as quickly as possible is indefensible. That the state plans to put more than 5,000 doses in a closet somewhere will kill an estimated 50 to 100 people. Numerous studies using a range of methods estimate that some five to 10 people will die for every 1,000 people with COVID-19.