Vaccine Sophia

Vanderbilt Chief Nursing Officer Robin Steaban administers the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to COVID ICU Respiratory Therapist Sophia Whitaker.

 By Alexander Willis

On Tuesday, Tennessee Department of Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey said that while the state has seen some promising results from its vaccination efforts, with the state ranking 12th in the nation for the percentage of second COVID-19 vaccine doses completed, certain demographics have been found to be more wary of taking the vaccine.

Tennessee ramps up COVID-19 vaccination efforts

Held at the Music City Center in Nashville, the press conference saw Piercey tout new figures in the state's vaccination efforts. As of Tuesday, more than 1.3 million Tennesseans have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, amounting to 17.5 percent of the state's population.

Piercey did share, however, that certain demographics were far more wary of taking the vaccine, particularly in more rural areas were "a lot" of vaccination appointments go unfilled.

"We anticipated that because we know people of color, people of lower income and rural conservatives are less likely to take [the] vaccine, they're more likely to be hesitant, so we're trying to combat all of that through education," Piercey said.

One thing Piercey encouraged as a means to combat the disparity in COVID-19 vaccinations was for those who do get their vaccinations in rural areas to share their stories with family and friends, and idea she said that was touted by Metro Public Health Department Director Gill Wright.

"Dr. Write and I were just talking a few minutes ago and he made a very salient point which is it's really important to tell your story when you get vaccinated," Piercey said.

"We understand that people don't trust the government, and we understand that there's sometimes questions about vaccines that they don't get sufficient answers to, but when they see family and friends get vaccinated, they think 'OK, I can do this.' That's the best way, so if you've been vaccinated, go tell your family and friends."

Tennessee is currently in phases 1a1, 1a2, 1b and 1c of its COVID-19 Vaccination Plan, which also include all residents 65 and older. Click here to see where you fall in the state's vaccination plan.