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Drive-thru COVID vaccination site opens in South Nashville

AM COLE KMART DRIVE THRU VAX CLINIC VO.transfer_frame_0.jpeg
Posted at 7:43 AM, Apr 12, 2021
and last updated 2021-04-12 09:08:57-04

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Nashville continues its push for COVID-19 vaccinations with a new drive-thru site in South Nashville opening Monday.

Up until today, the old Kmart on Murfreesboro Pike was one of Metro's three assessment centers.

This site will be open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. At this location, you will be getting the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Registration for appointments opened on April 8 and future appointments will be made available each Thursday for the upcoming week.

Fifty appointments will be open each hour for a total of 1,500 slots each week.

Last summer, South Nashville was a hot spot for COVID cases. Metro Health officials attributed that to the high number of essential workers from different ethnicities who live in the area.

Metro-Nashville Coronavirus Taskforce Chairman Dr. Alex Jahangir said they chose this location because it was seeing the least testing traffic, and also because the area was hit so hard during the worst of the pandemic.

According to numbers from Metro Public Health, 41% of Hispanics over the age of 55 have been vaccinated in Nashville. While Dr. Jahangir believes those numbers are good, they still hope to reach people where they are.

“It was not coincidental that we did choose to be in an area where there are new Americans, more people of Hispanic ethnicity, so we can give access to those populations,” he said.

To ensure more Spanish speaking residents sign up to get vaccinated, Metro is partnering with Conexion Americas to help people get information on where to get a vaccine, and how to sign up.

The Metro Public Health Department will continue to operate the vaccine clinic at the Music City Center, where the two-dose Pfizer vaccine will be administered.

Residents may also call the COVID-19 hotline at 615-862-7777 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day for more information on COVID-19 testing and vaccinations. Vaccination appointments in Davidson County can be made online by clicking here.