FEMA, partnering with the State of Tennessee, City of Memphis and surrounding communities, is opening a Community Vaccination Center (CVC) site in midtown Memphis at the Pipkin Building of the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.
This site at 940 Early Maxwell Blvd, expands Memphis’ current operations to deliver up to 21,000 doses of vaccine per week. Military personnel from the 2d Marine Division, based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, will support the administration of these additional vaccines.
Vaccines for CVCs are provided to the state in addition to the regular vaccine allocations they are receiving. These additional vaccine doses are made possible through an increase in production and availability.
“We are committed to equitably distributing the vaccine and our top priority is to ensure everyone who wants a vaccine, gets one,” said Gracia Szczech, regional administrator for FEMA Region IV.
FEMA will continue to support outreach to underserved communities in the Memphis area to inform and build trust about the benefits of getting vaccinated.
“It is going to take all of us working together—federal, state, and local government—to win in the fight against COVID-19,” Mayor Jim Strickland said. “We’ve administered over 315,000 vaccinations and this joint effort will allow us to dramatically increase the number of those vaccinated.”
The Pipkin Building CVC site will follow Tennessee’s vaccination eligibility requirements. The COVID-19 vaccine is currently available to all adults age 16 and older in Tennessee.
To schedule a vaccine appointment, individuals can visit covid19.memphistn.gov. Those without internet access can call 901-222-7468 (SHOT) or 615-552-1998 between the hours of 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. seven days a week.
Those with vaccine appointments will enter the Pipkin Building vaccination site from Early Maxwell Boulevard. After validation, appointment holders will remain in their vehicles and enter either the on-site vaccination tent or the Pipkin Building. Both the Pipkin Building and the vaccination tent will have two vehicle lanes which can accommodate a minimum of 20 vehicles at once.
After receiving their vaccination, appointment holders will proceed to a post-vaccine waiting area to be monitored for at least 15 minutes, per CDC guidelines, to ensure they do not have any adverse reactions to the vaccine.
Those who arrive at the Memphis CVC via public transit, on foot, or by rideshare will enter the northside of the Pipkin Building to receive their vaccinations and to be monitored afterward at the patient check-in.
“Partnerships are vitally important in responding to any emergency, and this is especially true as we work to protect Tennesseans from the COVID-19 pandemic,” TEMA Director Patrick Sheehan said. “We are grateful to join with the City of Memphis, Shelby County, and FEMA to make more life-saving vaccines available across the mid-South.”
FEMA is supporting Tennessee and the City of Memphis in their response to COVID-19. Visit fema.gov/coronavirus for more information.