JMCR Health Dept. hosts weekly COVID Briefing

JACKSON, TN (WNBJ) - The state of Tennessee is now the state with the most COVID cases per capita in the country. This morning, medical professionals in the area gathered virtually for the regional health department’s weekly COVID briefing to inform the public on cases in Madison county.

“Our ICUs are full in all of our hospitals, and we continue to work day by day, hour by hour moving patients and taking care of patients across the region,” said Tina Prescott, West TN Healthcare.

The West Tennessee Healthcare speaking about ICU capacity and mortality rates in the area.

“Mortality standpoint, from a death standpoint we do average at this time six deaths per day,” said Prescott.

The regional director at the health department spoke about the risen COVID cases in children ages 5 to 18.

“I had reported since August the first, which was around the time school started back we had seen 883 positive cases in that ages group that went through September 6th. I’ve got a new report that goes through September 13th and that number has risen to 1,023 cases for kids ages from 5 through 18,” said Kim Tedford, the Regional Director at the JMCR Health Dept.

Tedford also mentioned that the department is waiting for guidance on the Pfizer booster dose.

"They are going to meet Friday to discuss Pfizer's request to approve a booster dose for ages 16 and older, so we may see some changes after that meeting on Friday on into the weekend, but until that takes place we did not have any guidance on giving that booster dose,” said Tedford.

The mayor of Jackson commenting on the loss of life in the community.

“At the point of minimizing people dying, is a number and statistics. In the real world, those are real neighbors, friends, those are people in the community. People that we know in west Tennessee, the fact that we can only minimize that on a larger scale baffles me. We have lost that humanity, I guess at some point. This is real and no one is minimized in this. Someone feels that loss across the board,” said Mayor Scott Conger, Jackson.

You can watch the next COVID briefing via Facebook next Wednesday, September 22nd at 10 a.m.