Nashville COVID-19 Clinic Vaccinates 10,000 In One Day

By Holly McCall, Tennessee Lookout

March 22, 2021

Even before the sun rose over Nissan Stadium Saturday, the first day of Spring was brimming with the renewal that comes after a long winter. By 6 a.m., volunteers stood ready to direct the traffic backed up not for a Tennessee Titans game but for a COVID-19 vaccine clinic.

The Nashville Department of Health offered 10,000 doses of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine and in spite of predictions from skeptics, all the available slots were booked within two hours of registration opening on March 10.

Hundreds of Tennesseans volunteered to help out, from the doctors and nurses administering the vaccine to those who wanted to be part of the unique event.

“I heard they might give vaccines to volunteers if they had enough and I thought that was great, but honestly, to be able to be part of something that huge that helped so many people in one day — as much as I love Nashville, I wanted to be a part of it,” said Eric Patton of East Nashville. Patton served as a vaccine administrative assistant to a nurse giving the vaccine — “she was super experienced; an old pro,” he said — and took the noon-7 p.m. shift. He did, indeed, get vaccinated.

The sentiment of the day was gratitude, with the event taking the spirit of a festival. The sun shone and bands played. Tennessee Titans cheerleaders and sports teams mascots roused the crowd.

“Everyone was so happy to get the shot,” said Patton. “Some people were super funny, some were emotional.”

Vaccine information:

• Tennessee Department of Health: Check your eligibility and register for a vaccination appointment.
• Metro Nashville Department of Health
• Shelby County Department of Health
• Knox County Department of Health
• Hamilton County Department of Health
• Kroger
• Wal-Mart

Photojournalist John Partipilo was on the scene from the start, capturing the queue of cars in the blue morning light and the drive-through vaccination process. Perhaps no photos express the feelings of joy and relief from those getting the vaccine better than Partipilo’s photos of Amanda Graham spraying Silly String at her two friends, Courtney Easter and Tatiana Walton.

By the end of the 13-hour event, only about 100 doses remained unused and Dr. Alex Jahangir, chair of the Metro Coronavirus Task Force, put a notice on twitter: “First come first serve. Once they are done, there will be no more additional doses.”

“I hope everyone in Nashville gets vaccinated so we can get to a full rebound. We’ve earned it,” said Nashville Mayor John Cooper on Sunday. “You can feel the morning arriving in Nashville. You can feel the energy building here — and yesterday’s mass vaccination event was a big part of that.”
Photos in the galleries were taken by Partipilo, Ray Di Pietro and Sully Barrett.

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