Image Credit: tn.gov
The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –
With many in the state distrustful of government messaging during the pandemic, whether over case counts, safety of vaccines, or COVID-19 medical protocols, the most recent bungling of numbers does little to bolster confidence among Tennesseans.
Governor Bill Lee lauded Meigs County for their “high” vaccination rates last September. “They are a rural county, and they have the highest vaccination rate in the state,” he said at the time. But residents of the small conservative county, northeast of Chattanooga, were skeptical.
They were right to be skeptical.
According to a Kaiser Health News (KHN) review of Tennessee’s vaccination data, the rate in Meigs County was inflated due to a data error. Tens of thousands of doses were attributed to the wrong counties all across the state.
Last month, Meigs County went from having one of the highest rates in the South to below Tennessee’s average, dropping from 65% to 43% overnight when the state’s Department of Health made corrections.
The error was attributed to software from STChealth, an Arizona company that Tennessee paid approximately $900,000 a year for hosting and maintaining the state’s immunization information system. Tennessee residents who live in ZIP codes that cover more than one county were incorrectly attributed to whichever county contains the majority of that ZIP code. About 2,900 extra vaccinations were credited to Meigs County from nearby Roane County.
In Moore County, the opposite happened, with the county going from “least-vaccinated” at 21% to almost double the reported rate (40%.)
Sarah Tanksley, speaking on behalf of the Tennessee Department of Health, confirmed there was a problem in February and reported that the fix would come in the form of a software update from STChealth. When that update had still not arrived by the beginning of April, the health department took matters into their own hands and allowed staff to input the right data. However, the CDC is still publishing incorrect numbers.
*** Click Here to Support Conservative Journalism in Tennessee. We can’t cover stories like this without your support!***
According to Dr. Michelle Fiscus who was fired last July from her position as head of Tennessee’s vaccine program, the health department was aware that there was an issue long before February. She told KHN that the department knew last year that county data became skewed when pulled from the state’s immunization information system (TennIIs) and reported to the CDC.
According to the Tennessee Department of Health’s website, the Tennessee Immunization Information System (TennIIS) is a statewide, and permanent online immunization registry where records of immunizations may be recorded on persons of all ages.
Tennesseans can request a copy of their own TennIIS immunization record or the record of a child if they are the child’s parent or legal guardian. They may also opt out for themselves or their children.To begin a record request, individuals may email TennIIS.Records@tn.gov or call (615) 741-7247, and provide the following information about the person whose record is needed:
• Individual’s full name (first, middle, and last name)
• Individual’s maiden name and/or all previous last names
• Individual’s date of birth
• Requestor’s name, relationship to the individual, and contact information (phone number and email address)
To begin a TennIIS opt-out request, Tennesseans must contact the TennIIS Help Desk at TennIIS.Help@tn.gov or call (844) 206-9927. Once the request has been received, TIP staff will email, fax, or mail an Immunization Registry Change of Status request form that must be completed and signed, and then faxed, emailed, or mailed back to TIP before an opt-out request can be authorized.
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
2 Responses
All of the reported statistics and observations on all health issues by the state and federal officials is suspect! The corruption and unprofessional behavior of callous employees and elected officials has made their operations, motives and results all decline into near third world attributes. The professional organizations that consult or regulate health issues are no better these days , all corrupted by politics and with Sloth like, no common sense performances. I wonder, has the state ended the contract with this service vendor or fined them for malfeasance/ineffective data collection? The government has no right to collect health records or vaccination records on individuals, that trumps the right to privacy of the citizen. The state is supposed to protect us from enemies not monitor our private information. How about protecting our border and upholding our laws and traditional values! Why do they not protect us from corporate interest that push dangerous and experimental drugs passed as vaccines, that clearly are not vaccines but only experimental gene therapy treatments. Even if the Feds approve such criminal behavior our state should intervene and block these dangerous lies and manipulations! The state should be about Truth and the Constitution! Not attempting to skirt both or either!
“The government has no right to collect health records or vaccination records on individuals, that trumps the right to privacy of the citizen. The state is supposed to protect us from enemies not monitor our private information. ”
DITTO. This is outrageous. Take note- Lee is is in compliance with the deep state.