CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The vaccine rollout in Clarksville-Montgomery County is still moving quite slowly compared to other, similarly sized counties, but the state is speeding through its original distribution plan.

As of Monday, 6.21% of Montgomery County’s population has been fully vaccinated, and 12.51% of the county has received one dose of the Pfizer or Moderna according to data from the Tennessee Department of Health COVID-19 Vaccination Reporting dashboard.

This data shows a slow moving rollout, especially when compared to Williamson County, where 25.27% of their population has received at least one dose of the vaccine, or Sumner County, where 17.94% of their population has received at least one dose according to the vaccination dashboard.

However, these numbers could soon see exponential growth, because the state is speeding through the risk and aged-based phases of its original distribution plan.

The December version of the state’s COVID-19 vaccine schedule put Phases 2a and 2b to begin in the April to June timeframe, and statewide eligibility to begin sometime after September. In Montgomery County, those phases began Friday, and Gov. Bill Lee announced Monday that all Tennesseans age 16 and up will be eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine no later than April 5.

Additionally, active cases and COVID-19 trends in the county are still showing improvement. Active cases have remained below 400, but three residents were hospitalized over the last week, and another COVID-19 death was reported on Friday, March 19.

This death brings the total fatalities to COVID-19 in Montgomery County to 214. This is also the first reported COVID-19 death in the last three weeks.

How to get the COVID-19 vaccine

Montgomery County is now in Phases 2a and 2b of the vaccination process, meaning that along with individuals 16 or older with high-risk health conditions who qualify in Phase 1c of the priority list from the state, those who work in critical infrastructure industries are now eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

Those who are 55 or older are also eligible to receive the vaccine.

Health Department: To register for a vaccination appointment online through the county health department, visit https://covid19.tn.gov/covid-19-vaccines/vaccine-phases/. Click Montgomery County on the map, click “Make an Appointment” to register, then enter the name and contact information to be notified of the appointment date, time and location as soon as the vaccine becomes available.

Individuals who do not have access to the internet should call 866-442-5301 to make an appointment.

All other pharmacies and clinics: Visit Clarksville Now’s updated list of all the locations offering the vaccine to the public in Montgomery County, and how to register at each location.

COVID-19 numbers

Here are the Montgomery County numbers updated on the county’s dashboard for Monday, March 22:

• 18,031 total confirmed cases since March 8, 2020
• 354 active cases
• 272 total hospitalizations
• 214 total deaths

Here’s the data for local public schools from the CMCSS COVID-19 dashboard, which was last updated on March 21:

• 18 student active cases
• 216 students excluded
• 97 student quarantined
• 705 data student COVID-19 related absences
• 10 employee active cases
• 5 employees excluded
• 3 employees in quarantine
• 42 employee COVID-19 related leave

Here are the Austin Peay State University numbers last updated on March 21, according to their dashboard:

• 19 students with confirmed cases
• 37 students in quarantine
• 2 staff and faculty members with confirmed cases
• 4 staff and faculty members in quarantine

How to get a COVID-19 test

Free COVID-19 testing is offered by the Montgomery County Health Department at the former Sears location at Governor’s Square Mall, located at 2801 Wilma Rudolph Blvd., from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Monday through Friday. Drive-thru testing is offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and self-administered kits are now available on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Follow the signs to the drive-up testing site.

Three Walgreens locations in Clarksville offer self-administered, drive-thru COVID-19 tests. The location at 2109 Wilma Rudolph Blvd. offers the Rapid Diagnostic COVID-19 test, and the locations at 1954 Madison Street and 1460 Fort Campbell Blvd. offer the PCR Diagnostic Test. To make an appointment at Walgreens, visit their website.