MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (Mike Osborne) — A new study released last week by researchers at Rhode Island’s Brown University suggests more than 11,000 of Tennessee’s 26,000 plus COVID-19 deaths could have been prevented if more people had opted to take the vaccine.
The study calculates how many fewer deaths would have occurred if 85 percent or more of each state’s population had chosen to get all the recommended shots.
State health officials report that, 17 months after vaccines were made available, just 51 percent of Tennesseans are fully vaccinated. To date, roughly 20 percent have received a booster shot.