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Top state vaccine official fired — ‘I am afraid for Tennessee,’ says Dr. Michelle Fiscus

The Tennessee state government fired its top vaccine official on Monday, as the virus shows new signs of spread in Tennessee.

Six out of 10 of all vaccinations have been administered in the world's three most populous countries -- China, the United States and India - © AFP ISHARA S. KODIKARA
Six out of 10 of all vaccinations have been administered in the world's three most populous countries -- China, the United States and India - © AFP ISHARA S. KODIKARA

The Tennessee state government fired its top vaccine official on Monday, as the virus shows new signs of spread in Tennessee, and the more transmissible delta variant surfaces in greater numbers.

Dr. Michelle Fiscus served as director for vaccine-preventable diseases and immunization programs at the Tennessee Department of Health for two years before her abrupt termination on Monday.

She claims she was scapegoated to placate Republican lawmakers who were upset by her efforts to vaccinate teenagers.

“It is just astounding to me how absolutely political and self-centered our elected people are here and how very little they care for the people of Tennessee,” Fiscus told CNN in a telephone interview. “The people of Tennessee are going to pay a price.”

Dr. Fiscus provided a copy of her termination letter to The Tennessean, yet it provides no explanation for her termination.

The state’s Mature Minor Doctrine

At the center of Dr. Fiscus’s termination is a memo she sent to medical providers on May 19 who administer vaccines explaining the state’s “Mature Minor Doctrine.”

The doctrine, established in 1987, allows minors over the age of 14 to be vaccinated without parental consent. This information has been publicly available since 2008.

Across the country, 41 states require that a minor must have the consent of a parent or guardian to be immunized. Tennessee is one of only five states that has a “mature minor doctrine” that allows health care providers to decide if any child has the capacity to consent to vaccination themselves.

Four other states and Washington, DC set an age cutoff for a minor to decide without a parent or guardian.

It can only be described as “bizarre”

Dr. Fiscus also says the language in the memo she sent out was provided to her by the health department’s attorney, who said at the time it had been “blessed by the governor’s office.”

“A recipient of that memo was upset that, according to Tennessee Supreme Court case law, minors ages 14-17 years are able to receive medical care in Tennessee without parental consent and posted the memo to social media,” Fiscus said in a statement.

“What has occurred in the time between the release of this memo and today, when I was terminated from my position as medical director of the vaccine-preventable diseases and immunization program at the Tennessee Department of Health, can only be described as bizarre.”

The outcome of all this is that the Tennessee state Health Department has been called to testify before the state legislature, Fiscus said. And the health department – out of fear of reprisal – stopped all vaccination outreach efforts.

The bottom line? The state reported 561 new infections Thursday, per the Washington Post, up from 169 on June 23. Just 38 percent of Tennesseans had been fully vaccinated by Monday. The positivity rate has jumped from 2.0 percent to 4.5 percent during the same time period.

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We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our dear friend Karen Graham, who served as Editor-at-Large at Digital Journal. She was 78 years old. Karen's view of what is happening in our world was colored by her love of history and how the past influences events taking place today. Her belief in humankind's part in the care of the planet and our environment has led her to focus on the need for action in dealing with climate change. It was said by Geoffrey C. Ward, "Journalism is merely history's first draft." Everyone who writes about what is happening today is indeed, writing a small part of our history.

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