Caregivers of frail Tennessee kids get vaccine priority

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Seven-year-old Carpenter Adoo has earned the nickname “Tiny but Mighty” in short order.

He underwent his first surgery at a week old and spent four months in the neonatal intensive care unit. He's powered through more than a dozen procedures to keep the excess fluid draining from his brain safely, routinely greeting nurses with hugs and handshakes.

"He handles it all with a grace that I don’t know that I would ever be able to handle it,” Carpenter’s mother, Leah Williamson, said from Memphis.

Carpenter's medical condition makes him particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, putting him in a population that states are wrestling with how to prioritize as vaccine supplies fall short of demand. Tennessee last month joined a handful of states in moving the families of medically frail children like Carpenter up the vaccine priority list. State officials bumped them above critical infrastructure workers, grocery store employees and inmates, landing in the phase that follows teachers and child care staff.

Williamson was encouraged but still hasn't gotten answers about when she'll get her turn.

As the disease’s U.S. death toll climbs to nearly half a million people, the threat to those with chronic health conditions remains high, especially for those younger than 16 who aren’t approved for the shots yet. Williamson hopes that lends urgency to the state of Tennessee’s willingness to give her a vaccine.

She just knows that day can't come soon enough.

Before the pandemic, flu season terrified her. If Carpenter, who has hydrocephalus and chronic lung disease, were to catch COVID-19, the damage could be severe.

The upcoming vaccine priority group in Tennessee includes people who live with or care for children younger than 16 who have any number...