Infectious Disease – COVID-19
Overview
Free COVID-19 vaccines
COVID-19 vaccinations are available at no charge for anyone age 5 or older at Ballad Health.
No appointment is necessary, but you can book an appointment online for the Johnson City Vaccine Center:
The vaccine center is located in The Mall of Johnson City at the former Goody's entrance near Forever 21.
If you'd like to schedule your vaccination at a Ballad Health clinic or pharmacy, please speak to your provider.
Your second dose will be scheduled at the center when you get your first dose.
COVID-19 information and resources
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a respiratory illness that can spread from person to person. It spreads when an infected person breathes out droplets and particles into the air that contain the virus. People who are within 6 feet of an infected person with COVID-19 are more likely to contract the virus.
Any person infected with COVID-19 can spread the virus, even if they have no symptoms.
You can protect yourself and others from COVID-19 by:
- Getting vaccinated
- Wearing a mask or face covering that covers both your nose and mouth
- Staying 6 feet apart from others
- Avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces
- Washing your hands regularly
- Sanitizing surfaces frequently
Find COVID-19 resources from the CDC, the states of Tennessee and Virginia, and other sources for more information.
Areas of Care
- Center for Post-COVID Care
- COVID-19 Business Toolkit
- COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions
- COVID-19 Monitor your health
- COVID-19 Resources
- COVID-19 Support Group
- COVID-19 Testing at Ballad Health
- COVID-19 Vaccine Workgroup Newsletter
- COVID-19 Visitation Restrictions
- Free COVID-19 Vaccinations
- How to Manage COVID-19 Stress and Anxiety
- How to Protect Yourself from COVID-19
- Local COVID-19 News
- National COVID-19 News
- Safe While Staying Healthy and Well
What to expect
Think you might have COVID-19?
COVID-19 drive-thru testing
If you are concerned you may be ill, schedule a COVID-19 test online at one of our drive-thru test sites. Ballad Health offers testing for patients of all ages.
Enter your location and select "COVID Testing – No Symptoms" as your reason for visit.
Appointments are required. Referrals aren't needed.
Learn more about COVID-19 testing.
Visitation restrictions due to COVID-19
New visitation guidelines are being implemented at all Ballad Health hospitals, ERs, long-term care, outpatient clinics and other facilities to help contain COVID-19 and protect our patients and team members.
When visiting a Ballad Health facility where visitation is allowed, please wear a mask or face covering. In response to new CDC recommendations, Ballad Health will provide surgical masks to patients and visitors at no cost. Visitors and patients who are already wearing a medical-grade mask (surgical/procedural, N-95, KN-95 or KF94) will not be asked to replace their masks.
Read more about our visitation restrictions.
Post-COVID care clinic
Ballad Health has launched the Center for Post-COVID Care to provide a full spectrum of services to patients struggling with post-COVID symptoms.
Learn more about our Center for Post-COVID Care.
Appalachian Highlands COVID-19 Information
Our weekly COVID-19 scorecard shows several key data measures for Ballad Health's entire service area, such as:
- Total positive COVID-19 case count
- Percentage of people testing positive for COVID-19 out of all who have been tested
- Number of currently hospitalized COVID-19 patients
- Number of COVID-19 patients in ICU and number of those patients on ventilator support
Read the COVID-19 scorecard for the Appalachian Highlands [PDF, 225KB] region.
Local updates
Sept. 29, 2021
Ballad Health resumes some elective procedures, continues encouraging COVID-19 prevention
Beginning Wednesday, Sept. 29, Ballad Health hospitals will once again provide some elective surgeries that do not require overnight stays. Patients are currently being contacted by their providers' offices to schedule procedures, and capacity at each facility is determined by individual hospitals' staffing and space availability.
Aug. 26, 2021
Increase in regional COVID-19 cases leads Ballad Health to delay all elective surgical procedures, limit visitation to patients with COVID-19
An increase in novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in the Appalachian Highlands has prompted Ballad Health to postpone all elective and non-emergent surgeries, including already-scheduled procedures, effective Thursday, Aug. 26.
Aug. 14, 2021
Statement in support of in-person learning and protection measures for children
Ballad Health unequivocally supports taking all appropriate measures to keep children in schools for in-person learning. We believe taking the steps strongly recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and overwhelmingly echoed by medical and scientific leaders nationally and in our region are most likely to enhance the opportunity to keep children in school.
Aug. 13, 2021
Ballad Health defers elective overnight procedures, citing significant and projected increases in local COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations
An increase in novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in the Appalachian Highlands has prompted Ballad Health to defer all elective, non-emergent surgical cases requiring overnight patient stays as of Monday, Aug. 16.
The decision to postpone these procedures follows several weeks of sustained COVID-19 increases, with infections rising 800% since July 4. Ballad Health estimates that, based on the rate of growth experienced in hospitalizations, combined with projections of community spread and few meaningful mitigation efforts, inpatient hospitalization census could reach as high as 500. Already, the number of inpatients, who require significant resources, is putting a strain on available resources.
July 30, 2020
Rising COVID-19 rates, Delta variant spread prompt Ballad Health to extend vaccination efforts
The health system will extend its community vaccination center (CVC) in the Mall at Johnson City, Tennessee, to operate during Tennessee’s tax-free weekend this Saturday, July 31, from noon to 4 p.m. Vaccines are provided – free of charge, regardless of an individual’s insurance – to everyone age 12 and older. Walk-ins are welcome, and online scheduling for eligible patients is also available on the health system’s main webpage and its COVID-19 page, as well as the Ballad Health mobile app on Apple and Android smartphones and tablets.
See more regional COVID-19 updates here.
