Williamson County, Texas, officials were given 900 doses of the Moderna vaccine intended for first responders on Wednesday, but decided to close for Christmas without administering them, the Texas Tribune reported.
Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell fooled county public health officials on Friday, saying they should have delivered hundreds of vaccines immediately rather than shut down Friday, the outlet said.
The batch of vaccines was intended for firefighters, those providing mortuary or death services, and school nurses.
County officials planned to start administering the vaccines early Saturday morning. They tried to say that the vaccines had arrived earlier than planned and were concerned that if they administered them right away, there would be confusion.
“My answer is simple: nonsense,” Gravell told KXAN on Friday. “The Cedar Park Regional Medical Center is ready to launch the vaccine within an hour. St. David’s was ready to launch it in an hour. “
“We’re on something that could have been a Christmas miracle.”
Williamson County recorded its 200th death related to the coronavirus on Dec. 24.