Registration to receive the COVID-19 vaccination closed about five hours after it opened Wednesday when all available doses were assigned.
According to Jennifer Rainey, a spokesperson for Denton County Public Health, hopefully about 450 residents will receive their first of two shots Monday.
“The demand will clearly outweigh the supply available,” she said.
The Texas Phase 1B group eligible for vaccinations includes people over 65 and people over 16 who are pregnant or have one or more chronic health conditions.
Rainey said most of the people registered on Wednesday were in the 1B group, but that doesn’t mean all people in 1A have been vaccinated. She said the state’s instructions told them not to prioritize one group over another.
She said DCPH knew there were still health workers in the province who had not yet been vaccinated.
Rainey said the county’s health department had seven people answering the phone to accept registrations Wednesday, with room for an additional 30 callers to wait on hold.
“We have signed up everyone for the vaccine we have available,” she said Thursday afternoon. “At the moment we don’t do a waiting list.”
Denton County commissioners will consider funding the purchase of a vaccine management system at a Friday morning meeting.
The system is the product of a collaboration between Microsoft and Mazik Global. According to the provincial commissioners’ agenda, it would cost $ 271,000 for the first year of the operation and $ 186,000 each subsequent year.
Rainey said provincial officials hope the system will allow the county to put residents on a waiting list for the vaccine.
It would also allow them to notify people via text message and / or email when they can get vaccinated and would automatically remind them to make an appointment to get their second dose of the vaccine.
The meeting begins Friday at 11 a.m. Those wishing to join can do so online by going to dentoncounty.gov/remote or by calling 346-248-7799 or toll-free 1-888-475-4499 (for a meeting ID press 764412814 # ).
Rainey said that DCPH recommends that people “contact your primary care provider or local pharmacy to determine when to start vaccinating their customers.”
Rainey, reached by phone Thursday, said the county has no more advance notice than the general public about vaccine distribution schemes.
The Texas Department of State Health Services had updated its distribution schedules for the coming week every Friday, but it wasn’t immediately clear on Thursday if or how New Year’s Day might affect that release.
MARSHALL REID can be reached at 940-566-6862 and via Twitter at @MarshallKReid.