SkyEye flew over the sprawling complex where rows and rows of vehicles under white tents were led to vaccination stations.
The opening of the drive-by clinic for vaccination was not without problems. A number of factors, including missed appointments during the day, forced some people to wait up to 45 minutes. FEMA told ABC13 that it is working to resolve the long waiting times.
The clinic had a soft launch on Tuesday and will be relocating to the county, city, hospital and pharmacy locations across the region.
Organizers say the federal site will vaccinate at least 126,000 people. An estimated 300,000 people who have signed up for the vaccine are still waiting for their first vaccination dose. The mega site should greatly increase the chances of a quick withdrawal.
On Monday afternoon, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, FEMA Regional Director Tony Robinson and other local authorities gave details about the federally-sponsored, state-run COVID-19 mass vaccination clinic.
WATCH: Glimpse at NRG Park COVID-19 vaccine megasite prior to soft opening
Since the announcement a few weeks ago, workers have built the temporary mass vaccination facility. It will be a drive-through facility in the Yellow Lot at NRG Park.
“People deserve good news, some hope,” said Hidalgo. “This site marks the greatest effort to date to get our community vaccinated.”
According to Hidalgo, they will vaccinate those living in the zip codes that have been hit hard by the virus.
“We all agree at the state, federal and local levels that this site should target the people left behind to date, who have been most affected by COVID-19,” Hidalgo said. “We did it by finding zip codes with the highest incidence of the virus, the highest social vulnerability and the social vulnerability index.”
The postal codes are the following: 77022, 77029, 77032, 77078, 77087, 77093, 77502, 77504, 77506, 77587, 77011, 77012, 77015, 77016, 77020, 77026, 77028, 77033, 77037, 77038, 77039, 77048, 77086, 77091, 77503, 77060, 77080, 77099, 77013, 77014, 77036, 77050, 77051, 77076, 77090.
Hidalgo added that those 65 and older on the waiting list who come from the top 10 city and county zip codes are given the highest priority for the site’s vaccines.
The next priority group are those aged 65 and over.
“We then prioritize individuals alongside the rest of the 25 most affected zip codes before moving off the wider waiting list,” said Hidalgo. This group is aged 60-64 with underlying medical conditions living in high-risk zip codes.
The fourth priority group is those aged 60 to 64 with underlying medical conditions.
FEMA uses the Harris County and City of Houston waiting list. Individuals are approached for appointments.
Visit their website at to get on the waiting list for the city of Houston houstonemergency.org/covid-19-vaccines or call 832-393-4301.
The Harris County waiting list can be found at vacstrac.hctx.net
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