Dozens of seniors in a luxury Texas high-rise were given COVID-19 vaccines during the state’s first wave.
The Montebello condominium complex in downtown Houston features marble-tiled bathroom floors, an outdoor pool, valet parking, concierge service and 24/7 security guard, and has condos that can be sold for up to $ 4.8 million.
And, in the past two weeks, approximately 60 residents have been vaccinated against the virus, the Daily Beast reported.
In Harris County, where Houston is located, there are more than 237,000 confirmed cases, one-sixth of all infections in the state.
But thousands of high-risk health workers struggle to get their vaccines because hospitals quickly run out of supplies.
About 60 residents of Montebello luxury apartment complex (pictured) in Houston’s upper town received COVID-19 vaccines
Montebello’s general manager said the state has approved the vaccines and the building is working with a distributor. Pictured: an interior of one of the Montebello apartments for sale
However, a Houston Health Department spokesperson said he is not aware of any arrangement with the tall building. Pictured: The outdoor pool available to all residents
Meanwhile, health workers are struggling to get their vaccines as hospitals quickly run out of supplies. Pictured: A health professional receives the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at United Memorial Medical Center in Houston, Texas, Dec. 21
“The state of Texas has approved it,” Daniel Hancock, general manager of the Montebello, told the Daily Beast.
“We’re working with a distributor … It’s a blessing that we’ve been able to get it.”
Hancock has not named the distributor, and the Montebello is not on a Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) list of providers who have been assigned COVID-19 vaccines.
However, he told the publication that the building could receive doses of the shot because of the elderly population, although it is unclear how many elderly people live in the building.
One of the residents to be vaccinated, 68-year-old David Fink, told the Daily Beast that this is not the only health care he receives through the building.
He also gets his annual flu shot by being a resident of Montebello.
In Harris County, where Houston is located, there are more than 237,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, one-sixth of all infections in the state (above)
“It was all upboard,” he said.
Both Hancock and Fink told the Daily Beast that other Houston apartment buildings have made similar arrangements to get their residents a dose of the coronavirus shot.
Neither the Texas DSHS nor the Houston Health Department (HHD) responded to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.
However, a spokesperson for the HHD told the Daily Beast that he was not aware of any arrangement with the high-rise.
“All distributors must register through the state health service,” said Porfirio Villareal.
‘The apartment complex is not a recognized provider. If a location has not been approved, is not listed and is receiving loads of the vaccine, our recommendation is not to go to that location. ‘
The Texas DSHS list only lists hospitals, medical centers, pharmacies, and residential centers as recipients.
However, only 40 percent – 340,000 – of the 786,000 doses distributed across the state have been administered.
In Harris County, where Houston is located, only about 52,000 of 150,500 doses have been administered.
Many say they have struggled to find a supplier to get the vaccine, despite the DSHS recommending that Texans call and ask for an injection.
“I haven’t been able to find anyone who has the vaccine,” Michael Calder, an Allen resident who falls under the state criteria, told CBS DFW.
He called three sites, two of which told him they were out and one of which said only employees were vaccinated.
‘It is extremely important. I don’t want to get sick, ”he said.
“I don’t want to be the last to get sick and die while a vaccine is already being distributed.”
This has led to Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner authorizing HHD to open the city’s first free vaccination clinic on Jan. 2 for people at high risk of serious illness and death.