Texas Gets 200,000 COVID-19 Vaccine Doses, Mostly To ‘Vaccine Centers’

Texas will receive approximately 200,000 additional doses of the COVID-19 vaccine next week, most of which are destined for large “vaccination centers” capable of vaccinating up to 100,000 people – helping streamline distribution as the number of eligible Texans increases, state officials said Thursday .

“These vaccination centers will provide people in those priority populations with identifiable locations where vaccination will take place and an easier way to sign up for an appointment with any healthcare provider,” the Texas Department of State Health Services said in a written statement.

Officials warned that even after the next shipment brings the state’s total allocation to 1.7 million since mid-December, the state still has nowhere near enough to vaccinate the millions of Texans currently eligible for the vaccine and that “it is time. will cost “for supply to catch up with demand.

According to state figures, nearly 1.4 million doses had been shipped by Wednesday’s end. The state does not publicly report how many doses suppliers have received. At least 475,000 Texans have received the first dose of the vaccine and more than 6,500 have been fully vaccinated with the required two doses, according to the state’s data, although those numbers are lagging in real time due to reporting delays.

A list of the major carriers identified as hubs will be released later this week, the agency said.

Most of next week’s allocation will go to them, but shipments will also go to a number of smaller providers, the agency said.

The larger hubs will be needed to set up registration phone numbers and websites and to focus their efforts on the hard-hit populations in their surrounding areas, the agency said. They will be instructed to continue to vaccinate health professionals, people 65 and older, and those with medical conditions that increase their risk.

The news comes as eligible Texans across the state rush to get answers and access to the vaccine after state officials announced in late December that hospitals should begin vaccinating the elderly and those with underlying conditions, a group known as 1B, who did not qualify for the first round of admissions reserved for health professionals and residents of nursing homes and long-term care facilities, a group known as 1A, if there are no 1A people who want the admission.

The 1A group includes an estimated 1.9 million people in Texas. The 1B group has an estimated 8 million people, although state officials said an undetermined number of people fall under both groups.