Hospitals and other institutions that have received COVID-19 vaccines are reminded to administer their entire assignment at “all willful speed,” said a letter from the Texas Department of State Health Services.
The letter from Texas DSHS Commissioner Dr. John Hellerstedt noted that there may be “unnecessary delays” in administering all assigned vaccines and reporting those administered doses to the state’s immunization registry, ImmTrac2.
“The purpose of this letter is to reiterate that we are directing all entities that have received a vaccine to administer their entire lot with all willful speed. Keep in mind that more vaccine will be administered in the coming days, weeks and months. The time to vaccinate willing individuals is now, ”Hellerstedt wrote.
“Based on data reported to ImmTrac2, it has become clear that a significant portion of the vaccine may not be administered in Texas yet. We know you have valid reasons why this has happened in some cases, but we also know that every day a vaccine is on the shelf is another day prolonging the pandemic hampering our state’s economy and way of life, ” he added. .
The letter further called for timeliness and a sense of urgency, especially as it pertains to those who are willing to receive the vaccine and are currently qualified to do so. In Texas, people who are in Phase 1A and Phase 1B are among those who will receive the first.
Phase 1A involves health professionals and first responders, while Phase 1B involves people aged 65 and over. Stage 1B also includes people 16 years of age and older with at least one chronic medical condition that puts them at increased risk of serious illness from the virus that causes COVID-19.
“There is no need to make sure that all of your 1A group has been vaccinated before starting 1B vaccinations. If, in any given situation, all readily available and willing 1A and 1B persons have been served, we recommend that you turn again and provide vaccine to any additional available and willing persons, regardless of their priority designation. Every shot matters, ”Hellerstedt wrote.
At Wise Health System in Decatur, the hospital reported that all 1,165 doses were administered within six days.
“We didn’t expect to go into this process to provide the vaccine to as many emergency response groups or even the public as possible, but with extra doses in the vials we could help protect our community beyond the walls of our hospital,” An update on Read Facebook. “We know that the 65+ clinic was not as smooth as we would have liked. The decision was made to provide the vaccine to this critical age group on Tuesday morning and it was implemented in less than 24 hours. “
According to Wise Health System, they are the only rural hospital in Texas to date to receive the vaccine.
“We are grateful for this opportunity and hope that we will receive more doses in the future. And hopefully we have more time to plan and we can have a bigger space to run the clinic. We will continue to communicate via Facebook if / when more vaccines are received, ”the Facebook post said.
Dr. Meenakshi Ramanathan, an assistant professor of pharmacotherapy at the University of North Texas Health Science in Fort Worth, said the data from both Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccines look promising. However, it will take time and cooperation to see its effectiveness.
Ramanathan noted the medical victories that the pandemic will bring along with challenges such as virtual learning.
“Students struggle with distance learning, be it your undergraduates or elementary K-12 students,” Ramanathan said. “In order for us to be personal again and have herd immunity with the vaccine, about 70% of people need to get the vaccine.”
Hellerstedt’s letter went on to say that entities understand their own individual situations best, so DSHS is asking you to “take the initiative and aggressively continue to administer all the vaccine doses you have received.”
Hellerstedt added that they want every dose delivered and more is on the way.
Click here for more information on the Texas vaccine distribution plan.
A copy of Hellerstedt’s letter is below:
