New COVID-19 vaccine shipment heads to Texas
The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) is now two months into distributing the COVID-19 vaccine, and each week the state receives more doses.
Demand still far outpaces supply in a state with a population of 30 million people.
Two weeks ago, state officials pivoted to a hub model for mass vaccine distribution.
On Tuesday, Jan. 19, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott highlighted the positive aspects of the vaccine rollout so far in a roundtable discussion at Houston Methodist Hospital. He said about 1.7 million doses have so far been shipped to Texas providers. And of those shipped doses, more than 1.3 million doses have so far been given to Texans.
In the week of Jan. 25, Texas will receive 332,750 first doses of COVID-19 vaccine from the federal government, according to DSHS. The CDC will ship those doses to 212 providers across Texas. That includes 82 hub providers that will focus on larger community vaccination efforts and 130 additional providers as Texas continues to vaccinate health care workers, residents of long-term care facilities, people 65 and older, and those who are 16 and older with medical conditions that put them at greater risk of hospitalization and death from COVID-19.
In addition to the first doses, the state is ordering 216,350 doses intended as the second dose for people first vaccinated a few weeks ago. DSHS automatically allocates second doses to providers based on the number of first doses they received, so people should be able to return to the same provider to receive their second dose. Providers usually contact people who've already received a first dose to schedule an appointment for a second dose.
For more on who qualifies to receive a COVID-19 vaccine currently, where the vaccine hubs in Texas are located or how to contact them, getting a second dose after you've gotten a first, and other places you might be able to register to get the vaccine, check out ABC13's answers to your latest COVID-19 questions.
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