A coronavirus vaccine is coming soon. Here’s how Tarrant County plans to get it to you
Tarrant County public health officials are preparing for the distribution of coronavirus vaccines.
The health department has been holding calls with Texas health officials and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but there is no official word when the vaccine will arrive, said Vinny Taneja, the county’s public health director.
The first vaccinations will go to first-responders and high-risk groups. It might not be until 2021 when vaccines are available for the general public, but Taneja said the vaccine will be available at pharmacies when it is released to the general public.
Taneja said the county is partnering with the John Peter Smith Hospital Network and other health care facilities to ensure it has ample space and resources to get vaccinations to people.
The state will allocate vaccinations based on protecting essential workers, health care workers and vulnerable populations such as the elderly, according to a plan outlined by Gov. Greg Abbott.
Officials are expecting a plethora of vaccinations, so a floor in one of the county’s buildings is being redone as a storage room with five freezers and five refrigerators. The freezers, which can reach minus-86 degrees, can store about 20,000 multi-vial doses. A refrigerator can hold 65,000, according to Erin Beasley, the county’s immunization outreach supervisor.
Drugmakers Pfizer and Moderna have promising vaccine candidates. Both require two doses. Pfizer’s booster shot will be given three weeks after the first one; Moderna’s is spaced four weeks later.
But storage is only one of the challenges the county will face. Officials need a way to distribute the vaccine. Taneja said the county is testing its distribution plan by administering 17,000 flu vaccines at mobile clinics.
In total, the county has five trailer clinics ready once the vaccine is available. Beasley estimates they could servie about 3,000 in eight hours.
Beasley said the county could also use the current COVID-19 testing sites as vaccine locations. The county has 16 coronavirus testing sites listed on its website.
It would be easy to transition or add vaccination lines to these testing sites, she said.
“We’ll be using everything to our advantage,” she said. “We’re not limiting anything.”
The Public Health Department is also looking to acquire software that will keep track of who has the shot and who needs to come back for a second dose. They can’t make people take a shot, but they can keep them informed, she said.
Texas is to be a part of a Pfizer pilot program to test distribution of its COVID-19 vaccine. Pfizer expects it will be able to produce 50 million COVID-19 vaccine doses this year and 1.3 billion in 2021.
Texas will not receive the vaccine earlier, but Pfizer will help with the state’s planning, deployment and administration of the vaccine.
This story was originally published November 30, 2020 at 1:29 PM.
