Texas governor to visit Arlington for tour of COVID-19 vaccination site
Gov. Greg Abbott will be in Arlington on Monday to tour a COVID-19 vaccination site as the state continues its distribution of shots across the state.
The visit comes as the Texas Department of State Health Services changes its strategy for vaccine allocation. The department on Thursday said it would allocate most of its vaccines for the coming week to large providers able to administer shots to more than 100,000 people.
Vaccines are being reserved for health care workers, people who are 65 and older and those with a medical condition that increases risk of severe disease or death.
“Next week, Texas will distribute a larger number of vaccines to a smaller number of providers across the state,” DSHS Commissioner John Hellerstedt said in a video shared by DSHS Friday. “The providers receiving a larger amount of vaccines have demonstrated their ability to quickly vaccinate people eligible to be vaccinated in phase 1A and 1B.”
The department said Thursday a full list of the “vaccination hubs” is forthcoming. The state is expecting to receive 200,000 doses of vaccine next week for large and small sites in the state. A spokesperson for DSHS confirmed that the Arlington site is one of the hubs.
Abbott will be joined by Hellerstedt, Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd, Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams, Tarrant County Judge B. Glen Whitley and Texas Health Resources CEO Barclay Berdan during his Monday visit to Esports Stadium Arlington.
“Each vaccination brings the end of the pandemic that much closer,” Hellerstedt said. “Once again, I ask for patience. Vaccine supplies are still limited. We must assess the situation day by day and week by week to identify the very best ways to get vaccines in willing arms.”
The state’s roll out of vaccine distribution has been marked by confusion over who can get the vaccine and how. In Tarrant County, eligible residents have seen long wait times to get vaccinated.
State Rep. Vikki Goodwin, D-Austin, in a letter Wednesday to Abbott and Hellerstedt, said her office has received calls from people unclear on how to get the shot and who’s eligible.
She and 30 other Democratic state representatives who signed the letter, including Rep. Chris Turner, D-Grand Prairie, asked the vaccine be prioritized for those who cannot work from home, such as teachers, grocery store employees and food service workers. She also asked for more communication with the Legislature and that the vaccine be made equally available to Texans, regardless of their race or ethnicity.
“The death of reliable public information leads to skepticism over the government’s ability to look out for public health,” the letter reads. “This sort of skepticism is not what any of us want.”
This story was originally published January 8, 2021 at 5:07 PM.
