Texas expands COVID vaccine distribution, focuses on those 75 and older
Texas plans to allocate COVID-19 vaccines to a broader group of providers to focus on getting shots to those 75 and older, according to an official with the Texas Department of State Health Services.
The state expects about 400,000 doses for distribution among more than 350 providers in the coming week, said Imelda Garcia, the associate commissioner for laboratory and infectious disease services for the Texas Department of State Health Services.
“In line with the recommendation from our Expert Vaccine Allocation Panel, we want to put an emphasis on vaccinating people who are at least 75 years, since they are at the greatest risk for severe disease and death,” said Garcia, who serves as the panel’s chairwoman.
Most hubs have taken steps to serve older adults, but hub providers recently discussed setting aside doses for seniors, serving them during special hours, creating a fast track lane to reduce time spent waiting in line or taking vaccines directly to them through EMS providers or partnerships with organizations like Meals on Wheels, Garcia said.
Texas has administered more than 2.75 million doses of coronavirus vaccine. More than 2.1 million people have received at least one of the two required shots, and roughly 620,000 are fully vaccinated, Garcia said. About 913,500 people 65 and older have received at least one dose.
More doses are expected to come to Texas through the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program, though how many doses has not been announced, Garcia said.
Vaccine increases for suburban counties
Some suburban communities had been receiving allocations “significantly lower than their share of the population,” Garcia said. The state sent extra doses to some of the suburban counties to help them catch up to others in the state after receiving an increased number of doses for the week of Jan. 31. This included Denton County where a mega-site was opened at Texas Motor Speedway with a goal of vaccinating 10,000 people a day.
“Now, moving forward, those allocations should level out across the board,” Garcia said.
Mobile vaccination teams aimed at getting shots to rural communities are being deployed to Motley, Glasscock, Kenedy, Terrell and McMullen counties, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Thursday. The teams were previously sent to DeWitt, Marion, Real, Sherman and Starr counties, where more than 550 people were vaccinated.
Garcia also addressed the U.K. coronavirus variant that’s now being seen in some Texas communities. Denton County on Wednesday announced its first known case of the variant, which was detected in an individual with no recent travel history living in an unincorporated area of northeast Denton County.
Surveillance for new COVID strains
Surveillance is being conducted to identify new strains in the state, Garcia said. She said public health labs in Austin and Houston are actively conducting sequencing to look for new strains. Samples can also be sent to the CDC for sequencing. Thus far only the U.K. variant has been detected.
“Our strategy for vaccination will continue,” Garcia said. “We need to keep vaccinating as many people as possible, just to get closer to that herd immunity.”