Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to receive COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday
Gov. Greg Abbott will receive the COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday as distribution across the state ramps up.
Abbott’s office said the governor plans to get vaccinated Tuesday afternoon at the Ascension Senton Medical Center in Austin.
Abbott previously told reporters he would take the vaccine when appropriate.
“I wanted to make sure that the health care workers who have put their lives on the line on the front end will be the first to receive it, but yes, I will be receiving the vaccine at the appropriate time,” Abbott said at a Dec. 17 news conference, held outside a UPS distribution center in Austin.
Abbott’s office on Monday said the governor would get the Pfizer vaccine live on TV to bolster public trust in the vaccine. Spokesperson Renae Eze said Abbott is doing so at the recommendation of CDC Director Robert Redfield, HHS Secretary Alex Azar and Texas Department of State Health Services Commissioner Dr. John Hellerstedt.
“Increasingly, Texas residents and even some medical personnel have expressed apprehension about taking the vaccine, and the Governor will receive it on live TV to instill confidence in it,” Eze said in a statement. “The Governor would not ask any Texan to do something he would not do himself.”
In addition to front line health care workers, the state is prioritizing residents of long-term care facilities in its first round of distribution. There are 620,000 vaccine doses headed to Texas during the second week of vaccine distribution.
More than 27,500 doses are allocated to Tarrant County for week two of distribution — 24,600 doses of the Moderna vaccine and 2,925 of the Pfizer.
Next in line for the vaccine are people 65 and older and those with a chronic medical condition that puts them at increased risk for severe illness. This includes cancer, heart conditions, obesity, type two diabetes and pregnancy.
DSHS said it will likely be a few weeks before people in these groups start getting the vaccine. The timing depends on the amount of vaccine allocated to Texas and how many front-line health care workers and long-term care facility residents take it.
“This approach ensures that Texans at the most severe risk from COVID-19 can be protected across races and ethnicities and regardless of where they work,” said Imelda Garcia, the DSHS associate commissioner for laboratory and infectious disease services.
Garcia also serves as chair of the state’s Expert Vaccine Allocation Panel.
Abbott has predicted the vaccine could be widely available by March.
“We need to be patient,” Hellerstedt said at the Dec. 17 news conference. “It’s still going to be weeks, perhaps months before we get it absolutely available to anyone who chooses to have it.”
This story was originally published December 21, 2020 at 3:16 PM.
CORRECTION: Renae Eze is a spokesperson for Gov. Greg Abbott. The spelling of her name has been corrected.
