The day after Brazos County’s vaccination hub accepts this week’s appointments for anyone 18 and older, coordinator Jim Stewart gets no opposition from county commissioners to continue the lower age threshold.
Stewart also announced upcoming vaccinations for those living in Benchley the Saturday after Easter, and on dates to be determined in the Carver-Kemp and Santa Teresa neighborhoods in Bryan.
Commissioner Nancy Berry asked Stewart to hold those vaccinations in the evenings and weekends, outside of regular business hours.
Stewart estimated the Brazos Center vaccination hub has delivered more than 35,000 first doses and around 15,000 second doses.
After Stewart’s appearance, the state announces all adults will be eligible for pandemic appointments starting next Monday.
The state also directed vaccine providers to move those who are 80 and older to the front of the line, regardless of whether they have made an appointment.
Click below for comments from Jim Stewart and Nancy Berry during the March 23, 2021 Brazos County commission meeting.
Listen to “Brazos County commissioners receive vaccination hub update, March 23 2021” on Spreaker.
News release from the Texas department of state health services:
All adults will be eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in Texas beginning Monday, March 29. The Texas Department of State Health Services expects vaccine supplies to increase next week, and providers in multiple parts of the state have made great strides in vaccinating people in the current priority groups. The state’s Expert Vaccine Allocation Panel recommended opening vaccination to everyone who falls under the current Food and Drug Administration emergency use authorizations to protect as many Texans as possible.
“We are closing in on 10 million doses administered in Texas, and we want to keep up the momentum as the vaccine supply increases,” said Imelda Garcia, DSHS associate commissioner for laboratory and infectious disease services and the chair of the Expert Vaccine Allocation Panel. “As eligibility opens up, we are asking providers to continue to prioritize people who are the most at risk of severe disease, hospitalization and death – such as older adults.”
DSHS has directed vaccine providers to prioritize people 80 years old or older when scheduling appointments and accommodate anyone in that age group who presents for vaccination, whether or not they have an appointment, by immediately moving them to the front of the line. That will ensure vaccination of anyone 80 or older with as small a burden on themselves as possible.
Also next week, DSHS will launch a website to allow people to register for a shot through some public health providers. The public will be able to enroll in the Texas Public Health Vaccine Scheduler to identify upcoming vaccine clinics hosted by DSHS or a participating local health department and be notified when new clinics and appointments become available. People can continue to find additional providers though the DSHS Vaccine Information page at dshs.texas.gov/covidvaccine.
Online registration will be the best option for most people. For those for whom that is not an option, DSHS will launch a toll-free number to provide assistance making an appointment with a participating provider or locating another provider that has vaccine available.
To date, Texas has administered more than 9.3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, equating to more than 6 million people with at least one dose and more than 3 million fully vaccinated. Most vaccines are authorized for people 18 years old and older; the FDA has authorized the Pfizer vaccine for use in people 16 and older.