In Williamson County, Texas, officials obtained 900 doses of the Modern First Aid vaccine on Wednesday, but decided to shut down for Christmas without administering them, the Texas Tribune reported.
Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell on Friday criticized county public health officials, saying they should have administered hundreds of vaccines immediately instead of closing them on Friday, the media said.
The vaccine lot was intended for firefighters, mortuary or death services, and school nurses.
County officials were scheduled to begin administering the vaccines Saturday morning. They tried to say the vaccines arrived earlier than expected and worried there would be confusion if they were administered immediately.
“My answer is simple: hogwash,” Gravell told KXAN on Friday. “The Cedar Park Regional Medical Center is ready to launch the vaccine in an hour. St. David’s was ready to launch it in an hour. “
“We’re sitting on something that could have been a Christmas miracle.”
Williamson County recorded its 200th coronavirus-related death on December 24th.