Now, according to the Texas State Department of Health Services, teachers, school staff and child care staff can receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Texas.
Texas DSHS said Wednesday it notified all vaccine providers that they should immediately include school employees and child care workers in their vaccine administration.
The state’s decision comes after DSHS received a letter from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services directing states to expand eligibility to include people working in school and child care operations, including teachers and school staff.
The federal directive defined eligible people as “those who work in preschool, elementary, and high school, as well as the Head Start and Early Head Start programs (including teachers, staff, and bus drivers) and those who work as or for authorized licensed care providers, including center-based and family-based care providers. ”
This action does not change the other priority groups for vaccination in Texas.
The DSHS stated that vaccine providers are encouraged to continue their efforts to vaccinate older adults, as the burden of COVID-19 falls more severely on people 65 years of age or older.
Want to get a waiting list for vaccines?
When the state begins distributing COVID-19 vaccines to people in Phase 1A and 1B, county health departments have begun waiting lists for those who wish to be inoculated.
You can now register to get vaccinated in Collin, Dallas, Denton and Tarrant counties. The links are below:
Waiting list links: Collin – Search the waiting list | Dallas | Denton | Tarrant
You do not need to be a county resident to register for a COVID-19 vaccine in that county; registration is open to anyone in Texas. For those without Internet access, Tarrant County is also registering by phone at 817-248-6299. In Dallas County, call the DCHHS Vaccine Hotline at 1-855-IMMUNE9 (1-855-466-8639). In Denton County, call 940-349-2585.
Currently, the vaccine is only given to those who are part of Phases 1A and 1B, as indicated by the Texas State Department of Health Services. Those in phase 1A are front-line health workers or residents in long-term care centers. Phase 1B includes those over the age of 65 or those over the age of 16 with a chronic illness that puts them at risk for serious illness.
On March 3, the availability of vaccines was expanded to include school and child care workers.
Once vaccinated, people are expected to get some level of protection within a couple of weeks after the first shot, but full protection may not happen until a couple of weeks after the second shot. Even when fully vaccinated, it is still possible to become infected with the virus, as the vaccine does not offer 100% protection.
The Texas DSHS reports that the vaccine will not be readily available to the general public until late spring or early summer 2021.