Eligibility for the Texas coronavirus vaccine is extended to those 50 years of age or older

by

Need to keep up to date with what’s new for coronavirus in Texas? Our evening summary will help you keep up to date with the latest updates of the day. Sign up here.

Jeans 50 years and older will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine starting March 15, state health officials announced Wednesday.

“The expansion at the age of 50 to 64 will continue with the state’s priorities of protecting people at greatest risk of serious outcomes and preserving the state’s health care system,” said Imelda Garcia, associate commissioner of the State Department of Health Services for Laboratory Services and Infectious Diseases of the Expert Vaccine Allocation Panel.

The move to expand eligibility to a new category of jeans (labeled 1C) means vaccine availability is increasing statewide. However, appointments may still be difficult to find, as the number of eligible recipients exceeds the supply of vaccines. Prior to Wednesday’s announcement, between 10 and 13 million people (more than a third of Texas ’population) were already eligible, according to state health officials.

Previously, vaccine doses were limited to front-line health care workers, residents, and long-term care personnel, people 65 years of age or older, or at least 16 years of age with a qualified health condition. Last week, teachers and child care workers were also eligible, after the administration of President Joe Biden ordered states to prioritize school employees.

To date, nearly 7 million doses of the vaccine have been administered across Texas and more than 4.5 million people have received at least one dose, according to state data. In all, about 8.5% of the Texas population has been completely vaccinated.

In recent weeks, service workers, including grocery and restaurant staff, have advocated for her to be included in the next round of eligibility after spending nearly a year on the front line of the pandemic.

The announcement comes on the same day that the state mask mandate ends, further fueling fears of the virus spreading among those in the industry. On Monday, service workers gathered in front of the Texas Capitol to protest the decision to lift security restrictions and demand that they be given access to the vaccine.

Federal recommendations suggest that all essential workers not included in Phases 1A and 1B be included in this next phase, although Texas has previously deviated from this advice.

Frequently asked questions about vaccines

  • Who is eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine in Texas?

    Texas currently provides vaccines to front-line health care workers, residents and staff in long-term care facilities, jeans over the age of 65, and people with a health status that meets the requirements. have a certain age, depending on the vaccine they have. achieve. You can find a list of these conditions here. From March 15, jeans 50 years and older can be eligible for vaccines.

  • Where can I get COVID-19 vaccine?

    Check with your local health care provider or the public health department. The vaccine will be available at more than 80 vaccination centers across the state and some pharmacies, clinics and hospitals. Most providers also require jeans to register for appointments to get the vaccine to minimize traffic flow. The state has a map of providers that offer the vaccine here.

  • I have called all the vendors in my area and I can’t find a vaccine. What does it give?

    We’ve heard a lot of jeans that have had this experience. There are simply much more eligible jeans who want vaccine doses at this time than there are no doses available. It will be months before the vaccine is widely available to everyone. Until then, it’s best to keep consulting with providers, wait until you’re ineligible, and continue to wear a mask when you go out in public and practice social distancing.

  • Is the COVID-19 vaccine safe?

    Yes. While some Texans have expressed hesitation toward the vaccine, health experts and public officials broadly agree that the vaccine is safe. Pfizer and Moderna reported that their vaccines are 95% and 94% effective, respectively, in protecting people from serious illness, and while no vaccine has any side effects, clinical trials for both Pfizer and Moderna show that severe reactions are rare.

  • Do I need to get the vaccine if I already had the virus?

    The short answer is yes. Health experts still don’t know how long natural immunity lasts after someone gets COVID-19, but tests suggest it doesn’t last long.

  • Learn more about vaccines

Texas is still far from herd immunity: the level at which a sufficient proportion of the population is immune to COVID-19 to stop its spread. Experts estimate that between 70% and 80% of jeans will need to be vaccinated to exceed this threshold. This equates to almost 100% of the state’s adults.

The announcement of the extended admission of the vaccine comes on the same day that the state mask mandate ends. The mandate was first implemented by Governor Greg Abbott last July. On Monday, service workers gathered in front of the Texas Capitol to protest the decision to lift security restrictions and demand that they be given access to the vaccine.

Abbott announced the vaccine announcement during a press conference last week, when he announced that he was canceling the mask’s mandate and allowing all businesses — including restaurants, bars, retail stores and sports stadiums. – work at 100% capacity. Abbott cited a number of key COVID-19 metrics, including declining new hospitalizations and the statewide positivity rate, as proof that Texas is “in a much better position now.”

In the nearly three months since Texas received the first shipments of the COVID-19 vaccine, supply has steadily increased. There are now three vaccines approved in the United States: Modern and Pfizer-BioNTech, which require two doses, and Johnson & Johnson, which requires one dose.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency and state emergency management officials have also begun administering mass vaccination sites targeted at underserved communities in Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth. Venues are NRG Stadium in Houston, AT&T Stadium in Arlington and Fair Park in Dallas.

He still cares about equitable access to the vaccine. State Sen. Borris Miles of D-Houston expressed frustration Wednesday with the low vaccination rate among communities of color in which the pandemic has had a disproportionate weight.

“I feel a little bit that broke my heart and broke my promise,” Miles told Garcia, president of EVAP, during a meeting of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.

The growing number of vaccinated jeans has meant, for some, a return to a certain appearance of normalcy. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Monday that fully vaccinated people can safely visit other vaccinated people and small groups of unvaccinated people. But the CDC warned that COVID-19 still poses a serious public health risk and urged everyone, including vaccinated people, to continue wearing masks and maintain physical distance in public.

State health officials estimate the vaccine will be available to the general public this spring. Biden earlier this month said the United States would have enough supply of the COVID-19 vaccine for all adults by the end of May.

.Source