In the first wave of the state, COVID-19 vaccines were administered to dozens of seniors who were on a high-rise luxury in Texas.
Located in downtown Houston, the Montebello condominium complex features marble tiled floors, an outdoor pool, valet parking, a 24-hour concierge and security service, and apartments that can be sold for up to 4 people. , $ 8 million.
And, in the last two weeks, roughly 60 residents have been immunized against the virus, the Daily Beast reported.
In Harris County, where Houston is located, there are more than 237,000 confirmed cases, one-sixth of all infections in the state.
But thousands of health workers at risk have been struggling to get their vaccines because hospitals are running out quickly.
Approximately 60 residents of the luxury Montebello condominium complex (pictured) in downtown Houston received COVID-19 vaccines
Montebello’s general manager said the state authorized the vaccines and the building is working with a distributor. Pictured: Interior of one of Montebello condominiums for sale
However, a Houston Department of Health spokesman said he knows of no agreement with the tall building. In the picture: the outdoor pool available to all residents
Meanwhile, health workers have been struggling to get their vaccines because hospitals were quickly running out of supply. Pictured: Healthcare worker receives Modern COVID-19 vaccine at United Memorial Medical Center in Houston, Texas, Dec. 21
“The state of Texas authorized it,” Montebello CEO Daniel Hancock told Daily Beast.
“We’re working with a distributor … It’s lucky we can get it.”
Hancock did not name the distributor and Montebello is not on the list of suppliers who have been assigned COVID-19 vaccines by the Texas State Department of Health Services (DSHS).
However, he told the publication that the building was able to get doses of the outbreak due to its elderly population, although it is unclear how many elderly people live in the building.
One of the residents to be inoculated, David Fink, 68, told the Daily Beast it was not the only health service he was receiving through the building.
He also receives the annual flu vaccine as a resident of Montebello.
In Harris County, where Houston is located, there are more than 237,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, one-sixth of all infections in the state (top)
“Everything was above the board,” he said.
Both Hancock and Fink told the Daily Beast that other apartment buildings in Houston have similar arrangements to get coronavirus doses to their residents.
Neither the Texas DSHS nor the Houston Department of Health (HHD) responded to the DailyMail.com comment request.
However, an HHD spokesman told the Daily Beast he was unaware of any agreement with the rise.
“All distributors must register through the state health department,” Porfirio Villareal said.
‘The apartment complex is not an authorized supplier. If a site is not approved, not listed, and does not receive vaccine submissions, our recommendation is not to go there. “
The Texas DSHS list only includes hospitals, medical centers, pharmacies, and residential centers as recipients.
However, only 40% (340,000) of the 786,000 doses distributed throughout the state have been administered.
In Harris County, where Houston is located, only about 52,000 of 150,500 doses have been administered.
Many say they have been struggling to find a provider to get the vaccine even though DSHS recommended that jeans call and order a vaccine.
“I couldn’t find anyone who got the vaccine,” Allen resident Michael Calder, who is under state criteria, told CBS DFW.
He called three places, two of which told him they had run out and one of which said only employees were vaccinated.
It is extremely important. I don’t want to get sick, ”he said.
“I don’t want to be the last person to get sick and die while a vaccine is already being distributed.”
This has prompted Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner to authorize HHD to open the city’s first free vaccination clinic on Jan. 2 for those at high risk of serious illness and death.