On Monday, the state identified who is eligible for the next group, called Group 1B.
Group 1B includes people over the age of 65 and people over the age of 16 with chronic medical conditions that include:
RELATED: Texas will prioritize 65-year-olds and older for the next round of vaccinations
When can people who meet the requirements for group 1B expect to receive the vaccine?
According to DSHS, there are eight million people in Texas who are eligible for group 1B, although some of them are also eligible to be vaccinated as part of group 1A as health workers or care residents in long term. Bill McKeon, the CEO and president of Texas Medical Center, says it all depends on how much vaccine they get. Right now, local health leaders are hoping to get more guidance from the state, but as soon as enough vaccine is available, they anticipate that 1B vaccines will begin.
“Any entity I know (who) has a vaccine, if it gets to the point where people in phase 1A stop showing up to get vaccinated, they won’t feel like the vaccine. They’ll probably go to 1B, and I applaud them for having “I did,” Dr. David Persse told the Houston Health Authority.
Where will people go to get the vaccine?
There are several entities that have signed up to be COVID-19 vaccine suppliers in Texas. The hope is that many people will go to their doctor’s office to get vaccinated, but if you don’t have a primary care doctor, there are other avenues in operation.
Dr. Persse says they will need to have a network outside of hospitals to ensure vaccination of people in group 1B.
“In a perfect world, everyone on this list would have a primary care doctor who would be able to contact them and coordinate with them to get vaccinated. We still hope this happens to a great extent, but we also know that there are people who will meet these qualifications who do not necessarily have a primary care doctor. So we still have to figure out how to get them, advertise, communicate, educate them why they should be vaccinated. ” said Dr. Persian.
If you do not have a primary care physician, will you have to prove that you belong to any of the 1B categories?
“Will there be a check and balance to make sure you really have the disease you’re claiming? I don’t really know how we’re going to be able to do that, so there’s a lot of conversation now,” Dr. Persse.
Why did the Texas Vaccine Allocation Panel select those 65 years of age or older and 16 years of age and older with certain medical conditions to be the next vaccinated group?
DSHS said the state prioritizes people at highest risk for serious illness and deaths from COVID-19. More than 70 percent of COVID-19 deaths in the state have occurred in people age 65 or older.
When can the general population expect the vaccine?
Probably in April or May.
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