Texas receives 200,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine, mostly for “vaccination centers”

Texas will get about 200,000 more doses of the COVID-19 vaccine next week, most for large “vaccination centers” capable of vaccinating up to 100,000 people, which will help streamline distribution as the number grows. eligible jeans, state officials said Thursday.

“These vaccination centers will provide people in priority populations with identifiable locations where vaccination occurs and an easier way to register for an appointment with each provider,” the State Department of Health Services said. of Texas in a written statement.

Officials warned that even after the next shipment, the state’s total endowment will rise to 1.7 million by mid-December, the state is still a long way from what it needs to vaccinate the millions of eligible jeans. currently for the vaccine and that it will “take time” for supply to catch up with demand.

By the end of Wednesday, nearly 1.4 million doses had been shipped, according to state figures. The state does not publicly report how many doses suppliers have received. At least 475,000 Texans have received the first dose of the vaccine and more than 6,500 have been fully inoculated with the two required doses, according to state data, although those figures lag behind in real time due to reports of delays.

The list of major suppliers identified as hubs will be released later this week, the agency said.

Most of next week’s allocation will go to them, but shipments will also go to some smaller vendors, according to the agency.

Larger centers will need to set up phone numbers and registration websites and focus their efforts on the hardest-hit populations in their surrounding areas, the agency said. It will be aimed at continuing to vaccinate health workers, people over the age of 65 and people with medical conditions that increase their risk.

The news comes as statewide eligible jeans seek answers and access to the vaccine after state officials announced in late December that hospitals should begin vaccinating seniors and those with underlying conditions, a group known as 1B , that not the first round of shots reserved for health workers and residents of long-term residences and care centers, a group known as 1A, if the people of 1A who want the dam are finished.

Group 1A includes approximately 1.9 million people in Texas. Group 1B has about 8 million people, although state officials said an undetermined number of people belonged to both groups.