TEXAS — A New York nurse Monday morning became the first person to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, and that long-awaited vaccine has started to arrive in Texas.
According to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Texas is to receive 1.4 million initial doses of the vaccine, and those doses will go to 109 hospitals in 34 counties.
The Week 1 allocation list is as follows:
The vaccine can’t come soon enough. On Sunday, the Texas Department of State Health Services reported 6,479 confirmed new cases of COVID-19, 1,671 probable cases, and 111 new fatalities.
Parts of Texas are running out of available hospital beds. The border city of Laredo, for instance, is reporting hospital bed availability in the double digits. Statewide, there are 9,230 patients being treated for COVID-19 in hospitals. There are a reported 11,168 hospital beds available and 699 available ICU beds. Texas has 7,309 ventilators available.
Among the first recipients in Texas was the Methodist Health System. The first doses will immediately go to the more than 5,000 frontline health care workers employed in the system.
“Methodist Health System has been preparing for weeks to be in a position to receive and administer this vaccine as soon as possible,” says Jon Albrecht, RPh, MHA, BCNSP, FASHP, Vice President, Chief Pharmacy Officer. “That includes ensuring we have an ultra-cold, negative 70 degree freezer to safely store and protect at least 10,000 doses at a time, as well as a tiered plan to meet federal and state guidelines for vaccinating our employees as well as medical staff.”
The moment UPS delivered 5,850 doses of the vaccine to @methodistdallas⬇️
— Stacy Rickard - Spectrum News 1 (@stacyrickardTV) December 14, 2020
The 1st groups to receive a dose at Methodist work directly w/ patients diagnosed with/at high risk for COVID: frontline staff, ancillary staff/techs, food/environmental services workers@SpectrumNews1TX pic.twitter.com/7bwB9xAJfg
The vaccine will be more widely available in Texas in the coming weeks but, depending on factors including your occupation, age, and health status, it could be several months before you can get vaccinated.
To get a rough idea of where you are in line to receive the vaccine, an online tool has been developed by the New York Times, working with Ariande Labs and the Surgo Foundation.