Registrations to receive the COVID-19 vaccination closed about five hours after opening on Wednesday, when all available doses were allocated.
Hopefully, about 450 residents will receive the first of two injections on Monday, according to Denton County Public Health spokeswoman Jennifer Rainey.
“Demand will obviously exceed the amount of available supply,” she said.
The Texas Phase 1B group of people eligible for vaccination includes people over 65 and people over 16 who are pregnant or have one or more chronic illnesses.
Rainey said that most of the people registered on Wednesday were in group 1B, but that does not mean that all those in 1A were vaccinated. She said the state leadership instructed them not to prioritize one group over the other.
She said that DCPH was aware that there were still health professionals in the county who had not yet been vaccinated.
Rainey said the county health department had seven people answering the phone to accept registrations on Wednesday, with space for an additional 30 people to wait.
“We all registered for the vaccine that we have available,” she said on Thursday afternoon. “At the moment, we are not making a waiting list.”
Denton County Commissioners should consider allocating funds for the purchase of a vaccine management system during a Friday morning meeting.
The system is the result of a partnership between Microsoft and Mazik Global. It would cost $ 271,000 in the first year of operation and $ 186,000 in each subsequent year, according to the agenda item for county commissioners.
Rainey said county officials hope the system will allow the county to put residents on a vaccine waiting list.
It would also allow them to notify people via text message and / or email when they can vaccinate and would automatically remind them to schedule an appointment to receive their second dose of the vaccine.
The meeting will begin at 11 am on Friday. Those wishing to follow up can do so online by visiting dentoncounty.gov/remote or by calling 346-248-7799 or toll-free 1-888-475-4499 (for the meeting ID, press 764 412 814 #) .
Rainey said that the DCPH recommends that people “check with their local doctor or pharmacy as well, to determine when they will start vaccinating their customers.”
Contacted by phone on Thursday, Rainey said the county has no further warning than the general public about the vaccine’s spreading schemes.
The Texas Department of Health Services updated the distribution schedules for the following week every Friday, but it was unclear on Thursday whether and how New Year’s Day could affect this disclosure.
MARSHALL REID can be found at 940-566-6862 and via Twitter at @MarshallKReid.