About 10% of rural hospitals in Texas have yet to receive a single dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, according to a group representing rural hospitals in the state.
Of the 16 hospitals that did not receive a vaccine shipment, 15 sought doses from nearby suppliers or pharmacies to vaccinate their employees, said Don McBeath, director of government relations for the Texas Rural and Community Hospitals Organization (TORCH).
“There was a very high level of frustration for several weeks with many of the rural hospitals in Texas, because they were watching the state move to the general public category, administering vaccines, but we had so many rural hospitals that we were not even able to receive any for your frontline employees, “said McBeath.
Last week, 25 of the state’s 157 rural hospitals had yet to receive a vaccine shipment, according to McBeath. On Sunday, a state update on vaccine allocations revealed that 16 rural hospitals were not yet on the distribution list, including the Golden Planes Community Hospital.
“We didn’t get a single dose,” said Don Bates, CEO of Golden Planes. Some of his employees received a vaccine from the local United supermarket, which had some extra doses to share.
McBeath said the Covid-19 outbreaks seen in Texas and across the country are “just as bad or worse” in rural areas, where small hospitals cannot afford to have staff down because there are so many patients who need care.
If some of these hospitals have sick or quarantined employees due to exposure to Covid-19, “you don’t even have enough employees to operate a 24-hour operation,” he said.
“That is why we are pleading with the state, repeatedly, to make rural hospitals a priority – to find a way to make this work,” he added.
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Hospitals must have an application approved by the Texas Department of Health Services before they can receive and administer vaccines.
“There are still some hospitals working to complete their enrollment as a vaccine supplier. We have been working diligently with TORCH and the facilities directly to help them complete this process so they can receive the vaccine,” said Chris Van Deusen, director of relations with the media from the Texas State Department of Health Services, told CNN. “Rural hospitals play an important role in providing care in their communities, and we will distribute the vaccine to them when they enroll.”
Some hospital CEOs say the application process is not that simple.
Bates said he tried to send the request to the hospital at least a dozen times. “When you are at the computer with an application and they request another review, it leads to a waiting cycle of another 14 business days,” he said.
Bates compared this to calling the fire department when your house is on fire and having them respond, “Well, how many buckets of water do you need?”
He said his request was approved last week, but the hospital was not informed of how many doses he will receive and when.
“If we’re approved, send me a vaccine,” said Bates. “Let me get shot at the guns.”
Nathan Staggs, CEO of Anson General Hospital, another hospital waiting for vaccines, said his application was approved on Wednesday. He said that almost half of his team recently had coronavirus and some others received doses at local pharmacies.
“There was a lot of frustration for my team – ‘Why can I go to a pharmacy at the supermarket in Abilene and get a vaccine, but I can’t get it at work?’” Said Staggs.
Expanding access to vaccines
Across the country, the launch of the coronavirus vaccine has been slower than federal authorities initially projected. Just over 10 million people received their first coronavirus injections and 29.3 million doses of the vaccine were distributed, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday. At the request of federal officials, many states are opening vaccines for additional priority groups.
The Texas Department of Health Services said in a statement on its website that during the week of January 11, Texas will direct the majority of Covid-19 vaccines received to major sites or centers in the state to vaccinate more than 100,000 people.
Bates said these main centers could be hours away for people living in rural communities. As vaccines become available to the general population, he said his employees are still waiting for their turn.
“What does that mean for us? Are we still waiting?” he said.
Texas, like other states, is working to speed up vaccine administration. The health department is regularly communicating with hospital heads.
Bates said the state’s message was clear: “Get more gun shots.”
“Well, send me vaccines and I will do that,” he said.