Dozens of seniors in a luxury building in Texas received COVID-19 vaccines in the state’s first wave.
The Montebello condo complex in uptown Houston has marble floors in the bathroom, outdoor pool, valet parking, concierge service and 24/7 security, and has condos that can be sold for up to US $ 4.8 million.
And in the past two weeks, approximately 60 residents were immunized against the virus, reported the Daily Beast.
In Harris County, where Houston is located, there are more than 237,000 confirmed cases, one-sixth of all infections in the state.
But thousands of health-care workers at risk have struggled to get their vaccines due to hospitals that quickly run out of supplies.
Approximately 60 residents of the upscale Montebello condo (pictured) in upper Houston received COVID-19 vaccines
The general manager of Montebello said that the state authorized the vaccines and that the building is working with a distributor. In the photo: interior of one of Montebello’s condominiums for sale
However, a Houston Department of Health spokesman said he was unaware of any agreement with the tall building. In the photo: the outdoor pool available to all residents
Meanwhile, health workers have been struggling to get their vaccines due to the rapid depletion of hospitals. Pictured: A healthcare professional receives the Modern COVID-19 vaccine at the United Memorial Medical Center in Houston, Texas, December 21
“The state of Texas has authorized it,” Daniel Hancock, general manager of Montebello, told the Daily Beast.
‘We are working with a distributor … It is a blessing that we have succeeded.’
Hancock did not name the distributor and Montebello is not on the Texas State Department of Health (DSHS) provider list to which the COVID-19 vaccines have been allocated.
However, he told the publication that the building was able to receive doses of the jab because of its elderly population, although it is unclear how many elderly people live in the building.
One of the residents to be vaccinated, David Fink, 68, told the Daily Beast that this is not the only health service he received through the building.
He also receives his annual flu vaccine for being a resident of Montebello.
In Harris County, where Houston is located, there are more than 237,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, one-sixth of all infections in the state (above)
“It was all honest,” he said.
Both Hancock and Fink told the Daily Beast that other apartment buildings in Houston have similar arrangements for receiving doses of the coronavirus vaccine for their residents.
Neither the Texas DSHS nor the Houston Health Department (HHD) responded to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.
However, an HHD spokesman told the Daily Beast that he was unaware of any deal with the building.
“All distributors have to register through the state health department,” said Porfirio Villareal.
‘The apartment complex is not an approved supplier. If a site is not approved, is not on the list and is receiving vaccine shipments, then our recommendation is not to go to that site. ‘
The Texas DSHS list lists only hospitals, medical centers, pharmacies and community centers as recipients.
However, only 40 percent – 340,000 – of the 786,000 doses distributed across the state have been administered.
In Harris County, where Houston is located, only about 52,000 of the 150,500 doses have been administered.
Many say they have struggled to find a supplier to receive the vaccine, despite the DSHS recommending that Texans call and ask for an injection.
“I couldn’t find anyone who actually had the vaccine,” Michael Calder, a resident of Allen, who meets the state’s criteria, told CBS DFW.
He called three locations, two of which told him they had run out and one said that only employees were being vaccinated.
‘It is extremely important. I don’t want to be sick, ‘he said.
“I don’t want to be the last person to get sick and die, while a vaccine is already being distributed.”
This led Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner to authorize HHD to open the city’s first free vaccination clinic on January 2 for people at high risk of serious illness and death.