The hospital said it would receive 4,000 doses and distribute them to those considered to be at high risk who had consultations canceled due to lack of supplies.
UTMB Health announced on Monday, January 11, that it would have to cancel 6,000 appointments for the first dose. People with an appointment for a second dose are still scheduled to receive it, the hospital said.
“We want to make sure that the people to whom we have already promised the vaccine (to), receive the vaccine,” said Dr. Philip Keizer of UTMB Galveston and the Galveston County Health Authority.
According to authorities, UTMB Health ran out of vaccines for the first doses on Wednesday, January 13 and did not receive another shipment earlier in the week.
READ MORE: Appointments canceled while southeastern Texas counties await vaccine delivery
The shipment of 4,000 vaccines that the hospital is receiving this week was distributed to them before they were designated as a center.
“They asked us to vaccinate up to 2,000 people a day and I think we are in that capacity now,” said Keizer. “Now, with the doses we are going to receive this week, we will probably go through them in three or four days. The second thing is that we were also told to expect to be able to vaccinate up to 5,000 people per site per day, and that will take some time to reach that capacity, but we think we can do it. “
WATCH: What is delaying the vaccine’s launch in Texas?
Dr. Keizer said that hubs can potentially draw resources from other areas, which means that rural communities can be impacted. But eventually, the centers will be located in other areas to increase access across the state and our communities.
He also said that another factor that could help speed up the vaccine’s launch is Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine, which, if approved, would be the third vaccine in circulation, possibly as early as mid-February.
For the time being, the hospital will be in direct contact with people who had their first dose canceled last week.
“Although we currently do not have a vaccine supply to initiate mass vaccination efforts, we are looking forward to working with partners in the region where we serve to bring COVID-19 vaccines to our patients and our community when supplies are available,” UTMB Health said. in a statement.
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UTMB Health has been offering the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, which, according to a recent study, may protect against a mutation found in the two most contagious variants of the coronavirus.
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