The city will abandon COVID-19 mega vaccine centers for smaller, more efficient clinics until supplies from the federal and state governments increase significantly, Mayor Sylvester Turner said on Monday as local leaders adjust their strategies for delivering vaccines. in the residents’ arms as soon as possible.
Turner visited a new drive-thru site that the city set up on Monday at Delmar Stadium with the United Memorial Medical Center, where healthcare professionals will aim to inoculate 1,000 people a day. The city was able to vaccinate about 6,100 people when it carried out a mega-clinic at Minute Maid Park on January 16, but the operation led to long waiting times and other logistical obstacles.
The Delmar website allows for shorter wait times and represents “a smoother way to do it”, while the city receives only about 9,000 doses a week, Turner said.
“Until the supply increases exponentially, we decided to stop for now,” said Turner of the mega sites. “It was creating more inconvenience to set up that bigger site and have a lot of people passing by, and then you have those standing times and everything. This is just a better way to go. “
Meanwhile, Harris County announced it would launch a new vaccine waiting list on Tuesday instead of scheduling appointments on a first-come, first-served basis. The move aims to make registration easier and fairer for residents who are not used to reacting quickly on computers or cell phones when health agencies announce the availability of a limited number of new vaccination appointments.
Older residents will have priority, and the county system will randomly choose recipients of consultations, health officials said. The county will then contact only the selected individuals when new appointments become available, avoiding a dispute over places.
“Let me be frank: getting the COVID-19 vaccine shouldn’t be like the ‘Hunger Games’,” said county judge Lina Hidalgo. “It’s not about who can update on a faster browser.”
Registration for the municipality’s waiting list will be available on Tuesday at readyharris.org; residents can also call (832) 927-8787 to apply. Operators will be available in English, Spanish and Vietnamese.
Houston is not adopting a similar enrollment program, although leaders say seniors can also be placed on a waiting list to get nominations in the city. Turner said that no strategy will be able to compensate for the limited supply of vaccine.
“The flip side of that: you could establish a waiting list and you could have 100,000 people on your waiting list,” said Turner. “The question that people will ask is, ‘When will we receive it?’ Let’s say your time is in February or March, but people don’t want to wait that long. It just varies. “
How do I apply for a COVID-19 vaccine?
Houston: No appointments available at this time. To receive email or text notifications when new appointments become available, sign up for HoustonRecovers options at houstonemergency.org/alerts. Seniors can also call 832-393-4301 to join the waiting list.
Harris County: Starting on Tuesday, sign up at readyharris.org or call (832) 927-8787 to join the waiting list.
The city and county said they would not refuse non-residents.
There are currently no consultations available for the city’s clinics. The Department of Health has opened new opening hours frequently on Friday afternoons, and they are requested in minutes. Residents can get text and email notifications about new appointments by signing up for the “HoustonRecovers” option at houstonemergency.org/alerts.
Seniors can also call the Harris County Area Agency on Aging at 832-393-4301 to join the city’s waiting list. When the city opens new appointments, it will reserve a number of places for these people.
The city and county said they would not refuse non-residents.
For most, consultations have been difficult to schedule, an indication that vaccine supplies are small compared to overwhelming demand.
City and county clinics represent only a small part of the region’s vaccination campaign, with hospitals, pharmacies and medical providers playing more significant roles.
Houston fired about 31,000 shots and Harris County 27,000. This accounts for about 14% of the 408,671 doses delivered in Harris County, according to a data analysis from the Texas State Department of Health Services Chronicle.
Texas remains in Phase 1B of its vaccine distribution plan. This means that qualified residents are limited to frontline workers, people aged 65 and over, and those with certain high-risk medical conditions.
They include cancer; chronic kidney disease; COPD; cardiac conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease or cardiomyopathies; solid organ transplantation; obesity; pregnancy; sickle cell anemia; and type 2 diabetes mellitus.
As of Monday, the Houston region had 452,585 COVID-19 cases and 5,577 deaths. The city reported on Monday the highest number of cases in a day, 3,039, although Turner said this was mainly due to corrections in the system.
Much of Texas still has high rates of hospitalization; in 21 of the 22 trauma care areas in the state, COVID-19 hospitalizations represent more than 15 percent of the hospital’s total capacity, the limit meaning “high hospitalizations”. Houston’s service area on Monday exceeded the 15% limit for the 26th consecutive day.
The statewide positive test rate for COVID-19 infections was 14.75 percent, up from 16.57 percent on Friday.
Stephanie Lamm contributed to this report.