Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) urged state health officials and hospitals to speed up the distribution of their COVID-19 vaccine supplies in response to a letter from the state health commissioner indicating that much of the state’s supply has not yet been administered.
In a tweet on Tuesday, Abbott wrote that it was unacceptable that many doses of the vaccine were still “on hospital shelves, rather than being given to vulnerable Texans”, and added that Texas “urges vaccine suppliers to supply quickly all vaccines “.
“We get a lot more each week,” he said.
A significant portion of vaccines distributed throughout Texas may be on hospital shelves, instead of being given to vulnerable Texans
The state urges vaccine suppliers to quickly supply all vaccines. We get a lot more each week
Always volunteerhttps: //t.co/jjY0jbEMsx
– Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) December 29, 2020
His tweet came in response to a letter released by the state’s Emergency Management Department from state health commissioner John Hellerstedt, who wrote this week that a “significant portion” of the state’s vaccination supply has not yet been distributed.
“We also know that every day that a vaccine is on the shelf is another day that prolongs the pandemic that is damaging our state’s economy and way of life,” continued Hellerstedt, adding: “We hope you know your situation much better than that we could, so we ask you to take the initiative and move forward aggressively with the administration of all doses of vaccine you received. “
.@TexasDSHS is targeting all entities that received #COVID-19 vaccines to urgently vaccinate all individuals in Phase 1A after Phase 1B.
“… we direct all entities that received vaccines to administer their entire quota with all deliberate speed.” pic.twitter.com/98JqrzvvzK
– Texas Emergency Management Division (@TDEM) December 24, 2020
The COVID-19 outbreak in Texas continues to worsen. State officials reported 26,990 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, the highest single-day total the state has ever recorded, while setting a record for new hospitalizations in a single day due to the virus.
Health experts have warned that hospital systems across the country may be overloaded beyond capacity in the coming weeks due to a sudden increase in COVID-19 infections resulting from the holiday season.