Texas opening COVID-19 vaccine for all adults on Monday

DALLAS – All adults in the state of Texas will be eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine starting on Monday.

The Texas Department of Health Services said the move was due to an expected increase in supply. Many parts of the state have also made great strides in vaccinating priority groups.

“We are reaching 10 million doses administered in Texas and we want to keep pace as the vaccine supply increases,” said Imelda Garcia, DSHS associate commissioner for laboratory services and infectious diseases and president of the Expert Vaccine Allocation Panel.

It is expected that providers will still give priority to people over 80, going so far as to immediately transfer them to the front of the queue, whether or not they have an appointment.

But there are almost two million people on waiting lists in Dallas and Tarrant counties together.

The DSHS says about two million people are 16 or older in Dallas County. Almost 270,000 are fully vaccinated. About 25% of adults in Dallas County had their first chance.

In Tarrant County, 1.6 million people are 16 or older. Almost 198,000 are fully vaccinated and 24% of adults have received at least one dose.

“Everyone is in line and we are going to distribute the vaccines as soon as possible,” said Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley.

Dallas County Health Director Dr. Philip Huang says the biggest problem remains supply, especially in the most populous counties.

“We know that we have more capacity to see more people and to shoot more,” he said. “But we had to close a few days because we didn’t have a vaccine anymore.”

In less than three weeks, Texas will begin receiving more doses from Johnson & Johnson. Officials say this could dramatically increase the number of people being fully vaccinated.

“Johnson & Johnson has the advantage of an injection and that’s it. All are good vaccines. We tell people to take the first one available,” said Dr. Huang.

“Hopefully we will get our share in Texas, and Texas will give us our share in Tarrant County,” said Whitley.

Also next week, DSHS will launch a statewide vaccine registration website and a hotline for some public vaccine clinics. Injections are also available from many pharmacies and private providers.

“With each dose, Texas gets closer to normal and protects more lives from hospitalization and death from COVID-19,” Texas DSHS said in a tweet on Tuesday morning.

The rate at which people reach a compromise will still fall into the priority group.

People under the age of 17 can only take a picture of Pfizer, so check with the provider before making an appointment.

LINK: dshs.texas.gov/covidvaccine