Texas will receive more than 1 million first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine next week

Texas will receive more than 1 million first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine next week, state health officials said on Friday.

According to the Texas State Department of Health Services, the state will distribute more than 930,000 first doses and 457,000 second doses to providers in 234 of the state’s counties. The federal government will send more than 200,000 additional doses directly to federally qualified pharmacies and health centers.

Johnson & Johnson’s new single-dose vaccine accounts for 245,000 doses of the vaccine that Texas expects to receive next week.

As of Friday, providers in Texas administered 6.3 million doses of the vaccine. More than 4 million people have received at least one dose and more than 2.2 million are fully vaccinated.

48 percent of Texans aged 65 and over have received at least one dose of the vaccine and more than 1 million elderly people – more than 25 percent of Texans in this age group – are fully vaccinated.

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Those currently eligible for the vaccine include healthcare professionals, residents and employees of long-term care facilities, Texans aged 65 and over, and those with medical conditions that put them at greater risk of hospitalization and death from COVID-19. This week, state health officials announced that teachers and daycare workers are now eligible for the vaccine.

On Friday, the state notified 4,277 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus, 1,636 new probable cases and 256 new deaths.