EL PASO, Texas – The University Medical Center said on Friday that it has just received 5,000 new doses of the modern coronavirus vaccine, which it plans to distribute soon in a new mega site that is being installed at the El Paso County Coliseum.
“We received 5,000 doses, they arrived. We will be opening the register again,” said UMC spokesman Ryan Mielke.
Registration opened at noon on Friday at UMCelpaso.org for those in the state vaccination categories 1A and 1B, which includes healthcare professionals, first responders, anyone aged 65 and over, or others with certain underlying health conditions.
But Mielke said that all online appointments were completed in 12 minutes and the site registration was closed. There will be no vaccination at the coliseum, he added.
The new doses replace 5,000 that UMC administered in tents set up at the hospital earlier this week.
Judge Ricardo Samaniego of El Paso County, speaking at a news conference on Thursday night, first referred to plans for the distribution of the Coliseum as soon as additional supplies of the vaccine were obtained.
“This transition will be very important. The message that the mayor (Oscar Leeser) and I received is that the faster we can move things around, and the better and more efficient we are, the greater the likelihood that this will happen to get more of the vaccine,” Samaniego told reporters.
The UMC’s 5,000 added doses come in the wake of a 5,000-dose shipment that the El Paso health department received on Thursday. Like UMC, the city of El Paso sold out its previous 5,000 vaccinations this week, with distribution in a megafocal installed near the airport.
“We are recognized as one of the best counties here in Texas, which is advancing in the necessary distribution,” said Samaniego. “We are hopeful that things will go faster.”