EL PASO, Texas – The University’s medical center said Friday it has just received 5,000 new doses of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine it plans to distribute soon on a new mega site erected at the El Paso County Coliseum word.
“We have received 5,000 doses, they have arrived. We will re-open registration,” said UMC spokesman Ryan Mielke.
Registration opened Friday afternoon at UMCelpaso.org for those who are capable of vaccination categories 1A and 1B, which include health care workers, first responders, anyone 65 and older or others with certain underlying health conditions.
But Mielke said that all online appointments were filled within 12 minutes and that the registration of the website was now closed. There will be no vaccinations at the Colosseum, he added.
The new doses replace 5,000 administered by UMC in tents set up at the hospital earlier this week.
Judge Ricardo Samaniego, county of El Paso, spoke at a news conference on Thursday night and only referred to the plans for the distribution of the Colosseum after additional vaccine supplies were obtained.
“The transition will be very important. The message that the mayor and I (Oscar Leeser) and I have received is that the faster we are able to move things, and the better and more efficient we are, the greater the chance that we will get more of the vaccine, ”Samaniego told reporters.
UMC’s 5,000 doses added come on the heels of a 5,000 doses received by the Department of Health in El Paso on Thursday. Like the UMC, the city of El Paso this week depleted its 5,000 vaccinations by spreading it on a mega-site it set up near the airport.
“We are recognized as one of the best counties here in Texas that continues the distribution needed,” Samaniego said. “We are hopeful that things will move faster.”