With new instructions from Governor Greg Abbott to fully reopen restaurants and bars, and lift the mask mandate, Houston COVID-19 vaccine providers are beginning to register waiting lists as medical experts worry about an increase in infections.
At Harris County Public Health, 25,000 people have reported since Tuesday morning – more than double the 12,000 who typically report within a day.
“We work seven days a week to ensure that residents on our waiting lists in categories 1A and 1B are vaccinated,” said Samuel Bissett, a Harris County public health spokesman. “We also encourage residents to look for various options for the vaccine, as demand outweighs supply.”
Doctors are hopeful that the addition of the newly approved Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 single-dose vaccine, along with new waiting lists, will help Houston and Harris County increase the increase in coronavirus cases through greater distribution.
“This is a possibility because more people can be vaccinated, especially if many people take safe measures,” said Dr. Diana Fite, president of the Texas Medical Association, said.
The first award of 12,000 Johnson & Johnson vaccines arrived Tuesday at NRG Park, a federal emergency vaccines agency run by health and city officials. Half of the doses will be diverted to the Houston Department of Health, and the other half to various other providers. Provincial staff must determine who will be preferred to receive the one-vaccine vaccine.
Harris County receives 9,000 first doses of Moderna vaccine weekly, says Jennifer Kiger, COVID-19 incident commander for Harris County Public Health.
“With the addition of NRG Stadium and Johnson & Johnson, it’s going in the right direction,” Kiger said. ‘One thing we are advocating for is more vaccines for the state and the environment. We are really looking for other provinces to get vaccines and increase the supply to other suppliers. ”
Waiting through the slaughter of people waiting for a shot, the country is relying on private providers such as hospitals and pharmacies to help with vaccination. Harris County Public Health operates four mobile vaccine sites, ranging from eight locations on the outskirts of the country. Two is only the first dose, and two is only the second dose.
In Chronicle, a total of 819,000 doses were administered and 291,690 people were fully vaccinated.
Anyone can sign up for the COVID-19 vaccine at https://vacstrac.hctx.net/landing, the province’s waiting list, regardless of age, underlying condition or place of residence. However, the system only randomly discusses people in Phase 1A and 1B groups for appointments from early March.
Harris County Public Health is working on a system that allows patients to choose which vaccine they want to receive. “At the end of the day, it’s better than taking a vaccination, we know it’s very effective against hospitalization,” Kiger said.
The COVID-19 waiting list for vaccines in Houston is open to people 65 years or older or those 16 and older with chronic health conditions. You will not be asked with medical records on arrival, and anyone is eligible to register online at https://www.cureminder.com/openenrol.
Registration is also available by contacting the Area Agency for Aging, which will schedule appointments for all 60 and older who fall under the 1B criteria, at 832-393-4301, the Aging and Disability Resource Center (those with disabilities) at 832 -393 -5500 or the COVID-19 call center at 832-393-4220.
Hospitals are also seeing an increase in interest in vaccines. According to the medical system, CHI St. Luke has seen a 30 percent increase in vaccine waiting list registrations since Abbott’s announcement.
At the state level, officials are working through how much of the new vaccine they will receive and how it will be administered, said Dr. David Lakey, a member of the Texas COVID-19 Expert Vaccine Allocation Panel, the scientific group that the Texas Commissioner of Health who should get a vaccine when.
“It looks like several hundred thousand doses will be provided to the state of Texas each week, which is a significant increase in the amount of vaccines that are provided to Texas,” Lakey said. “This should result in a significant and fairly rapid increase in the allocation of vaccines in Texas.”
Across the Chronicle, approximately 8.9 million doses of vaccine were administered and approximately 5.7 million doses were administered. Nearly 2 million Texans are now fully vaccinated.
Unlike Pfizer and Moderna with an efficacy of 94-95 percent, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is 66 percent effective against moderate to severe or critical COVID-19, according to the FDA analysis.
In Houston, where medical experts have recorded all the major strains of COVID-19, the increase in vaccine supply could limit the infection rate of new variants. The public can still avoid coronavirus complications, hospitalization and death by taking the new vaccine, Lakey said.
“In certain situations, it may be the preferred vaccine,” Lakey said. “We will take it all into account when determining what the strategy is going to be.”