Suppliers vying for COVID-19 vaccines
As most Texans in turn wait to get the COVID-19 vaccine, one medical expert says the state needs to change its priorities.
DALLAS – The race is now underway for vaccine providers in Dallas County to start vaccinating people and start vaccinating people at high risk for COVID-19 complications.
“The problem is how do we vaccinate so many Americans? If you collapse the numbers, it’s a huge challenge,” he said. Peter Hotez, a vaccination expert at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, said.
Dr. Hotez said Operation Warp Speed was able to pull out the vaccines, but the release of the baton to the states was not so smooth yet.
“What happens when boxes of vaccines arrive? It’s almost as if we now realize that our boxes are getting Ikea furniture and only now do we realize that it is necessary,” he explained.
A Texas Department of State Health Services spokesman told FOX 4 in an email that the vaccination of doses at some clinics in El Paso was expiring before the state stepped in to transport it to local health departments.
Stephen Love, the president and CEO of the DFW Hospital Board, said that hospitals in North Texas all quickly got the vaccine to the highest priority groups.
“I spoke to hospital executives. Everyone tells me they are working as fast as possible to get the vaccine out quickly,” he said.
But Love said there is a lot of paperwork involved that could delay the state’s data on the distribution of vaccines.
“The process has been very slow. If you look at the numbers in the state, it is low compared to the actual number of vaccines. I think it caused confusion,” he said.
Arlington is one of the few places where doses are administered for the first time to an extensive group of priority recipients.
LINK: Who is eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine in Texas
That meant long queues in the rain until firefighters ran out of its 3,000 doses Thursday morning.
Dr. Hotez said local leaders, given the large numbers of people who need to get the vaccine, need to figure things out in a hurry.
The state should keep things simple, with possibly less emphasis on who gets the vaccine first and more emphasis on large-scale clinics in spacious venues such as sports stadiums, he said.
“There’s not much time to wring out and think about it by hand. That’s all we have to do to control COVID-19 and lose 3,000 people a day,” he said.
State officials said there are providers in Dallas County who are preparing to vaccinate people 65 or older or at high risk medical conditions when new shipments are received next week.
Texas has a website with COVID-19 vaccine providers, but residents are asked to visit the providers to find out more about availability.
LINK: Where can you get a COVID-19 vaccine in Texas?