Harris County makes ‘residual’ vaccine doses available to school district employees

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) – Harris County teachers and school staff on the COVID-19 vaccine waiting list are now being called up by Harris County Public Health if there is a “remaining” dose at the end of the day.

The program was developed by Harris County Public Health as a way to ensure that no doses of vaccine are lost while inoculating most frontline employees.

“The idea we started last week is that we are going to award our ‘no show’ appointments to school staff on our Tier 1A and Tier 1B waiting lists,” said dr. Maria Rivera of Harris County Public Health said.

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Rivera pointed out that the premises of Harris County’s vaccinations move to other locations each week and are usually held in stadiums or high school facilities with large parking lots. When people fill out the Harris County Health Department’s waiting list, it’s already asking if you’m employed at a school district and which one. It is therefore easy for the computer system in the country to compile a list of employees in the school district who are eligible for the area where the mega websites are.

“They need to be Tier 1A or 1B, and need to be able to go to our sites quickly,” Rivera said. She adds another benefit to the fact that educators usually live nearby and can quickly log on to their computers if they are notified of extra doses that may expire.

Harris County says it works with all 21 school districts in the country, as well as charter schools and private schools in each area. Because mega-vaccine locations change from week to week, each week the province changes the districts they come in contact with, focusing on districts where the province uses school property and where employees can live in the area.

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If you are an educator and want to make sure you are included in the “no call for doses for vaccination” call list, make sure you are registered on the Harris County Vaccination Waiting List. Specify for which school district you work in the menu. Remember, the process will still be weighed and randomized, and therefore only employees who qualify according to state guidelines will be contacted.

“It’s a way of making sure it does not go to waste and always goes to people who are eligible,” Rivera said.

The video above appears from a previous report.

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