The Houston Department of Health has set up an online portal for residents to apply for an appointment at the COVID-19 vaccine clinic, but the rest of the month quickly ran out of available slots.
“The response to Houston’s first COVID-19 vaccine clinic has been massive and has quickly filled the appointment gaps for the department’s current vaccine allocation,” Mayor Sylvester Turner told a news conference in City Hall where he was on his to get shot in the arm.
“Vaccine appointments are being discussed for the rest of this month, and the department is not currently making any additional appointments.”
Turner said the city is building additional sites and creating extra capacity, although it is unclear when new appointments will be available. Turner said the city hopes to open a “mega-site” on Saturday.
The portal, available at houstonemergency.org/covid-19-vaccines, has added another way for qualifying residents to book for an appointment. A hotline is also available at 832-393-4220.
The city clinic vaccinated nearly 2,000 residents with the Moderna vaccine within two days. It accepts residents from the first two phases of the state’s distribution plan, which includes emergency service workers, people 65 and older, and those over 16 with certain high-risk health conditions.
These conditions include cancer, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart conditions, solid organ transplantation, obesity, pregnancy, sickle cell disease and type 2 diabetes.
Turner said he spent a lot of time in the clinic over the weekend and is concerned about the lack of coloreds there. The mayor said he and other city leaders are working to get their vaccines public in order to alleviate residents’ concerns about the process.
“The point is that coloreds in this diverse community are not the Tuskegee project,” Turner said, referring to a 40-year unethical study in which several hundred black men infected with syphilis were deceived by government investigators and without treatment for the disease. ‘We realize the hesitation people have, the fear people have, but many people come to get the vaccine. This is not the time for coloreds to stay away from the vaccine. ”
Police Chief Art Acevedo, Fire Chief Sam Peña and councilors Letitia Plummer and Michael Kubosh were among those who also received the vaccine at City Hall on Monday.
Demand for the vaccine overwhelmed the city’s call center when the clinic opened Saturday, forcing officials to use on-site registration instead.
Harris County Public Health took down its portal Friday night after the department mistakenly reported ineligible residents. The agency said it would be investigated on site to ensure the vaccine only goes to people who may receive it.
Martha Marquez, a spokeswoman for the department, said it was waiting for more loads of the vaccine before it started accepting new applications.
Hospitals and other providers in the Houston area have also begun vaccinating the elderly, and some with high-risk conditions. The state maintains a database of vaccine providers on its website and recommends that residents call their providers for more information on availability.