HOUSTON (Reuters) – Texas will allocate about half of its latest COVID-19 vaccine supply to just 28 health care centers, officials said Sunday to accelerate the spread amid rising infections and hospitalizations.
The distribution efforts in the second most populous U.S. state fell short, with people having to wait hours, online registration sites not being able to keep up, or the vaccination sites suddenly changing due to the overwhelming demand.
The positive percentage of the state, or percentage of cases that tested positive, was 19.2% on Saturday, which has risen by almost 6 percentage points over the past four weeks. New infections rose by nearly 19,000 and more than 13,000 people were admitted to hospital, increasing by 4,000 over the past four weeks.
Concentrating deliveries simplifies sign-ups and makes more shots available to residents, the state said in a news release. First survey awards are based on estimates of how many people each place can serve. The Department of Public Health Services was not available for comment.
Of the 310,000 doses expected this week in Texas, approximately 159,000 will be delivered in just 28 locations. Smaller premises will distribute 38,300 doses and nursing home and long-term care facilities will receive 121,875, the state said.
Reporting by Gary McWilliams; Edited by Peter Cooney