Texas to get more vaccine doses this week than expected

HOUSTON Texas would receive more than 520,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine this week, more than government officials said they originally expected to receive.

According to the Texas Department of Health Services, the increase in doses is due to two factors: a 30% increase in the Modern vaccine provided by the federal government and a one-time return of 126,750 doses of Pfizer vaccine administered in Texas. gave. should be set aside for a federal program that vaccinates residents and staff at long-term care facilities.

The Department of Health said these returned doses would be given to counties where the allocation was significantly less than their share of the population, especially in the Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston suburbs.

The Houston Department of Health said this week it will focus on awarding vaccines to people at greatest risk for serious illnesses and people in vulnerable communities.

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“We know it’s important to vaccinate people who are most vulnerable, and they should be one of the first to get shots, especially when there is scarce supply,” said Sylvester Turner, mayor.

According to the COVID Tracking Project, the state has received nearly 2.9 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine.

According to the Department of Health, Texas suppliers administered nearly 2.3 million doses of vaccine. More than 1.8 million people received at least one dose, and more than 448,000 were fully vaccinated.

On Sunday, health officials in Texas reported 11,155 new and probable cases of coronavirus and 171 deaths due to the disease caused by the virus.

According to the Texas Department of Health, there have been nearly 2.1 million virus cases and 36,491 deaths from COVID-19 since the pandemic began.

Hospitalizations in the state continued to decline, with 11,220 patients reported on Sunday. This is lower than 14,218 on January 11th.