Texas Gets First Batch Of Coronavirus Vaccines

AUSTIN, TX — Initial shipments of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine were delivered to Texas on Monday, with four sites receiving 19,500 doses and an additional 19 sites expected to get 75,075 doses on Tuesday.

“Seeing the first doses of vaccine arrive in Texas is an important milestone signaling that a return to our way of life is within sight,” John Hellerstedt, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, said in a prepared statement. “We cannot stop short of the finish line. This hope should lift our spirits and strengthen our resolve to do what must be done to end the pandemic.”

The Pfizer vaccine began shipping over the weekend following an emergency use authorization issued Friday by the Food and Drug Administration. Scientists at the agency determined the known benefits of the vaccine for people 16 and older outweigh its risks, according to an advisory. Health officials noted second vaccine manufactured by Moderna is under FDA consideration, and could be authorized late this week.

Additional shipments are expected to occur later this week. In all, Texas was allocated 224,250 doses of vaccine to be shipped to 110 providers across the state in Week 1 of distribution as health officials explained. The focus is on facilities that indicated they will vaccinate at least 975 front-line health care workers since that is the minimum order for the Pfizer vaccine, state health officials said. Adding the Moderna vaccine next week — available in batches of 100 doses — will result in more vaccine being available for many more providers across the state, health officials said.

UT Health Austin officials received 2,925 Pfizer vaccine vials of the coronavirus vaccine that were immediately place in subzero storage. It was the first of two doses, with the second one expected to be delivered by January. Photo provided by the University of Texas at Austin.

The full list of the facilities receiving vaccine in Week 1 is available at Week 1 COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation.

Health officials stressed that receiving the COVID-19 vaccine is voluntary. Front-line health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities are the first groups to be vaccinated, officills explained, and the Expert Vaccine Allocation Panel will make recommendations about subsequent groups.

"It will take a matter of months to manufacture and distribute enough vaccine for everyone who wants to be vaccinated," health officials wrote in the advisory. "Until then, people should continue to prevent transmission of COVID-19 by wearing a mask and maintaining a social distance while around people they don’t live with, staying home when possible, and washing their hands frequently.

The following timeline provided by the Texas Department of State Health Services shows the sites receiving the first batches of the vaccine this week:

MONDAY

• AUSTIN: UT Health Austin Dell Medical School.
• DALLAS: Methodist Dallas Medical Center.
• HOUSTON: MD Anderson Cancer Center.
• SAN ANTONIO: Wellness 360 (UT Health San Antonio).

TUESDAY

• AMARILLO: Texas Tech Univ. Health Science Center Amarillo.
• CORPUS CHRISTI: Christus Spohn Health System Shoreline.
• DALLAS: Parkland Hospital, UT Southwestern.
• EDINBURG: Doctors Hospital at Renaissance, UT Health RGV Edinburg.
• EL PASO: University Medical Center El Paso.
• FORT WORTH: Texas Health Resources Medical Support.
• GALVESTON: University of Texas Medical Branch Hospital.
• HOUSTON: Texas Children’s Hospital Main; LBJ Hospital; CHI St. Luke’s Health; Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center; Houston Methodist Hospital; Ben Taub General Hospital.
• LUBBOCK: Covenant Medical Center.
• SAN ANGELO: Shannon Pharmacy.
• TEMPLE: Baylor Scott and White Medical Center.
• TYLER: UT Health Science Center Tyler.

In the capital city, UT Health Austin officials described in an advisory how the first batch of vaccines were immediately placed in subzero temperature storage. The 2,925 Pfizer vaccine vials the site received are the first of two doses earmarked to protect UT Austin’s front-line health care workers — among them faculty members, staffers and students involved in clinical care delivery to patients in the Austin community.

UT Health Austin officials received 2,925 Pfizer vaccine vials of the coronavirus vaccine that were immediately place in subzero storage. It was the first of two doses, with the second one expected to be delivered by January. Photo provided by the University of Texas at Austin.

Vaccine distribution will begin Tuesday, UT Health Austin officials said, and will continue for nine days. The second doses are expected in early January 2021, officials added.

“This has been a long haul for everyone, but especially for the health care providers who have been putting their own lives at risk in taking care of COVID-19 patients on the front lines,” Amy Young, chief clinical officer of UT Health Austin and vice dean of professional practice at Dell Medical School, said in a prepared statement. “Having the vaccine finally gives us hope for a future without COVID, and that really is an extraordinary step forward.”

UT Health Austin officials received 2,925 Pfizer vaccine vials of the coronavirus vaccine that were immediately place in subzero storage. It was the first of two doses, with the second one expected to be delivered by January. Photo provided by the University of Texas at Austin.

UT’s protocols for equitable vaccine distribution align with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidance, which prioritizes health care personnel and other high-risk groups, officials explained. "Receipt of the vaccine is an especially meaningful milestone for UT Austin," officials noted. "In January, molecular biologist Jason McLellan made one of the key discoveries that was essential to the development of Pfizer, Moderna and other vaccines to fight the pandemic. Watch a video explainer on McLellan’s work here.

Related story: 2 UT-Austin Scientists Lauded For Coronavirus Research

Gov. Greg Abbott was visiting the White House while the vaccines were being delivered, attending a briefing on Operation Warp Speed with Vice President Mike Pence and other state and federal leaders. During the briefing, the governor said in an advisory, officials discussed the ongoing COVID-19 response and the vaccine distribution currently taking place across the country and in Texas.

Prior to the briefing, Abbott said he met with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma to discuss healthcare topics related to Texas.

"As Texas begins distributing COVID-19 vaccines across the state, I thank President Trump and the federal leaders who worked diligently to ensure the success of Operation Warp Speed," Abbott said in a prepared statement. "These vaccines will save lives and play a crucial role in our efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and bring hospitalizations down in our communities."