AUSTIN (KXAN) — On Tuesday, Gov. Greg Abbott is holding a press conference on the state’s COVID-19 vaccination rollout from Houston Methodist Hospital in Houston.
“Never before in the history of the state, have we been able to vaccinate so many people in such a short amount of time,” said Abbott during the conference. “… it’s remarkable because we’ve been involved in COVID vaccinations for less than five full weeks.”
Residents in all 254 counties in Texas have been vaccinated, Abbott said. Harris County, where Abbott was giving the conference, leads the charge, with 259,840 vaccines already administered — which is almost double than the second-highest vaccinated county, Dallas County.
By the numbers
The governor laid out the numbers on vaccinations in Texas right now:
- 1,725,575 doses shipped to providers
- 1,358,678 doses that have been administered
- 177,193 second doses (these are included in the doses administered total)
- 81% of first doses administered and 67% of second doses administered
- Overall, 78% of all doses given to the state have been administered
- This week, Texas is slated to receive 333,650 first doses and 509,400 second doses — a total of over 843,00 doses, the state’s largest shipment. These totals don’t include doses set apart for nursing homes
Separetely from the above numbers, Abbott reports Texas has provided:
- 487,500 doses to nursing homes and long-term care centers, which CVS and Walgreens are in charge of administering
- 124,827 of these doses have already been administered to residents
Abbott said CVS and Walgreens, which have so far lagged in administration time, are still being urged to speed turnover time by the state. They’re currently at 27% of vaccine administration.
Joining Abbott for the roundtable with health care professionals at Houston Methodist are:
- Texas Department of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd
- DSHS Commissioner John Hellerstedt, MD
- UT System Executive Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs John Zerwas, MD
- Houston Methodist Hospital President and CEO Marc Boom, MD
Large-scale vaccination hubs
Abbott said the state has dramatically increased the number of mass vaccination sites in just over a week.
Last week, there were only 28 hubs statewide — there are now 78 hubs. This week, Abbott said there will be 260 providers in 122 counties receiving their vaccine allocations.
Houston Methodist is the largest operator of administrations in Texas, Abbott explained, saying the conference was held at the hospital “to say thank you.”
Limitations
Abbott’s outlook for vaccinations remains hopeful, though he acknowledges there are still some constraints.
“There’s only one limitation that we have at this moment in time, and that is an inadequate supply of vaccinations. And that’s vaccinations that come only from the federal government.”
Many portals to pre-register and request vaccinations are now open have far surpassed supply.
Nevertheless, all health officials assured the state will continue pushing to make sure people are able to receive vaccines in a timely manner and that those who have received first doses receive their second.
