Coronavirus News
7 Houston-area hospitals receive first doses of COVID-19 vaccine
Four sites in Texas received the COVID-19 vaccine on December 14, part of a rollout of doses being shipped out across the U.S.
Texas received 19,500 doses, with another 250,000 doses being distributed to 109 facilities in Texas this week.
According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, the first four sites to get it were:
- MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston
- Methodist Dallas Medical Center
- Wellness 360 at UT Health San Antonio
- UT Health Austin's Dell Medical School
Another 75,000 doses will be delivered on December 15 to 19 sites in Texas:
- Houston, Texas Children’s Hospital Main
- Houston, LBJ Hospital
- Houston, CHI St. Luke’s Health
- Houston, Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center
- Houston, Houston Methodist Hospital
- Houston, Ben Taub General Hospital
- Galveston, University of Texas Medical Branch Hospital
- Amarillo, Texas Tech Univ. Health Science Center Amarillo
- Corpus Christi, Christus Spohn Health System Shoreline
- Dallas, Parkland Hospital
- Dallas, UT Southwestern
- Edinburg, Doctors Hospital at Renaissance
- Edinburg, UT Health RGV Edinburg
- El Paso, University Medical Center El Paso
- Fort Worth, Texas Health Resources Medical Support
- Lubbock, Covenant Medical Center
- San Angelo, Shannon Pharmacy
- Temple, Baylor Scott and White Medical Center
Health care and front-line workers will receive the vaccine first. Officials are still working out the timeline but the general public is not expected to get the vaccine until spring 2021 at the earliest.
Dr. Paul Klotman, president of the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, said in a press conference that getting vaccinated is helpful to both individuals and their communities.
"The thing about everyone pitching in, do it for yourself because it will help protect you, but when you get the herd immunity it will help protect people who are unable medically to get the vaccine," Klotman said.