According to the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) Associate Commissioner Imelda Garcia more than 4.5 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine have now been administered in Texas. On a ZOOM call Tuesday afternoon Garcia said this equals about 3.1 million people who have gotten at least one dose of either the Modern or Pfizer two-shot COVID vaccines, and more than 1.4 million people fully vaccinated.
"We continue to see the biggest increase in vaccinations among people 65 and older," said Garcia. "38% of people 65 years and older have gotten at least their first dose and nearly one-in-every-seven are now fully vaccinated." More than one-in-six people 85 or older are now fully vaccinated as well. This fits with the Texas target demographic as part of Phase 1B vaccine eligibility, which is: People 65+ or people 16+ with a health condition that increases risk of severe COVID‑19 illness.
Garcia added that vaccine shipments have now resumed from the CDC after last week's pause due to the winter weather. "There has been a phenomenal amount of vaccine shipped to Texas over the last few days," said Garcia. "We have about 1.4 million doses scheduled to arrive at provider's doors yesterday or today." On the flip side, Garcia said that providers have reported that about a thousand doses of the vaccine were lost last week due to the bad weather.
There is also reason to believe the number of vaccinations will continue to increase in coming weeks. Garcia said there could be a third vaccine authorized in the United States as early as this weekend. "Later this week the Food and Drug Administration's Advisory Committee is scheduled to make recommendations on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine." This would be the first one-dose vaccine to receive approval in the US.
