Vaccine eligibility in Texas has expanded to cover anyone 16 or older. The state received more than one million first doses this week and has administered more than ten million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine since vaccinations began.
At SMU, the school had set up a tent for vaccinations outside the Dr. Bob Smith Health Center. Faculty and staff had been eligible for the vaccine. Today, vaccinations extended to students.
Courtesy Alan Scaia
"It's a refreshing feeling, and I think it also relaxes everyone a little bit," one student sitting in the observation area said.
"There are a lot of social events SMU would normally have that we haven't been able to experience this year," another said.
That second student is a freshman and says he was looking forward to fewer restrictions than when he started his college experience.
"It's pretty hard when you have to wear masks indoors everywhere, when we're sitting in class," he says. "It's just more annoying when you're meeting people, having to have all these restrictions all the time."
Those students say they registered through the SMU website about a week ago. Students, faculty and staff can get vaccinated on campus or through Methodist Health. Registration is available here.
This week, the Texas Department of State Health Services sent 818,410 "first doses" of the vaccine to 202 counties. An additional 200,000 doses were made available to pharmacies and "federally-qualified health centers" by the federal government.
DSHS says more than 10 million doses of the vaccine have now been given in Texas.
