AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- People 50 and older will be able to receive a COVID-19 vaccine beginning Monday, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
More than 93 percent of the Texas fatalities directly caused by the coronavirus have been in people 50 and older, according to DSHS, with those ages 50 to 64 accounting for 20 percent of all fatalities.
“We’ve seen a remarkable decrease in the number of hospitalizations and deaths since people 65 and older started becoming fully vaccinated in January,” said Imelda Garcia, DSHS associate commissioner for laboratory and infectious disease services and chair of the Expert Vaccine Allocation Panel. “Expanding to ages 50 to 64 will continue the state’s priorities of protecting those at the greatest risk of severe outcomes and preserving the state’s health care system.”
According to DSHS, there are about 5 million Texans between the ages of 50 and 64, with more than 1 million of them already vaccinated. More than 7 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered across the state, with about 2.5 million Texans fully vaccinated against the virus.
More information on the new 1C priority group is available at the DSHS website.