Following the first week of the Pfizer vaccine’s release to several hospitals in San Antonio, more vaccines are on the way this week, including doses of the new Moderna vaccine, according to data released Friday by the Texas Department of Health and Human Services.
Dozens of hospitals, urgent care clinics and H-E-B pharmacies in Bexar County are slated to receive 30,200 doses of the Moderna vaccine this week. The vaccines will be reserved for health and other frontline workers.
The news was announced just as federal regulators gave final approval to a second vaccine. Made by Moderna, the vaccine requires two doses like the already approved Pfizer vaccine. The Moderna vaccine was endorsed by a government advisory panel on Thursday in a 20-0 vote.
Nearly 5,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine will also be shipped to Baptist Medical Center, CHRISTUS Santa Rosa - Medical Center, Methodist Hospital and Methodist Children’s Hospital, University Health System - Inpatient, and Wellness 360. They’ll each receive 975 doses of that drug, data shows.
The San Antonio Fire Department will receive 1,600 doses.
Some rural areas that had been waiting for word on when they would receive shipments will be included in week 2, data shows. Pharmacies and hospitals in New Braunfels, Spring Branch, Canyon Lake, Fredericksburg, Boerne, Uvalde, Del Rio, Pleasanton, Lytle, Dimmit, Gonzales, Hondo, Schertz, Seguin, San Marcos, Kerrville, La Vernia and Floresville will also receive shipments.
Last week, nearly 30,000 doses of the Pfizer-made vaccine were shipped to San Antonio-area hospitals and military bases. Gov. Greg Abbott has predicted more than a million Texans will be vaccinated by the end of 2020.
The Texas Department of Health and Human Services is keeping track of where the vaccine has been distributed and how many have been vaccinated so far through its online dashboard. Hundreds of similar facilities across the state are getting shipments, it shows.
Vaccine distribution and administration data is aggregated from each county by the state and the dashboard is updated daily, though lags are possible depending on when the data is reported.
The counties that have received the vaccine so far include El Paso, Ector, Midland, Parmer, Lamb, Lubbock, Terry, Lynn, Garza, Wise, Denton, Collin, Hunt, Parker, Tarrant, Dallas, Rockwall, Kaufman, Wood, Johnson, Ellis, Henderson, Bexar, Harris, Hardin and Nueces.
So far, vaccines have only been distributed to certain hospitals in the state, giving priority to frontline health care workers who are regularly exposed to the virus.
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