SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Metropolitan Health District is continuing to work with state and local leaders to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine. Officials say they’ll receive the remaining portion of the initial allotted doses within the next week.
On Wednesday, San Antonio and Bexar County officials reported 1,323 new cases of the virus, bringing the reported total to 115,685 since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
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As of Tuesday, the Bexar County area received approximately 50,000 doses of the vaccine, and more than 31,000 people in the county have been vaccinated, according to Metro Health.
“The remaining 40,000 doses of the initial 90,000-dose allocation for Bexar County is expected to arrive within the next week,” Metro Health said in a statement on Wednesday.
Currently, officials say they are focusing on individuals in Phase 1A populations, which includes health care workers, emergency medical services providers, home health workers, long-term care staff and residents of long-term care facilities. Officials estimate that 140,000 people are in this group in Bexar County.
Dr. Colleen Bridger, the assistant city manager, said the city is doing everything to vaccinate as many people as possible.
“We are working to balance the need to vaccinate as many people as possible as quickly as possible while making sure the distribution is focused on priority, high risk and traditionally underserved populations,” Bridger said. “The more people we vaccinate, the more vaccines we’ll receive. We will continue to keep the community updated as we learn more about the state and federal government’s distribution plan for vaccines.”
According to Metro Health, officials are working with area hospitals, private pharmacies and others receiving direct shipments of the vaccine to coordinate a widespread distribution of the vaccine.
“Immunization with a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine is a critical component of the strategy to reduce COVID-19-related illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths and to help restore community and societal functioning,” Metro Health said in a statement. “The goal is to have enough COVID-19 vaccines for all people who wish to be vaccinated. However, early in the COVID-19 Vaccination Program, there will be a limited supply of COVID-19 vaccine. Supply will increase into 2021.”
The COVID-19 vaccination plan for Bexar County can be found on the COVID-19 Portal.
View the county’s vaccination plan below in full: