Abbott tours 28 vaccine hubs, urges quick pace
Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday that the state is working to increase the number of Texans vaccinated against COVID-19, hoping to pivot from the confusion and chaos that has defined much of the rollout so far.
The governor gave the remarks in Arlington, where he traveled Monday to tour one of the 28 “vaccination hubs” that have been set up across the state. State health officials announced last week that they were moving toward the hub model and away from an earlier strategy that had targeted thousands of small-scale vaccine providers.
“Never before in the history of this state has Texas vaccinated so many people so quickly,” said Abbott, a Republican. “It was one month ago today that the Pfizer vaccine was approved. It’s just stunning to see what we’ve accomplished.”
As of Monday, providers reported having administered nearly 880,000 doses out of just over 2 million distributed. It takes about two days for vaccinations to show up in the state’s health tracking data.
Abbott said some providers appear to be holding onto doses for the second round that is required with each inoculation, which he said is not necessary. He called on those providers to administer every available dose they have as quickly as possible.
Like other states, Texas is still contending with limited federal vaccine supplies and delays in efforts by CVS and Walgreens to vaccinate long-term care residents. Abbott said governors held a call recently with executives from both companies and urged them to pick up the pace.
“There is no reason for that process to be moving as slow as it is,” he said.
Going forward, the state expects to receive about 310,000 new first doses of the vaccines each week, one from Pfizer and the other from Moderna, and between 320,000 and 500,000 new second doses.
The Department of State Health Services on Sunday
released a list of 28 hubs as part of an effort to inoculate more than 100,000 people and streamline the sign-up process. The vaccine rollout, which began last month, had been largely left to counties and individual
providers, which created confusion for people trying to sign up.
Currently, the state is vaccinating all Texans included in groups 1A or 1B — health care workers, first responders, nursing home resi
dents, those ages 65 and older, pregnant women and anyone 16 and older who has a pre-existing medical condition, such as cancer, obesity or sickle cell disease.
Providers participating in
the hub program are required to post registration phone numbers and websites where vulnerable people can sign up for a dose.