Doses coming for Galveston County seniors

Hundreds of doses of the COVID-19 vaccine will be available to senior Galveston County residents beginning Thursday, the county health district announced.

The Galveston County Health District will offer the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to thosewho are 65 years of age and older, by appointment only.

The health district this week received an additional 400 vaccine doses. A COVID-19 phone bank will open at a.m. Wednesday for seniors to make appointments. Due to the limited supply of vaccines, the health district is targeting vaccines to the most vulnerable populations who are at increased risk of developing severe illness to the virus.

The Moderna vaccine requires two shots in the upper arm taken 28 days apart. Based on evidence from clinical trials, the Moderna vaccine was 94 percent effective at preventing COVID-19 illness in people who received two doses who had no evidence of being previously infected. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the vaccine for emergency use on Dec. 18.

To make an appointment through the Galveston County COVID-19 phone bank, senior residents should call 409-547-4015.

In neighboring Brazoria County, over 80 facilities are now enrolled to receive and administer the COVID-19 vaccine.

While no information was immediately available as to when Brazoria residents would be able to receive vaccines, the county is encouraging eligible residents — which includes frontline health care workers and seniors — to watch for information from local pharmacies, physician’s offices, urgent care facilities for dates the vaccine will be available. The county will post COVID-19 vaccine information updates on its website.