Vaccine providers’ doses running low
Harris Health cancels appointments; BCM rescheduling patients needing first shots
As the coronavirus continues to flare across Houston, hospitals that have not been declared hubs through the state’s vaccine rollout plan are facing mounting hurdles, as their vaccine supply runs short this week.
Harris Health canceled hundreds of appointments scheduled for Friday after its vaccine supply dried up, said CEO Esmaeil Porsa. And at Baylor College of Medicine, staff is rescheduling 1,420 first-dose patients next week. The hospital now estimates those patients will be vaccinated in mid-February, when the vaccine supply will be more consistent.
“We stopped scheduling new appointments because we’re not sure we’ll have an adequate supply and don’t want to add more fuel to the fire,” said Dr. James McDeavitt, dean of clinical affairs at Baylor College of Medicine.
Texans have been frustrated and enraged by a lack of access to the vaccine. The state allowed vaccine providers to immunize the phase 1B group, people 65 and older or between the ages of 16 and 65 with a chronic illness. However, eligibility has not guaranteed access — especially as hospitals and clinics are still struggling to vaccinate their own frontline workers.
While BCM has scheduled 4,000 appointments for patients to receive their second dose, the hospital has received only 3,000 of the doses. McDeavitt says BCM plans to receive the remaining doses in time and will not need to reschedule appointments.
At HCA Houston Healthcare, the system has received only “enough vaccines to vaccinate our colleagues,” said Marsha Buchanan, an HCA spokesperson.
“We do not yet have access to vaccine doses for the public,” she said. The HCA system is not booking appointments until it receives more vaccine.
Worldwide, health care pro
viders are frustrated they’re not receiving enough first doses to administer to patients. Pfizer reduced vaccine shipments to Canada and Europe after closing down a Belgian factory for renovations. In the U.S., state officials say what they’re getting doesn’t match what federal distributors say they’re giving.
Medical leaders such as Dr. David Lakey, a member of the scientific panel that advises Texas on vaccine allocation, say there isn’t enough vaccine being produced and distributed to states to match demand. Texas receives 330,000 doses a week, just over 1 percent of its population, and has been able to administer more than 1.5 million doses statewide, according to a Chronicle data analysis.
State leaders like Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick have acknowledged that vaccine rollout has been a major problem, recommending that the state issue new criteria breaking down 1B into subgroups to reduce pressure on providers.
“It’s going to be awhile before we get all we need,” Lakey said.
Baylor’s McDeavitt and Harris Health’s Porsa have asked the state for a steadier supply of vaccine. But Department of State Health Services officials have directed most doses in recent weeks to vaccination hubs — the health department and major hospital sites that immunize more people in one place and streamline the sign-up process.
As a result, not every provider is struggling. The Houston Health Department opened 1,600 vaccine appointment slots Friday afternoon after receiving 9,000 new doses. Larger hospitals such as Houston Methodist and Memorial Hermann have loaded thousands of vials into their hospitals every week.
The solution might be to approve medical systems such as Harris Health as vaccination hubs, said state Rep. Armando Walle, who was appointed Harris County’s COVID-19 relief and recovery czar last April.
“You do have willing and able institutions in our region that want to provide the service, but we need vaccine,” Walle said. “There are going to be hiccups. We just have to acknowledge those problems, fix them and get as many shots in the arms as we can in the next three or four months.”
But to other health equity experts such as Elena Marks, president of the Houston-based Episcopal Health Foundation, the answer is as simple as ramping up vaccine production and distribution, especially to the hospitals that serve the city and county’s uninsured and low-income populations.
Even with the prioritization of the 1B group, not everyone within that group has an equal shot at registering for a vaccine appointment. With more supply, vaccine providers can address the overwhelming demand.
“If you’ve got the time to do the research and to call the numbers over and over again or keep going online, you will have a better shot than someone who was in the same group as you but has two jobs,” Marks said.
In the interim, county and state representatives are scrambling to redirect COVID-19 vaccine shipments to the hospitals that say they’re running out.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo has asked Harris County Public Health to direct an additional 1,000 vaccine doses toward Harris Health. Those doses will likely be used to cover Monday’s appointments, said Bryan McLeod, a Harris Health spokesperson.
“There’s no question vulnerable communities and communities of color have borne the brunt of this pandemic,” Hidalgo said, “and we simply cannot let vulnerable communities fall through the cracks when it comes to making sure they have access to vaccines.”