» Vaccination sites disrupted by extreme cold.

Don’t expect a jump in COVID-19 vaccination rates this week, as Houston’s hospitals and public health sites shut down their operations due to winter weather and slick, icy roads.

Federal distributors postponed the delivery of more than 407,000 first doses of COVID-19 vaccines and 333,000 second doses to Texas due to the Arctic vortex that engulfed much of the country in snow, ice and freezing temperatures over Presidents Day weekend.

At earliest, vaccine shipments will arrive on Wednesday and deliveries to vaccination sites around the state will depend on local conditions, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.

“No one wants to put vaccine at risk by attempting to deliver it in dangerous conditions,” said Douglas Loveday, a DSHS spokesperson.

Hospital and public health officials are rescheduling Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday appointments via call or email, pushing back shots to the end of this week or early next week. While Harris County rushed to distribute 8,400 COVID-19 vaccine doses after a storage facility lost power Monday, most health officials dissuaded people from venturing onto the streets for a vaccine.

A few hospitals are optimistic they’ll re-open by week’s end, but others are skeptical as another bout of winter weather due to hit Texas could slow vaccine deliveries.

Houston will experience several problems in delays: for one, the roads will prevent patients, clinicians and the vaccine from reaching administration sites.

Medical workers may also be pulled away for other emergencies during the freeze, such as carbon monoxide poisonings and hypothermia, said Julie Swann, a supply-chain expert who heads North Carolina State University’s Fitts Department of

Industrial and Systems Engineering and advised the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the H1N1 pandemic.

“If I were a provider, I’d first cover the second dose for people who had to miss their scheduled appointments,” she said. “Then I’d re-book people who missed their appointments for their first vaccination.”

Second doses must be administered after three weeks for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and after four weeks for the Moderna vaccine, according to the CDC.

While public health officials recommend getting the follow-up shot as close as possible to the three or four-week mark, people can receive it as late as six weeks after the first dose.

If Texas ends up a week behind schedule on COVID-19 vaccinations, the state will likely catch up within three weeks, Swann said.

Here’s where Houston’s vaccination sites currently stand on administering shots after the storms pass:

Fort Bend County Health and Human Services

The county shut down vaccination sites through Wednesday and will call and email people who were scheduled for vaccines on those days to set up a new appointment.

Harris County Public Health

All testing and vaccination sites will be closed through Friday at noon, according to the agency’s website.

“HCPH will send cancellation notices via text or email so residents can reschedule appointments once it is safe for operations to continue,” the county said in a statement.

Harris Health

The safety net hospital provider will resume patient vaccinations on Thursday.

Anyone who was due for the COVID vaccine during the closures will be prioritized for a vaccine next week, said Bryan McLeod, a Harris Health spokesperson.

Houston Health Department

The city’s vaccination sites will remain closed on Wednesday, according to its Twitter account. Approximately 1,000 people were scheduled for a COVID vaccine that day and will be contacted to reschedule their appointments.

For people who don’t have power, internet or cell service and are scheduled for a vaccine, they can contact Houston Health Department at 832393-4220 to reschedule later in the week.

Houston Methodist

The hospital system is rescheduling vaccines canceled due to the weather and road conditions, said Patti Muck, a Houston Methodist spokesperson.

On Monday, Houston Methodist and Harris Health received thousands of Moderna doses from Harris County Public Health to distribute after a county freezer failed. The vaccines were gone in less than three hours.

Memorial Hermann

The NRG Park drivethru vaccine clinic is closed until further notice. Memorial Hermann’s vaccine clinics are rescheduling patients as well — staff expect to reach out to everyone due for a shot on Monday by the end of the day on Wednesday.

People scheduled for a vaccine on Monday or Tuesday will receive an email confirmation for a new appointment on Friday at the NRG Park site, according to the hospital system.

St. Luke’s Health

Vaccinations are on pause for the rest of the week, according to Vanessa Astros, a St. Luke’s Health spokesperson.

Delays in vaccine delivery, limited staffing and road conditions are affecting the hospital system’s ability to vaccinate people.

Anyone scheduled for vaccination appointments Wednesday through Friday will be contacted by the health system to reschedule for next week.

UTHealth

Vaccine clinics affiliated with UTHealth will close through Wednesday, according to the hospital’s social media accounts. Staff will contact patients to reschedule.

University of Texas Medical Branch

Staff are putting people due for a first dose of the COVID vaccine on a priority list by risk level. It has not received its first dose vaccine shipment for the week due to the storm.

UTMB is still vaccinating second dose recipients, who are welcome if they can travel safely, according to the health system’s Twitter account.