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Houston officials working to open COVID-19 vaccine ‘super site’
FOX 26's Matthew Seedorff has more on what Houston city officials are planning in an effort to get more Houstonians vaccinated.
HOUSTON - City leaders in Houston are hopeful to open their first COVID-19 vaccine "super-site" next week.
As of now, the Houston Health Department is providing free Coronavirus vaccines by appointment only to people who qualify. We’re told they’ve been giving out about 1,000 COVID-19 vaccines per day at Bayou City Event Center.
The shots are in high demand. The Houston Health Department says their appointments are currently booked through January.
"We look forward to do even more," said Porfirio Villarreal with the Houston Health Department. "We have to wait until the vaccine [production] increases."
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According to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), they hope to distribute roughly 100,000 Coronavirus vaccines to Texans next week.
"We’re still finalizing the allocations for next week," said a spokesperson from DSHS. "We will post that information when it is final. Around 75% of next week’s allocation for the state will go to large vaccination hubs and the remaining will be sent to smaller providers. Remember that vaccine supply is limited by the manufacturers’ capacity to produce it and the amount of vaccine Texas receives each week from the federal government. We expect the amount will increase in the coming weeks, and we appreciate people’s patience."
Nationwide, there are rising concerns of shots collecting dust. The CDC is now reporting that roughly 15-million of the 22 million vaccines already distributed in the United States haven’t been used.
"It would be much better to move quickly, and end up vaccinating some lower priority people, than let vaccines sit around while states try to micromanage this process," said Alex Azar from U.S. Health and Human Services.
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According to the CDC, roughly 60 percent of the COVID-19 vaccines already distributed in Texas remain unused.
"We are working hard to improve the vaccination process for everyone," said John Hellerstedt from DSHS.
City of Houston officials say they hope to receive more COVID-19 vaccines soon to distribute to the public.
"Manufacturers are going to be distributing more and more, but for now it’s limited," said Villarreal. "Hopefully those manufacturers can speed up those deliveries. That way, we’re able to provide them to the public."
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