Texas launches mobile vaccine program to help underserved areas
AUSTIN, Texas - Texas is ramping up its COVID-19 vaccination efforts in underserved areas of the Lone Star State. The Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) has created a State Mobile Vaccine Pilot Program to help administer vaccinations to qualified Texans in rural communities.
As part of this pilot program, state mobile vaccination teams made up of Texas National Guard personnel will be deployed to five rural Texas counties — DeWitt, Marion, Real, Sherman, and Starr.
Texas National Guard teams are prepared to begin vaccinations on Thursday and the Texas Division of Emergency Management is actively working with county officials to schedule their deployment, according to a press release on the pilot program.
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FILE - A health worker sits next to a dose of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine as part of the first stage of Ecuador's COVID-19 vaccination plan at Guasmo Sur Hospital on Jan. 21, 2021.
"The State Mobile Vaccine Pilot Program will help us ramp up vaccination efforts among homebound Texans, Texans 65 years of age or older, and among communities in need," said Governor Abbott. "I thank TDEM, the Texas National Guard, as well as our participating city and county officials for working together on this important project. We will continue to develop strategies to vaccinate more Texans and keep our communities safe."