COVID-19 Vaccine Arrives in Texas

News Release
Dec. 14, 2020

The first shipments of COVID-19 vaccine have been delivered in Texas. Four sites received 19,500 doses of the Pfizer vaccine Monday morning. An additional 19 sites will receive 75,075 doses on Tuesday.

“Seeing the first doses of vaccine arrive in Texas is an important milestone signaling that a return to our way of life is within sight,” said Dr. John Hellerstedt, DSHS Commissioner. “We cannot stop short of the finish line. This hope should lift our spirits and strengthen our resolve to do what must be done to end the pandemic.”

The Pfizer vaccine began shipping over the weekend following an emergency use authorization issued Friday by the Food and Drug Administration. FDA scientists determined that the known benefits of the vaccine for people 16 and older outweigh its risks. A second vaccine, manufactured by Moderna, is under consideration by the FDA and could be authorized late this week.

Additional shipments are expected to occur later this week. In all, Texas was allocated 224,250 doses of vaccine to be shipped to 110 providers across the state in Week 1 of distribution. The focus is on facilities that indicated they will vaccinate at least 975 front-line health care workers since that is the minimum order for the Pfizer vaccine. Adding the Moderna vaccine next week, available in batches of 100 doses, will result in more vaccine being available for many more providers across the state. The full list of the facilities receiving vaccine in Week 1 is available at Week 1 COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation.

Receiving the COVID-19 vaccine is voluntary. Front-line health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities are the first groups to be vaccinated, and the Expert Vaccine Allocation Panel will make recommendations about subsequent groups. It will take a matter of months to manufacture and distribute enough vaccine for everyone who wants to be vaccinated. Until then, people should continue to prevent transmission of COVID-19 by wearing a mask and maintaining a social distance while around people they don’t live with, staying home when possible, and washing their hands frequently.

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Tuesday:

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(News Media Contact: DSHS Press Officer, pressofficer@dshs.texas.gov )

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