On Monday, the state identified who is eligible in the next group, called Group 1B.
Group 1B includes persons aged 65 and over and persons aged 16 and over with chronic conditions including:
CONNECTION: Texas will prioritize 65 years and over for next round of vaccines
When can people who qualify for group 1B be expected to receive the vaccine?
According to DSHS, there are eight million people in Texas who are eligible for Group 1B, although some of them are also eligible to be vaccinated as part of Group 1A as health care workers or long-term residents. Bill McKeon, CEO and president of Texas Medical Center, says it all depends on how much vaccine they get. Right now, local health leaders are waiting to see if they will receive more guidance from the state, but as soon as enough vaccine is available, they anticipate that 1B vaccinations will begin.
“Any entity I know of (that) has a vaccine, if it gets to the point where people in phase 1A stop showing up to be vaccinated, they won’t stay on the vaccine. They will probably move on to 1B later, and I applaud them for doing so, “said Dr. David Persse of the Houston Health Authority.
Where will people go to get the vaccine?
There are a number of entities that have signed up to be COVID-19 vaccine providers in Texas. The hope is that a lot of people go to their doctor’s office to get vaccinated, but if you don’t have a primary care physician, there are other ways that are working.
Dr. Persse says he will need to have a network outside of hospitals to ensure that people in group 1B are vaccinated.
“In a perfect world, everyone on this list would have a primary care physician who could contact them and coordinate with their vaccination. We hope, however, that this will happen to a large extent, but we know also that there are people who will meet those qualifications that do not necessarily have a primary care physician, so we need to figure out how to get them, advertise, communicate, educate them why they should be vaccinated. “said Dr. Persse.
If you do not have a primary care physician, will you have to prove that you fall into one of the categories 1B?
“Will there be a check and a balance to make sure you really have the disease you’re supporting? I don’t really know how we could do that, so now there’s a lot of conversation,” Dr. Persse said.
Why did the Texas Vaccine Allocation Panel select 65 and over and 16 and over with certain medical conditions to be the next vaccinated group?
DSHS said the state gives priority to those most at risk for severe illness and death from COVID-19. Over 70% of deaths caused by COVID-19 in the state occurred in people aged 65 and over.
When can the general population be expected to receive the vaccine?
Probably in April or May.
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