Coronavirus Texas: Pharmacies in the Houston area are beginning to offer COVID-19 vaccine slots

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) – Houstonians actively seeking meetings with the COVID-19 vaccine have been surprised to find availability in local pharmacies.

This good news comes even though COVID-19 variants found in South Africa and the United Kingdom are now confirmed to be in the Greater Houston region.

The Houston Department of Health said the two cases of the UK variant were 50-year-old men. One of them traveled abroad in late December to January, while the travel information of the other case was not immediately disclosed. One of the men is in the hospital.

Meanwhile, Houstonians who searched the internet for vaccine meetings received some good news on Monday.

Buzz Bellmont, 65, was able to register himself and her husband on Sam’s Club’s pharmacy website after days of trying.

“I (searched) online like every day,” Bellmont said. “(Monday) was the first day I could pass and my husband and I met on Friday.”

Information about Sam’s Club was quickly posted by Laurie DesAutels, who created an open Vaccinate Houston Facebook page as a kind of information center for the various links that are there to receive meetings.

“Many members are like me, who have a mother, a grandmother and want to enroll them,” said DesAutels, who has experience in computers and focuses on the project as a kind of community. service. “I enjoyed being a computer nerd for many years. So for me, he came back to Texas Strong and Houston Strong, helping each other.”

In addition to Sam’s Club, a number of other pharmacies in our region are expected to offer appointments starting this week. CVS, for example, is expected to begin enrollment open on Thursday, with vaccination schedules starting Friday.

Those who currently qualify for a vaccine are also encouraged to check availability at Kroger, Walgreens, HEB, Walmart and Randalls.

Enrollment for vaccines among qualified people is important, as health officials say the British version is likely to spread in our community.

“We have to assume that the UK version is spreading in our city,” the health department wrote on Twitter, adding a reminder that the version does not make people sicker. Vaccines appear to be effective against the UK variant, but it will be months before enough people are vaccinated to make a difference.

Last month, Harris County, of which Houston is a part, identified the first case of the British version.

Regarding the South African version, the regular information of the city of Houston on the coronavirus had a visit from Dr. Jacqueline Minter, the health director of Fort Bend County, who confirmed that a resident of her county was confirmed for the strain. The man with the variant recovered.

And in a bit of misery in the city’s effort to vaccinate as many people as possible now, officials don’t expect to provide additional vaccine appointments.

Turner originally intended to use his coronavirus briefing on Monday to ask local hospitals to share the state’s vaccine supply with local health departments and the Harris health system so that more minorities have a chance to get the vaccines.

SEE: Houston identifies the first COVID-19 cases with the UK version

He said right now that African Americans, Hispanics and Asians are not being vaccinated at almost the same rate as white residents and said he wants that to change, especially after noticing the rate of minority mortality.

The Houston Department of Health said Hispanics accounted for 55 percent of COVID-19 deaths, compared with 21 percent of blacks, 18 percent of whites and 5.5 percent of Asians.

Across the country, CDC data show that, compared to whites, Hispanics are 1.7 times more likely to get COVID-19, four times more likely to go to the hospital, and nearly three times more likely to die.

A study from the University of Houston found that a third of Texans could refuse a COVID-19 vaccine and that reluctance is proving to be particularly true among communities of color.

SEE Related story: New figures show black, Hispanic, under-vaccinated communities

Turner said more than 88 percent of Harris Health’s vaccines currently go to people of color, so he goes to private hospitals to share his doses.

SEE RELATED: How access associated with mistrust impacts Hispanic communities receiving COVID-19 vaccine

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