Houston plans to offer self-scheduling for secondary vaccine doses soon

HOUSTON – People who should receive a second dose of coronavirus vaccine will soon be able to schedule this appointment on their own.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said Monday that the city’s Department of Health received nearly 42,000 first doses of COVID-19 vaccine, of which nearly 34,000 were given. He said about 18,600 secondary doses were received, of which 2,300 were given. He said nearly 12,000 people are scheduled to receive the second dose this week.

Turner said the Houston Department of Health is currently contacting people directly to schedule a second dose. He said people should give the Department of Health at least 48 hours before the second dose is due before calling the city’s call center to ask about an appointment.

Stephen Williams, director of the Department of Health, said a link will be announced soon that will allow people to schedule their second dose on their own.

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Dr. David Persse, the city’s chief physician, reminded people that the recommended 28 days are not a hard and fast rule. However, he said the second dose is needed to get all the benefits of the vaccine.

“The purpose of the second dose is to drive home immunity into your system and, in fact, to develop those B cells and T cells that will give you long-term immunity,” Persse said.

Turner said the city plans several community-based vaccine clinics to ensure a fair distribution of photos.

A partnership with Hief Clinic in Alief has led to 500 people receiving their first dose over the weekend, Turner said. He said another clinic is planned somewhere in the northeastern part of Houston soon, but details are still being finalized.

“It’s closer for people to get to that,” Turner said. “We have to admit that there are a lot of people who have problems with transportation.”

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Williams said that while small-scale efforts are important for equity in distribution, mass vaccine clinics are still vital to the overall distribution strategy.

“They’re good for seeing a lot of people and we have to keep these sites, because if we don’t really vaccinate a lot of people, we’re going to lose access to the vaccine,” Williams said. “At the same time, we need to make sure that certain communities are not blocked from that system.”

Persse said that both the hospitalization rate and the positivity rate have decreased and that there may even be a slight decrease. He said people should keep their guard up and follow all coronavirus guidelines urged by health officials: wash your hands, wear a mask, keep your distance from others and take the test.

You can watch a rerun of Turner’s press conference below: