Teachers, school staff and child care staff are now eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Texas, according to the Texas Department of Health.
Texas DSHS said Wednesday it notified all vaccine providers that they should immediately include school staff and child care workers in their administration of vaccines.
The state’s decision comes after DSHS received a letter from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services asking states to expand eligibility to include people working in schools and child care operations, including teachers and school staff.
The federal directive defines eligible individuals as “those who work in pre-primary, primary and secondary schools, as well as the Head Start and Early Head Start programs (including teachers, staff and bus drivers) and those who work as or for care providers. authorized children, including center and family care providers. ”
This action does not change the other priority groups for vaccination in Texas.
DSHS said vaccine providers are encouraged to continue their efforts to vaccinate older adults because the COVID-19 burden falls the worst on people 65 and older.
Want to get a vaccine waiting list?
As the state begins distributing COVID-19 vaccines to those in Phase 1A and 1B, county health departments have begun waiting lists for those who want to be inoculated.
You can register now to get vaccinated in Collin, Dallas, Denton and Tarrant counties. The links are below:
Waiting list links: Collin – Waiting list search | Dallas | Denton | Tarrant
You do not have to be a county resident to register for a COVID-19 vaccine in that county – registration is open to anyone in Texas. For those without internet access, Tarrant County also makes registrations by phone at 817-248-6299. In Dallas County, call the DCHHS Vaccine Helpline at 1-855-IMMUNE9 (1-855-466-8639). In Denton County, call 940-349-2585.
The vaccine is currently given only to those in Phase 1A and 1B, as highlighted by the Texas Department of State Health Services. Those in Phase 1A are front-line health workers or residents of long-term care units. Phase 1B includes those over the age of 65 or those over the age of 16 with a chronic condition that puts them at risk for serious illness.
On March 3, the availability of the vaccine was expanded to include school and child care workers.
Once vaccinated, people are expected to get a certain level of protection within a few weeks of the first shot, but full protection may not happen until a few weeks after the second shot. Even when completely vaccinated, it is still possible to become infected with the virus because the vaccine does not provide 100% protection.
Texas DSHS recommends that the vaccine will not be available to the general public until late spring or early summer 2021.