For the second time in three weeks, Denton County was left out of the COVID-19 vaccine allocation list, with last week’s delivery of more than 25,000 first doses, now blocked between weeks when the Department of Public Health received only second dose for clinics at Texas Motor Speedway.
The first week without the allocation of the first dose from the state health department was the week of March 22, when public health in Denton County did not receive any vaccine after being consistently allocated most of all other state hub providers. At the time, DCPH spokeswoman Jennifer Rainey said the department had enough vaccines on hand to serve its clinics for the week, adding that the department hoped it would be only once.
Last week, the county’s typical allocation – 25,740 doses of Pfizer – returned as the county began vaccinating all Texas adults after expanding eligibility. While providers consistently receive second-dose shipments that are not listed in the state’s weekly allocation document, DCPH has gone without a first dose again this week.
At Tuesday’s Denton County Court of Commissioners meeting, DCPH Director Matt Richardson did not address the lack of an allocation, which he also did not address for the first time. Arriving before the meeting, Rainey said only that “DCPH had the vaccine on hand to be used for the first and second dose this week.”
Rainey did not specify whether DCPH expects a state allocation next week or whether it will need a new allocation to host a full list of vaccination clinics. Richardson confirmed at Tuesday’s meeting that the department will send meetings for next week.
“We will be inviting new meeting slots for next week,” Richardson said. “We have finished with our meeting slots for this week, so we have a complete list at TMS [Tuesday] until Friday. “
According to the DCPH online vaccination tracker, the department invited by spot no. 453,002 on its waiting list, with a total of 485,759 registered persons. These numbers are updated every Monday morning, which means another 25,000 Texas residents were on the county’s list last week. Richardson said another 2,000 signed up between Monday and Tuesday.
Not everyone who registers for a vaccine in the county will remain on the waiting list, as many have received photos from other providers and then removed from the county queue. However, Richardson said the line currently stands at about 32,000 people who have not yet received the first dose. – a number that overshadows the department’s standard weekly allocation of 25,740 Pfizer photos.
Many providers in Denton County were shot this week, including several chains of Tom Thumb and Walgreens pharmacies, according to the Texas Department of Health. The largest allocations went to Carrollton Regional Medical Center (1,000 doses Johnson & Johnson) and PLLC Driven MD in Frisco (1,000 doses Modern).
Richardson’s review of the pandemic itself was again positive, with active virus cases continuing to decline and other important hospital and case values, either stagnant or improved. However, he addressed the issue of COVID-19 variants.
The most prominent variant of the state, Richardson said, is one first discovered in the United Kingdom, officially named variant B.1.1.7. It was first discovered at Denton in early February, although he said current vaccines have been shown to be effective against it.
“The interesting part of this variant is that it’s a little less virulent, so a little less deadly, which is good news,” Richardson said. “The bad news is that it’s a little easier to catch. So one of the things we want to do next is to emphasize the need for vaccination. ”