One in eight Harris County residents 16 and older have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccines, according to state and local data.
A Chronicle analysis found that the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines have gone to 12.4 percent of the county’s population in that age range, or 447,861 people.
That number is expected to rise as the Federal Emergency Management Agency opens a vaccine supersite in Houston at NRG Park. The site can vaccinate 42,000 people per week, targeting residents in high-risk ZIP codes.
Federal regulators are also likely to authorize the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, boosting vaccine supply at a critical time, when some say the inventory does not match demand. On Wednesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it had reviewed the pharmaceutical giant’s trial data and determined it was consistent with the recommendations of the emergency use guidelines.
That’s about nine percent of the total population in Harris County, and a bit less than half of these people have gotten both dose. With the one-shot Johnson and Johnson vaccine on its way, we should really make a dent in the numbers quickly.
The super sites should help, too, even if people had to wait longer than they expected on the first day.
Lauren Lefebvre, regional director for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said late Wednesday that there were a variety of reasons for the delays. Some people had issues with the electronic codes required to check in for appointments, and officials may tweak some of their procedures to decrease the amount of paperwork required to enter.
Traffic issues were further exacerbated by cars arriving early or late. Lefebvre said FEMA expects to add more workers in the coming days, and some of the traffic routes could change around the stadium to ease the flow of cars trying to enter.
The city and county have made vulnerable populations — including the unhoused, and those without Internet or the ability to travel — a focal point of their pandemic response. The NRG site is drive-in only, which has raised concerns about equitable access.
Houston Health Department Director Stephen Williams added that the NRG site is only one part of the city’s broader vaccination efforts, and will open up availability for “other providers, many of which are located in hard-hit areas but have been unable to keep up with demand.
“Of course we’re trying to target those individuals who are most vulnerable, but (NRG) is not exclusively for individuals that are most vulnerable,” he said. “Having an additional 6,000 slots to see people is a really good thing for Houston and Harris County — and we don’t want to minimize the value of that — but it isn’t everything.”
Yes, more is still needed. But we’re way ahead of where we were in January, and the curve is sloping upward.
My wife and I have 9 am appointments tomorrow at NRG for our first dose. We had registered on the County and City websites earlier in February and received text messages and emails from the County on Thursday night. We’re both in category 1B. The process is working for us so far and we’re hoping it will work for everyone else.
My other half and I got our first Moderna dose Friday morning at the Harris County site in Katy. The entire process from arrival to finish was 45 minutes. The experience was superbly managed by a stellar on-site crew and very efficient appointment process set up by the County. Thank you to all involved!
I’m in the really odd position where being too young and too healthy is working against me. I don’t begrudge the people with higher risks going first. I have hopes of increasing amounts of normal starting this summer.