Just about everyone is waiting their turn for the COVID-19 vaccine. But allocating the vaccine is not going without challenges here in West Texas.
It's leaving a lot of people frustrated and a lot of questions unanswered.
So what is the hold up on getting the vaccine?
We reached out to Brooks Landgraf and August Pflueger to see how the state is helping get the vaccine dispersed.
Pflueger did not get back to our requests but here's what Landgraf had to say:
“Quite simply, the biggest challenge is that demand for vaccines is far exceeding supply.”
But even if there was enough supply, communication between the state and local hospitals is not where it needs to be.
”Communication could be improved by continuing to request feedback from hospitals to gain knowledge from the boots on the ground as to what the rollout looks like in real time."
Just this week the Department of Health and Human Services surveyed local health departments and providers to try to give more vaccination information to them.
The big takeaway here?
If you meet the phase 1B criteria, 65 and older or with chronic conditions, your vaccine is coming.
It is just going to be take longer than initially planned.
Once phase 1A and 1B are completed here in Texas that means that about half of our state will be vaccinated.
As for who will get the vaccine in phase 1C?
That is to be determined.
Landgraf tells me the state’s Expert Vaccine Allocation Panel is currently considering which priority populations will be included in phase 1C.
Some viewers have asked why the National Guard is not helping with the distribution and providers?
Lamdgraf tells us:
Only the governor has authority to call the National Guard into action. The National Guard has been deployed as a part of the state's COVID-19 testing response, but they are not putting shots in arms at this time. It is possible that the National Guard could assist in this way eventually, but the limited vaccine supply has not made it necessary yet.