AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas Department of State Health Services announced Friday the state will get a combined total of 620,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines from both Moderna and Pfizer next week, if Moderna’s is approved soon by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The doses will go to more than 1,100 providers in 185 counties in Texas and is intended for more frontline healthcare workers and long-term care facilities, DSHS said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will give out 460,500 doses of the Moderna vaccine and 159,900 doses of the Pfizer vaccine to the state.
DSHS is also hoping with the anticipated approval of Moderna’s vaccine, which doesn’t need as stringent storage requirements as the Pfizer vaccine, will allow more doses to head to rural areas and smaller providers.
Healthcare leaders want the public to know both vaccines are safe and effective.
The Moderna vaccine was recommended for use by an FDA advisory committee Thursday but hasn’t yet received full approval by the FDA. If it is authorized, shipments will go out over the weekend and begin arriving in the state Monday.
Facilities on the list to get the doses are hospitals, freestanding ERs, EMS providers, pharmacies, local health departments, health centers and other clinics, DSHS said. The department released a list of each provider included in this second round of shipments and which vaccine they are expected to get.
Vaccines for long-term care program
Long-term care residents and staff could also start getting vaccinated soon. DSHS reported most of the Pfizer vaccine shipment, 124,800 doses, will go to the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program, which is scheduled to start on Dec. 28, DSHS said.
According to a DSHS list of providers expected to be a part of the second round of shipments, 28 H-E-B pharmacies in Travis County are on the list to receive the Moderna vaccine.
The rest of the Pfizer doses will go to 29 hospitals that were part of the first shipment this week. A total of 224,250 Pfizer doses were sent to larger providers to start vaccinating healthcare workers this week, DSHS said.
Hopes are the next round of vaccines will arrive before Christmas, but some may be pushed to the week after next depending on shipping times.
