TEXANS 50 AND UP CAN RECEIVE COVID-19 VACCINE BEGINNING MARCH 15TH
Texas residents over 50 will soon be able to get vaccinated for COVID-19.
The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) announced Wednesday the opening of Phase 1C beginning Monday, March 15th.
Residents between 50 and 64 will be the priority group for Phase 1C. They will join healthcare and frontline workers and residents of long-term care facilities, citizens 65 and older, people 16 and older with at least one chronic medical condition, teachers and childcare workers on the list of people eligible to be vaccinated.
According to DSHS, over 93 percent of the deaths in Texas directly caused by COVID-19 have been in people 50 and older, with the ages 50 to 64 accounting for 20 percent of all fatalities.
DSHS says over half of all Texas seniors have gotten at least one vaccine dose, and 30 percent are now fully vaccinated. It also says over 1 million of the approximately 5 million Texans between the ages of 50 and 64 have been vaccinated.
The state’s Expert Vaccine Allocation Panel will continue to meet and make recommendations about the further allocation and distribution of the vaccine.
DSHS says the state will work with vaccine providers and other local partners to ensure that people who are in Phase 1A, 1B and 1C have access to the vaccine. Individual providers will have the flexibility to further prioritize vaccination within those groups.