After a day when residents jammed up the phone lines to Denton County’s health department eager to get vaccinated, county officials continue to receive many questions regarding the availability of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Denton County Public Health (DCPH) only received an allotment of 1,000 of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, providing the first round of shots to emergency medical service providers and home health care workers on Monday, Dec. 28, as part of the 1A vaccine distribution group as designated by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS).
With the expansion of the vaccine distribution group to include 1B on the DSHS guidelines, pre-registration for the remaining doses of vaccine opened at noon on Wednesday to individuals ages 65 and older or ages 16 and up with at least one chronic medical condition.
The demand was much higher than the supply, as the county had approximately 450 doses available and thousands of people interested.
DCPH currently is anticipating the arrival of additional vaccines at a future date from the state, though an exact date is unknown at this time.
“We are pleased that DCPH is one of 140 registered vaccine providers in Denton County,” said Denton County Judge Andy Eads. “Unlike during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, the county is not a vaccine depot center. The federal administration did not set up the COVID-19 vaccination process in the same way.”
Individuals interested in receiving a COVID-19 vaccine should first contact their local provider. For a list of providers who currently have vaccines, visit the Texas Department of State Health Services website.
“Denton County stands prepared to host large mass vaccinations clinics across the county once we receive the vaccines from the state” said Eads. “The Denton County Commissioners Court is also considering an item in the Friday, Jan. 1, 2021, agenda to purchase an online system that will make it much easier to register for vaccines going forward as well as make the system as transparent as possible.”
DCPH has a new COVID-19 vaccine website, which provides the latest information on who can be vaccinated, when registration for DCPH vaccine clinics open/close and how to find other Denton County vaccine providers.
