Denton County Public Health anticipates receiving 31,500 COVID-19 vaccine doses from the Texas Department of State Health Services for distribution next week, the county announced Wednesday evening.
The scheduled allotment includes 19,500 doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 12,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine, according to a county news release. An additional allotment of vaccine doses for second shots are also anticipated.
“This is welcome news,” said Denton County Judge Andy Eads. “The Commissioners Court has asked the state to increase the amount of vaccine sent to our county for several weeks. They have incrementally increased the amount of doses each week from an initial 1,100 to 3,000 to 6,000 last week and 9,950 this week.”
The Denton County Commissioners Court and Denton County state legislators have worked closely with DSHS officials to increase the amount of vaccines sent to Denton County as the number of residents in tiers 1A and 1B have registered in the county’s Vaccine Interest Portal. As of Wednesday afternoon, more than 143,488 individuals have enrolled, according to the news release.
Appointments are required for the vaccination clinics. Individuals on the Vaccine Interest Portal will receive texts and emails with appointment information several days prior to each clinic. The Vaccine Interest Portal is located on the county’s main website at www.DentonCounty.gov.
“In the initial allocations, Denton County received lower amounts,” Eads said. “I think this is the state catching up.”
As one of 28 vaccination hubs in the state of Texas, DCPH operated its first 5,000-dose clinic on Wednesday in Denton.
“We have steadily increased the amount of traffic our drive-through vaccination clinics can handle in anticipation of receiving more vaccine,” Eads said.
Denton County is working with area municipalities to assist with the vaccination clinics. However, more volunteers are needed. Anyone interested in assisting with the vaccination clinics is asked to volunteer in the Medical Reserve Corps at https://www.dentoncounty.gov/758/Medical-Reserve-Corps. Volunteers will undergo a background check and are asked to complete an online orientation.
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