Texas is becoming the largest state to expand COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to all adults, more than a month before President Joe Biden’s goal of making the shots available to anyone who wants one by May 1.
The announcement by state health officials Tuesday adds Texas to the rapidly growing list of states that are making the vaccine available to all adults. The drastic expansion for the state’s nearly 30 million residents will begin Monday.
“We are closing in on 10 million doses administered in Texas, and we want to keep up the momentum as the vaccine supply increases,” said Imelda Garcia, chairwoman of the state’s Expert Vaccine Allocation Panel.
Want to Get on a Vaccine Waitlist?
County health departments have launched waitlists for those who wish to be inoculated and eligible under Phase 1A, 1B, 1C and child care and education staff.
You can register to recieve the vaccination in Collin, Dallas, Denton and Tarrant counties. Links are below:
Waitlist Links: Collin – Search Waitlist | Dallas | Denton | Tarrant
You do not need to be a resident of the county to register for a COVID-19 vaccine in that county — registration is open to anyone in Texas. For those without internet access, Tarrant County is also taking registrations by phone at 817-248-6299. In Dallas County, call the DCHHS vaccine hotline at 1-855-IMMUNE9 (1-855-466-8639). In Denton County, call 940-349-2585.
For the past two weeks, Texas has been the nation’s largest state with no coronavirus restrictions after Republican Gov. Greg Abbott repealed a mask mandate that has divided businesses and lifted limits on restaurant and retail occupancy. Hospitalizations in Texas have plummeted to their lowest levels since October, but local health officials say they are again watching the numbers closely after spring break last week.
Alaska was the first state to open up vaccine eligibility to all adults, and others are now rushing to do the same, including Tennessee and Missouri.
Texas has one of the nation’s slowest vaccination rates. Roughly 10% of the state’s population had been fully vaccinated as of Tuesday, and about 22% had received at least one dose, according the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
State officials have blamed the numbers on February’s blackouts from a deadly winter storm and claimed that federal officials have used outdated Census data to determine Texas’ shipment of doses.
Biden earlier this month used his first prime-time address to pledge that all adults in the U.S. would be eligible for the vaccine starting May 1.
The vaccine is currently only being administered to those who are part of Phase 1A, 1B and 1C, as outlined by the Texas Department of State Health Services. Those in Phase 1A are frontline health care workers or residents of long-term care facilities. Phase 1B includes those who are over the age of 65, or those over the age of 16 with a chronic medical condition that puts them at risk for severe illness.
On March 3, vaccine availability was expanded to include school and child care workers. On March 15, vaccine eligibility was expanded to include Phase 1C, which includes anyone over the age of 50.
President Biden has said the vaccine should be available to all Americans by May 1.
Once vaccinated, people are expected to get some level of protection within a couple of weeks after the first shot, but full protection may not happen until a couple of weeks after the second shot. Even when fully vaccinated, it’s still possible to become infected by the virus since the vaccine does not offer 100% protection.