Gov. Greg Abbott, Fort Worth mayor attend White House vaccine summit
Governor Greg Abbott says the state has done some test runs on COVID-19 vaccine distributions to hospitals expected to take place next week.
The governor was in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday for a meeting on vaccine distributions. He says Texas has the necessary equipment for the ultra-cold storage required for the Pfizer vaccine that is being delivered.
All eyes are on the historic rollout of the first round of COVID vaccines.
The White House hosted a daylong vaccine summit on Tuesday praising Operation Warp Speed.
“We have already signed up more than 7,200 providers in the state of Texas that are awaiting for these vaccines as we speak right now, ready to make sure we do put needles in arms within 24-48 hours as soon as we get those vaccines,” Gov. Abbott said.
Abbott was one of four governors to speak at the summit involving federal, state and local leaders, industry executives and scientists. He says Texas has held some test runs for distributions.
Twenty North Texas hospitals will receive more than 50,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, which could get emergency FDA approval this week.
Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price also attended. She says making hospital workers first in line for the vaccine is needed.
“We cannot, with hospitals where they are now, afford to have people off from the hospitals. This will help reduce the demands on our hospitals and keep our staff and our medical personal safer,” she said.
As North Texas hospitals wait for doses to arrive, they have their hands full with the persistent surge in COVID patients.
One area of recent concern is the shrinking number of available ICU beds. Only 60 ICU beds in 19-county North Texas region are available. That’s down from 115 last week.
“We anticipate hospitalizations will go up in the next couple of days,” said DFW Hospital Council President Stephen Love. “And most of the people I am talking to on the clinical side feel like some of that is a result of activity on Thanksgiving.”
Denton County has six ICU beds left. Tarrant County has 18. Currently, hundreds of traveling nurses and doctors are assisting hospitals in our area.
Price says while vaccine news is encouraging, she wants people to know the priority is for front line workers and vulnerable populations like nursing homes.
“I know everyone would love to be at that first inauguration to put their arm out and get their shot, but we’ve got to take care of those populations first to keep our hospitals viable,” the Fort Worth mayor said.
Hospitals in Dallas County expect the vaccine delivery to happen no later than next Thursday.