North Texans set to get COVID-19 vaccine urged to check for changes due to winter weather

Tarrant County leaders are evaluating weather patterns, and continue to urge people with COVID-19 vaccine appointments to watch their email for possible updates.

FORT WORTH, Texas - Tarrant County leaders are evaluating weather patterns, and continue to urge people with COVID-19 vaccine appointments to watch their email for possible updates.

Larger heating units have replaced smaller ones to pump out more heat for those waiting outside the COVID-19 vaccine site in Fort Worth on Circle Drive.

"To protect all of our family and to get over this little hump, we’ll fight anything, rain or snow," Sara Swierczewski said.

Tarrant County Public Health Director Vinny Taneja said people with appointments should pay close attention to their email accounts, as notifications regarding possible changes to appointments will go out as soon as decisions are made.

Meantime, MedStar is preparing for freeze-related service calls. Ambulances are stocked with heavy blankets and heat packs that help save lives.

"In the event we have a patient who’s hypothermic, we can actually use heat packs on their core to rewarm them, or if necessary, even warm some IV solution to administer warm IV solution to warm them up even faster," Matt Zavadsky, with MedStar, said.

On the roadways, TxDOT crews have begun spreading brine on state bridges and overpasses, and Fort Worth sanding crews are on standby to watch for precipitation.

"[Wednesday night], through the morning, we’ll be sending scouts out to check for, to check our bridges to see if there’s any ice," said Juan Cadena, with Fort Worth Transportation and Public Works.

And once those scouters find any ice on Fort Worth bridges, that’s when sanding crews swing into action and spread the sand/salt mix to make them safer for travel.

And with possible problems on roads, health leaders are reminding those with vaccine appointments to check email for possible schedule changes.