AUSTIN (KXAN) — Monday, all Texans age 50 and older will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine as the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) launches its 1C tier.
This adds all Texans ages 50 through 64 to the people eligible for the vaccine across the state, in hopes of decreasing the spread of the virus in groups most at risk for hospitalization or death with COVID-19. However, with some Texas providers still facing waitlists of people in the 1A and 1B tiers who have not received their first doses, it may be a few days or even a week until some providers begin giving vaccines to those in 1C.
DSHS has shared that “individual providers will have the flexibility to further prioritize vaccination
within these groups,” and several Central Texas vaccine hubs are choosing to prioritize their 1A/1B waitlists first.
Austin Public Health
Austin Public Health told KXAN Sunday it has a waitlist of approximately 200,000 people in 1A/1B. APH is receiving 12,000 vaccine doses from the state this upcoming week, which means its allocation this week did not increase despite the addition of the 1C group. Still, APH is hopeful it will begin getting shots into the arms of 1C eligible individuals within the week, a spokesperson told KXAN Sunday.
On Saturday, Austin Public Health Director Stephanie Hayden-Howard explained that APH is working to update its platform to include 1C individuals, the same process that had to happen before APH could add educators and childcare providers to its vaccine appointments.
“So we are working on that right now, it will probably take us a few days to get that done,” Hayden-Howard said Saturday. “In the meantime, we are encouraging folks that are 50 years of age or older, go ahead and register in our system, that does not keep them from registering and once we get our technology issues worked out, then they will be eligible.”
APH explained to KXAN that it will continue to prioritize the 1A/1B individuals on its waitlist, but 1C individuals will still have a chance to schedule appointments.
“We are asking folks to be very patient, we’re also asking folks … get on any list that they can, and the first time that they are contacted, go for that vaccine,” Hayden-Howard said Saturday. “Whatever the vaccine is, just get the vaccine in your arm, in your system.”
To register for the Austin Public Health COVID-19 waitlist, go here.
Williamson County
Williamson County told KXAN Sunday it has a waitlist of approximately 12,500 people in the 1A and 1B groups. Curative is scheduled to provide 11,700 vaccine doses to Williamson County this week and Family Hospital Systems is scheduled to provide 6,000 doses to Williamson County this week, which means the county expects to administer a total of 17,700 doses this week.
Williamson County Public Affairs Manager Connie Odom explained these numbers leave the county optimistic it will be able to get through its 1A and 1B waitlists this week and able to start offering doses to 1C individuals by later on this week.
“We are going to be issuing emails with invitations to schedule a vaccine appointment to the people who are still in the Phase 1B category first, and then we’ll start issuing invitations to Phase 1C,” Odom shared.
Odom actually qualifies for 1C and has already signed up on the county’s waitlist. She recommends that others who are eligible for 1C sign up for the Williamson County vaccine waitlist so they can be notified once the 1C doses become available.
If you’re in 1A or 1B in Williamson County and haven’t gotten a vaccination appointment yet, the county says you should check the spam folder of your email to see if the message went to spam. You may have also had problems if you have a Yahoo email address. If that’s the case, or if you have any other issues scheduling an appointment, you can contact the Williamson County call center at 512-943-1600 on weekdays between 8 am and 6 p.m. for assistance.
“It was about one year ago today that we had our local disaster declaration issued because of the pandemic,” Odom noted. “So looking at it one year later, it is very gratifying to know that so many people are getting vaccinated and that we see a little light at the end of the tunnel. And we’re hoping that by the Fourth of July, all of those adults who want to receive the vaccine will be vaccinated and we’ll be able to have more gatherings and be able to get together with our friends and family.”
To sign up for the Williamson County COVID-19 vaccine waitlist, go here.
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