Harris County Public Health needs to ramp up vaccinations to meet demand

Nurse Leslie Stewart-Jackson did a little dance between every dose of the COVID-19 vaccine she administered at a high school stadium parking lot.

“We’re so happy just to be a part of this, just to hopefully see an end to this,” said the nurse. “We just want to celebrate each person who comes here, because they’re bold and brave. That’s what it take to get our world back in order.”

Harris County Public Health, like all Texas public health agencies, has way more demand for COVID-19 vaccines than they have supplies.

The county had to take down its website for registration because so many people tried to register and did not qualify.

“I’m thrilled,” said teacher Renee Caudillo, who was able to get vaccinated because he had a health condition. “COVID-19 has hit my family really hard. We have had 59 people from my extended family get COVID-19, 17 hospitalized, and we lost eight. So we’re really grateful to get the vaccine.”

Harris County Public Health got just 3,000 doses of the vaccine this week from the state, far fewer than large hospital chains like Memorial Hermann or Houston Methodist, and said they are determined to vaccinate first responders, seniors, and those who qualify.

“We understand there is an issue,” said Mac McClendon from Harris County Public Health. “We can not fix the supply problem. We’re just the deliverer of the vaccine. That’s why we’re doing this.”

The Texas Department of State Health services has not made itself available to answer questions on the vaccine supply issue.

A source told that next week’s shipments will focus on large scale providers.