County commissioners unanimously voted Jan. 11 to contract private company Curative Medical Associates to establish “megasites” for COVID-19 vaccines, the county announced in a news release.
Curative operates several large-scale COVID-19 testing sites nationwide and is certified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and vaccine manufacturers to administer publicly provided vaccines.
These mega-sites will be capable of administering both Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, the release said.
Staggering interest for vaccines in Collin County continues to build: The county’s recently launched vaccine waitlist has over 83,000 in queue as of the morning of Jan. 11.
As of Jan. 11, Collin County has only received 1,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine from the Texas Department of State Health Services, according to the county. All of these doses have been administered.
Collin County Judge Chris Hill at the Jan. 11 commissioners meeting underscored that the county stands ready to inoculate residents on a large scale. The county judge, however, also said he thinks there has been a “disservice” telling the general public to ready themselves for Phase 1B of vaccine distributions when the number of doses received is so low.
“There's one thing we lack. All of the strategy and all this planning, the one missing piece: We don't have any doses,” Hill said. “We can't give out what we don't have.”
Phase 1B includes people age 65 and older and people age 16 and older with at least one chronic medical condition that puts them at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
Curative will reference the countywide vaccine waitlist to notify residents of vaccine mega-site locations as well as when the state makes supplies available.
Editor’s note: The original post has been edited to correct an error. The agency's name is Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
