The mistake was made by a data entry error, his post said, and it has been corrected and will not happen again.
"Please understand, as this is a large, complex, first-time undertaking with numerous groups partnering together, there will be some growing pains," he said in his post. "However, I assure you, our Fire and EMS first responders, City, Collin College and MISD staff, along [with] the many men and women volunteering to stand up this vaccination center, along with all of our County partners, are working as hard as they can to accomplish this large and important task as quickly as possible."
Original post: The McKinney Fire Department has been designated by the Texas Department of State Health Services to become a COVID-19 vaccination hub. On the morning of Jan. 19 the city received 800 second-dose vaccines and 2,000 first-dose vaccines, officials said.
“The goal of these hubs is to provide more people the vaccine and a simpler way to sign up for an appointment,” the department’s website states. “Providers will focus on vaccinating areas and populations hardest hit by COVID‑19.”
McKinney Fire Chief Danny Kistner said he expects the hub to open in the coming days.
The city is partnering with McKinney ISD and is using the McKinney ISD Stadium off Hardin Boulevard and McKinney Ranch Parkway as the site for administering the vaccines, Kistner said at the Jan. 19 McKinney City Council meeting.
As the city “puts shots in arms,” it will be sent additional doses from the state, Kistner said. It’s possible that the city could receive up to 4,000 doses a week, he said.
“That’s all tentative. It's all subject to change. It all depends on how we prove ourselves over the next few weeks,” Kistner said.
To that end, the Fire Department is partnering with Baylor Scott & White Medical Center-McKinney and Medical City McKinney as well as various other city departments to contribute to the hub, Kistner said. The department has also reached out to Collin College to see if any of the nursing students could participate.
Only individuals in Phase 1A or Phase 1B are eligible for the vaccine at this time, he said. These include health care workers; people age 65 or older; or those at least 16 years old who have a chronic medical condition, including pregnancy. People cannot show up to receive the vaccine without signing up on the waitlist first and then being called to receive the shot. The city is using the Collin County registration form to put people on a waitlist for the vaccine. Click here to sign up for the waitlist.
There are multiple vaccination hubs around the county coming online in the coming days, Mayor George Fuller said, but they’ll only be as effective as the number of vaccines they receive. People are encouraged to sign up at multiple sites and respond to the first phone call they receive, Kistner said.
“Everybody's very motivated and very committed to helping get the vaccine out and helping to curb this pandemic within our community,” Kistner said.
For more information and to find additional vaccination hubs, click here.
Editor's note: This article has been updated with new information.
