The Fort Bend County Health and Human Services COVID-19 vaccine preregistration system has reached capacity and is now closed, according to the county. Residents with questions about preregistration, the COVID-19 vaccine or COVID-19 in general are encouraged to call the vaccination hotline at 832-471-1373.
County officials do not yet know when the county will receive another shipment of vaccine but will inform the community as new information arrives and when preregistration reopens.
Posted 3:50 p.m. Jan. 21
Fort Bend County is prepared to receive and administer hundreds of thousands of COVID-19 vaccinations, County Judge KP George said during a press conference Jan. 21.
To do so, however, the county must receive the vaccines in the first place—a challenge George said mirrors the dilemma the county faced last March, when officials struggled to get access to more COVID-19 tests.
“I am as frustrated as you are,” he said.
Still, George said, the situation may soon change for the better. Fort Bend County has been named a vaccination distribution hub by the state, George announced, which means the county should begin receiving larger quantities of vaccines to distribute to residents in the near future.
“The light is definitely at the end of the tunnel,” George said.
George did not disclose where large-scale vaccination sites will be set up, but he said he expects several vaccinations sites will open throughout the county. Those plans will be made public once they are confirmed, he said.
As of Jan. 21, 34,436 Fort Bend County residents have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services, and 6,383 people have been fully vaccinated.
Front-line health care workers, residents at long-term care facilities, residents age 65 and older and residents with a chronic medical condition that puts them at increased risk for severe illness from the virus are currently eligible to receive the COVID‑19 vaccine, according to the state health department.
The county received another 5,850 Pfizer vaccines Jan. 21, which will be given out to people who have already preregistered for the vaccine, George said.
Dr. Jacquelyn Johnson-Minter, director of Fort Bend County Health & Human Services, said at the press conference that it has been frustrating for members of the public and for health officials that the supply of vaccines thus far has been unable to meet the demand.
Still, she said, the county is doing its best to work with the distribution plan that was laid out at the federal level and is optimistic for the days ahead.
“There are going to be further hurdles to overcome, but we're so excited to be able to be in the vaccination process now that will get us closer to the end of this pandemic,” Johnson-Minter said.
Though the county does not know when it will receive another allotment of vaccines, preregistration was set to reopen the afternoon of Jan. 21 at www.fbchealth.org. Residents with questions about preregistration, the COVID-19 vaccine or COVID-19 in general are encouraged to call the vaccination hotline at 832-471-1373.
As the vaccination process moves forward, George asked residents to be patient and urged them to continue following safety guidelines recommended by the Centers for Disease and Prevention and to get vaccinated when it becomes their turn.
“Together, we will beat this pandemic, and we will get back to normal life,” he said. “But we need your help.”
