Thousands of doses of Moderna Inc. and Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE's COVID-19 vaccines were allocated to Montgomery County health care providers this week as the state's first phase of vaccinations continued.
A total of 5,225 COVID-19 vaccine doses for eight county facilities were included in the Texas Department of State Health Services' Week 3 allocations. Recipients included larger county hospitals and smaller providers, with allocations ranging from 100 to nearly 3,000 doses.
Through three weeks, more than 19,000 vaccine doses have been allocated to Montgomery County providers.
Posted Dec. 21 12:14 p.m.
Twenty Montgomery County hospitals, clinics and pharmacies are in line to receive nearly 8,000 doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine following its emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Dec. 18 in the second week of statewide COVID-19 vaccine distribution.
More than 460,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine and nearly 160,000 doses of Pfizer and BioNTech SE's vaccine will be sent to around 1,100 providers in the state beginning Dec. 21, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. With both vaccines now available, Texas's week-two vaccine allocations represent a more than 176% increase over the 224,250 total doses allocated during the week of Dec. 14, when only the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was available.
“Adding the Moderna vaccine will dramatically increase the amount of vaccine that can go to rural areas and smaller providers because it ships in smaller quantities and can be stored longer at regular refrigerator temperatures. Both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are safe and effective – both can confer protection against COVID-19, regardless of which vaccine you receive," DSHS Commissioner John Hellerstedt said in a Dec. 18 statement.
In Montgomery County, CHI St. Luke's The Woodlands Hospital is set to receive 2,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine this week, according to DSHS, the largest week-two allocation in the county. St. Luke's neighboring Lakeside Hospital in The Woodlands was allocated 500 doses of the vaccine this week, and HCA Houston Healthcare Conroe was allocated 900 doses.
Other county facilities receiving between 100 and 600 doses of the Moderna vaccine this week include pharmacies, clinics and physicians' offices in Conroe, Magnolia, Montgomery, Porter, Spring and The Woodlands.
No Montgomery County providers are scheduled to receive doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine this week. The DSHS said the majority of that vaccine's second-week allocations would be used for the federal Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program, which is expected to begin vaccinations at long-term care facilities Dec. 28.
Four county hospitals each received between 975 and 1,950 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine during the first week of statewide distribution and were not included in the DSHS's week-two allocations.
While the vaccine supply remains limited, Texas remains in its first phase of vaccine allocation. The two-tiered phase is aimed at protecting health care and front-line workers and high-risk populations first, according to DSHS and Texas Health and Human Services guidance, with additional consideration given to factors including demographics, geographic location, insurance status and poverty.
Broader statewide allocations are expected in future phases as the vaccine supply increases to meet demand from front-line and at-risk Texans as well as the general public.
