It has been almost 3 months since the vaccine rollout began here in Texas, and according to the latest numbers over 6 million Texans have received their shots.
The bad news is Texas currently ranks #48 out of 50 states.
A lack of doses, and losing a week due to the winter storm are the primary reasons according to Dr. Robert Atmar, from the infectious disease department at the Baylor college of medicine.
Dr. Atmar says about 15% of adults in Texas have received at least one shot, and he believes we're actually doing good with the shots we have, "we lost a week and the number of vaccines that are being allocated to the state have been less per capita than other states. Within the state we're doing a reasonable job of using the vaccines that have been allocated to us."
Texas is still in phase 1B of the vaccine rollout, with approximately 13 million people left to go before the state is ready to move on to 1C.
According to reports, the Texas Expert Vaccine Allocation Panel, or EVAP, has already determined who will be in the next group, but they're not yet ready to announce it. We should find out some time this month, "I think we're close to moving to group 1C" Atmar says. As far as who will be eligible in the 3rd group? Right now here in Texas teachers and childcare personnel are now eligible.
According to CDC guidelines, group 1C is supposed to feature people ages 65-74, along with persons age 16+ with high risk and underlying conditions. Something Texas has already started. "The state went a different way" Atmar says. But before we move on to group 1C, we need to finish group 1B.