Texas Is Tracking Who Gets the Covid-19 Vaccine

SAN ANGELO, TX – The Texas Department of State Health Services has added a new dashboard to its website as the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine continues.

Much like the COVID-19 dashboard, the vaccine dashboard provides an interactive module that provides information about the distribution and administration of doses.

The latest update shows that to date 91,659 doses have been received by vaccine providers. At least 4,187 patients have received the first dose of the vaccine across the state. The dashboard also shows 87 out of 254 counties have administered vaccine doses.

In Tom Green County, 319 people have received the first dose of the vaccine as of Friday morning. This accounts for approximately 7.6 percent of the vaccinated group so far.

The DSHS has also shared four important things to know about the vaccine.

Safety Is A Top Priority

• The new COVID‑19 vaccines have been evaluated in tens of thousands of volunteers during clinical trials. The vaccines are only authorized for use if they are found to be safe.
• Even though they found no safety issues during the clinical trials, CDC and other federal partners will continue to monitor the new vaccines. They watch out for serious side effects (or “adverse events”) using vaccine safety monitoring systems, like the new V‑safe After Vaccination Health Checker app.

Vaccines Are Highly Effective, But You’ll Likely Need Two Doses For Full Protection 

• All but one of the COVID‑19 vaccines currently in development need two shots to be effective.
• You will need two doses from the same manufacturer, spaced 21 or 28 days apart.
• You will get full protection from the vaccine usually 1–2 weeks after getting your second dose.
• After you get the vaccine, you will still need to keep wearing a mask, social distance, and wash hands often because stopping a pandemic requires all the tools we have.
• All these efforts combined will offer the best protection from COVID‑19 and help us get “back to normal” sooner.

You Cannot Get COVID‑19 From The Vaccine.

• COVID‑19 vaccines do not use the live virus and cannot give you COVID‑19.
• The vaccine does not alter your DNA.
• COVID‑19 vaccination will help protect you by creating an immune response without having to experience sickness.
• Having symptoms like fever after you get a vaccine is normal and a sign your immune system is building protection against the virus.
• The side effects from COVID‑19 vaccination may feel like flu, but they should go away in a few days. 

Texas Is Already Distributing Vaccine And Will Continue

• The Texas Commissioner of Health appointed an Expert Vaccine Allocation Panel (EVAP) of subject matter experts to make recommendations on vaccine allocation decisions. This includes identifying groups that should be vaccinated first.
• The goal is to provide the most protection to vulnerable populations and critical state resources.
• Other groups will receive vaccines in coming months, as more vaccines are made available.