Seniors and Texans with serious health conditions are ahead for the Covid-19 vaccine

Updated at 7:25 p.m. With additional details.

ST STIN – Older Texans and people with serious health conditions such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease will be ahead for the state’s Covid-19 vaccine, officials announced Monday.

It will likely be several weeks, however, before about 8 million Texan groups can receive their shots. First, the state must vaccinate an estimated 1.9 million health care workers and long-term care residents whose top priority.

Texas received its first dose last week, which was distributed to hospitals where staff have been battling the epidemic since March.

With limits on the initial supply of vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna, states are forced to prioritize who comes first.

A recent decision by the Texas Conflict Guidelines approved Sunday, urging people over the age of 75 and essential workers such as firefighters, teachers and grocery store employees to come forward.

Instead the state medical prefers to focus on people over the age of 65 and those over the age of 16 on long-term medical conditions.

The move is based on data showing that Kavid-19 deaths in Texas are more than 70% elderly and there is evidence that adults with underlying medical conditions are more likely to have serious cases of the disease, according to the state health services department.

One-third of all people hospitalized in COVID-19 in Las Las County have diabetes, according to county data.

“Focusing on people 65 years of age or older or those with comorbidities will protect the most vulnerable populations,” said Imelda Garcia, associate commissioner for laboratories and infectious disease services, in a statement. “This approach ensures that Textons can be protected from the very serious risk of COVID-19, regardless of the species and species where they operate.”

Black and Hispanic Texans have been disproportionately affected by state data shows.

State Health Commissioner Dr. John. Decisions on who to prioritize with John Hellerstad. It is receiving guidance from a 17-member expert vaccine advisory panel, led by Garcia and made up of public health experts, legislators and state officials.

The panel has recently been lobbied by leaders representing major industries, including airlines, energy companies and ride-hailing gender services, to ask their workers to be vaccinated next. Government’s Greg Abbott recently said he thinks school teachers should be at the front of the line.

However, no specific industries have been named in the second vaccination group in the state. Workers with a long-term health condition or over 65 years of age will be eligible.

Dr. John Zarvas, executive vice chancellor of health affairs at the University of Texas System, said, “There are people in all these essential industries who have taken risk factors that make them feel bad about the disease.”

“The thinking behind it is that let’s follow the epidemiology,” he said. “Let’s get vaccinated to people who are at high risk of adverse consequences and we can pass it on to the population as much as possible.”

Approximately 9.5 million Texans have high-risk medical conditions; 9.9 million Texans are over 65 years old; Previous state estimates put 3.2 million jobs in essential jobs. Some people fall into multiple categories, although it is not clear how many there are.

The vaccine, which is given in two shots at intervals of about a month, is voluntary. Abbott plans to get a shot on Tuesday in front of the news camera. He is among other elected officials, including Vice President Mike Pence and President-elect Joe Biden, who are publicly putting their sleeves on to make people believe the vaccine is safe.

A recent poll found that about a quarter of respondents would refuse a coronavirus vaccine, while another quarter was unsure.

According to the Texas Tribune, several workers at a hospital in South Texas denied their shots over the weekend that they were the state’s sen. Eddie Lucio, a Brownsville Democrat who is on the state’s vaccine advisory panel, was offered to others in the inclusion community. He did not respond to requests for comment Monday.

At least 42,248 people have been vaccinated at the state’s data show.

When the vaccine begins to flow across the state, it could be weeks or months before the vaccine is “absolutely available to anyone who chooses to have it,” Hallestadt said recently.

Meanwhile, public health officials in North Texas are forcing people to wear masks and socially distance because of the high number of hospital admissions in COVID-19. Scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center predict a coronavirus case and hospitalization in the next two weeks.