The Houston Methodist will soon begin instructing patients to schedule a vaccine appointment

Ha Ou Stun – Houston area hospitals and clinics that administer the COVID-19 vaccine are currently evaluating how to prioritize eligible patients to receive the vaccine under Phase 1B of the state rollout.

Phase 1B includes people over 65 and older and people with serious conditions who are at increased risk of serious side effects from coronavirus.

A broader group and field doctors said the rollout part on Thursday would include prioritizing which patients they would approach to be vaccinated. They can’t, broke down for one simple reason: Texas doesn’t have a sufficient dose of the vaccine version for everyone under 1B. Doctors said supply has not yet caught up with demand.

“Phase 1B can be interpreted differently by different people. It is very comprehensive. When you say pre-existing conditions, I mean that many of us have existing conditions, ”said Dr. K.S. Said Joseph Veron.

“It will be up to the doctor in charge to decide who gets it and who decides to do the triage to decide who doesn’t get it in this round.”

Viron’s hospital hospital received 300 doses of the modern vaccine in the first round of delivery. When the word Phase 1B was introduced, Varon said he had received thousands of inquiries.

“I’ve had 500 emails from people in the last 24 hours saying, ‘Hey, you can somehow put us at the top or at the top of the list,'” he said. “It’s something he won’t do.”

“I called people and said they would pay me $ 10,000 for a vaccine. I’m serious. I know it will happen and it will happen everywhere. Not just here, ”Varo said.

Phones at local pharmacies are also ringing with hooks.

“We get a lot of phone calls from our regular customers but we are telling them that we are strictly following the state guidelines on administration,” H.E.B. Said Houston Area Immunization Coordinator Jinal Nihalani.

HBB remains in Phase 1A, vaccinating healthcare workers by appointment only.

“Right now they can call the pharmacy and they can schedule an appointment. We can write information. Due to the short shelf life in the drug group we want to make sure to try to appoint in daily groups and the pharmacy is guided – let’s say this is like liquid gold. We do not want to waste any dose, ”Nihalani said.

The Houston Methodist said Thursday that some patients will soon begin receiving instructions to schedule an appointment for their coronavirus shot.

According to one The plan posted on the hospital system’s websiteIn the last two years, patients who see a primary care or specialty care physician will be eligible to receive the vaccine in public.

Officials said they would soon begin notifying patients via text message in the following order:

• Patients aged 75 or older.
• Patients aged 65 to 74 years.
• Patients younger than 65 years of age with at least one Class 1 condition or at least two Class 2 comorbid conditions.

Class 1 conditions include cancer, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cardiac conditions (heart failure, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathy), obesity (BMI 30+), pregnancy, sickle cell disease, smoking, solid organ transplantation, type I Happens. Or II diabetes mellitus.

Class 2 conditions include asthma, cerebrovascular disease, hypertension, use of corticosteroids or other immunosuppressive agents.

The vaccine was rolled out to frontline health care workers and people in long-term care facilities as part of Phase 1A.

On Wednesday, the Texas State Health Services Department said Vaccine providers can start vaccinating people in Phase 1B.

Officials said anyone who believes they belong to any group should contact their health care provider to see if they can get the vaccine.

Memorial Herman also plans to start contacting patients. However, the hospital system remains in phase 1A of the vaccination rollout.

For 1B they have to prioritize who gets vaccinated due to limited supply.

“We will be very deliberate about who we reach out to in the beginning. So we will reach out to our patients and that will only be done through a prescribed procedure,” said Dr. James McCarthy, chief physician at Memorial Herman.

McCarthy said the hospital would expand access with the goal of offering drug-through vaccination sites, such as testing, as it receives additional doses.

Warren hopes to do the same.

“It simply came to our notice then. I hope this issue is resolved in the first few weeks of January and we have enough vaccines for most people who want to get it.

Chief Medical Officer of Memorial Hermann Hospital, Dr. James McCarthy provides insights into the H5N1 cornea virus epidemic situation and how the vaccine will be released.