Physicians should provide a COVID-19 vaccination to anyone who asks for it – even if that means opening a vial of vaccine for just that person, John Hellerstedt, MD, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), wrote in a letter to physicians and health care professionals.
In Texas and nationally, there are now enough vaccine doses available for everyone seeking vaccination at a given time, Dr. Hellerstedt says.
“Please do not turn anyone away,” he said. “DSHS and the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) understand that this increases the risk some doses will be wasted, but the benefit of vaccinating a willing person now outweighs that risk.”
The letter also asked physicians to encourage patients to obtain second doses, even if they obtained their first doses elsewhere. And the agency reminded physicians and other vaccine administrators to report all doses administered to ImmTrac2, the state’s immunization registry, within 24 hours.
So far, 49.88% of Texans 16 and older have received one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and 36.10% are fully vaccinated, according to the latest DSHS COVID-19 vaccination dashboard. More than 27.5 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been allocated so far to physicians and other health care professionals in Texas, the dashboard says. The state’s population is just over 29 million, according to the Texas Demographic Center.
TMA’s Vaccines Defend What Matters program offers a variety of resources on COVID-19 vaccines. As always, check the TMA COVID-19 Resource Center regularly for up-to-date news and the latest TMA materials for your practice.
Last Updated On
May 06, 2021
Originally Published On
May 05, 2021