Following the federal government’s announcement of its plan to offer booster shots for the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) is asking those who are providing those vaccines to review their inventories, and identify and contact patients “who fall within the suggested booster schedule.”
If you need vaccine doses, DSHS asks that you place your order through its usual process in the Vaccine Allocation Ordering System. Full-size orders (450 doses of Pfizer or 140 doses of Moderna) are being delivered from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and are taking five to seven business days to arrive. The state itself is processing smaller orders, which are taking seven to 10 business days.
Health officials remind physicians, however, that at this time only immunocompromised people are eligible for an additional COVID-19 shot.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ plan for a third shot for all Pfizer and Moderna recipients, announced Wednesday, is contingent on a Food and Drug Administration independent review of safety and efficacy, and isn’t scheduled to begin until Sept. 20.
To identify and contact patients who are eligible for additional doses, DSHS asks vaccine administrators to use the state’s immunization registry, ImmTrac2. You can visit the registry’s User Training page for instructional videos and webinars on how to use ImmTrac2.
A DSHS spokesperson told Texas Medicine Today that when CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends the additional Pfizer/Moderna shot for all Americans who’ve had those vaccines, ImmTrac2’s shot forecaster will be updated to account for patient eligibility for the booster doses. ACIP recommended the additional shot for the immunocompromised last week.
Last Updated On
August 19, 2021
Originally Published On
August 19, 2021