Place COVID Vaccine Orders Now Before Holiday Suspension
By Joey Berlin

The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) is suspending deliveries of COVID-19 vaccines between Dec. 23 and Dec. 27 due to the holidays, and the agency is asking vaccinators to place all orders in the Vaccine Allocation and Ordering System by this Friday, Dec. 17, at 5 pm.

Orders placed after the Dec. 17 date will be delivered beginning Dec. 28 in the order in which they were received, DSHS said in an email update.

The agency’s announcement included two other notes:

  • Following updates of the federal vaccination recommendations on Dec. 9, vaccinators may now administer Pfizer booster doses to 16- and 17-year-olds at least six months after they finish the initial Pfizer vaccination series. Only the Pfizer vaccine is currently authorized and recommended for those ages.
  • The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for ages 12 and up, currently distributed in purple-cap vaccine vials, will soon be distributed in gray-cap vials. Vaccinators can order the purple-cap vaccine through Dec. 21. Starting on Dec. 23, the gray-cap vaccine will be available for ordering in 300-dose packs. Vaccinators should continue to use the purple-cap vaccine they already have and may begin ordering the gray-cap vaccine when they have less than a one-month supply remaining. DSHS says in order to avoid errors while both products are in circulation, vaccine administrators should not use them at the same time.

Last Updated On

December 14, 2021

Originally Published On

December 14, 2021