Reporter’s point of view: I was vaccinated with COVID-19 vaccine in Phase 1B, but it is not easily accessible

On Saturday, I was able to receive the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine with my mother. It was an off-shoot opportunity by word of mouth at San Antonio Hospital — Cristus Santa Rosa at the Medical Center.

My mother and I are not health care workers, residents of long-term care facilities, or first responders. All of these are part of Phase 1A, the state’s priority immunization group. She is retired and I am a reporter.

But last week, something changed with the deployment of the Texas vaccine. And while it opened the vaccine to more people, it also caused a lot of confusion.

With a few warnings, Texas has added new eligible recipients: Phase 1B

On December 29, the State Department of Health Services in Texas announced that many people in local governments and medical institutions had been surprised.State Availability of licensed vaccines For people in a new category.

Known as Phase 1B, this group is 65 years or older, or 16-65 years old, with chronic illnesses such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and obesity that can exacerbate the risk of COVID-19. It is included. Death or long-term complications.

My mother and I, like many others in San Antonio, qualify for Phase 1B based on state guidelines. My mother is 70 years old and there are some health factors that make it difficult to fight COVID-19. I’m a 34 year old Hispanic man with type 2 diabetes.

That may be great for us, but it puts a strain on the already expanding healthcare providers. Dr. Colleen Bridger, incident commander for the COVID-19 pandemic in San Antonio, said it was “confusing” to ask the provider to handle two lines at once.

“One of these lines is very well defined and very orderly, because we had planned for the last three months,” Bridger said of Group 1A. “And another line (1B) that literally represents 60% of our population … it causes confusion. It creates the idea of ​​rarity.”

According to Bridger, San Antonio had not yet completed distribution to Group 1A when Texas DSHS opened the second tier of vaccinated people.

As of last Tuesday, 31,000 doses of vaccine have been given to people in Bexar County, according to the latest distribution map. Metro Health estimates that 141,000 people are eligible to be vaccinated in Phase 1A.

She added that there are plenty of vaccination opportunities in the coming months.

“Everyone wants to be on the front line, and I got it,” Bridger said. “The problem is that we give very many doses and there are so many places to give these doses.”

Track where vaccines are available

The turmoil was seen last week when vaccinated people rushed to find a place to get the vaccine.

On New Year’s Eve, the University Health System in Bexar County announced that it will begin Phase 1B vaccination through appointments that can be made online. Within 5 hours, all 17,000 UHS vaccine appointments were fulfilled.

A UHS Website Statement Currently, it is written as follows. “We are currently unable to make reservations due to the overwhelming reaction. As vaccines increase, we will increase the number of slots and notify you through social media and local media.”

Texas DSHS has the following list Where the vaccine is distributed.. There are many familiar places. HEB pharmacies are one of them, but when you call the HEB pharmacies listed on the state’s website, you’ll almost instantly see a record that only people in the Phase 1A category are vaccinated.

Statement regarding HEB newsroom The page says: “Many locations in HEB pharmacies continue to process the waiting list of Phase 1A healthcare providers. With more COVID-19 vaccine allocations from Texas, we will continue to move to Phase 1B vaccination. “

This reporter’s vaccination story

A longtime friend of mine who sent me a message on Facebook told me that off-chance is available at the Cristus Santa Rosa hospital in the Medical Center.

This friend who works in health care told me that the vaccine would be available on a walk-in basis in 1B. They learned about it after vaccination themselves.

I called the hospital on New Year’s Day, waited about 10 minutes, and then talked to the staff. The staff said they would provide the vaccine Saturday from 7:30 am to 6:30 pm.

Walkup availability was not disclosed on the CHRISTUS website or on the social media accounts I found.

I tried my luck.

By the time we arrived at 5:45 am, there were already about 40 people in line. One hour later, another 70-80 was lined up behind us. The people lined up during this pre-dawn time were of all ages, from older parents to adult children. Everyone in the line wore masks and some brought foldable lawn chairs.

Joey Palacios / Texas Public Radio

Hospital staff went out after 7am and told people in line that people were considering 1A and those who booked earlier would take precedence over bringing in.

Two lines are formed. The left is for carry-on and the right is for appointments and healthcare professionals.

Hospital staff handed out the form to the walk-in. My mother and I had to sign and initialize the form and showed that we understood that the vaccine was approved under an emergency use authorization. He also had to agree to participate in the second dose.

I arrived at the door to get inside by 8:42 am

The internal operations were well organized. I was given a CDC vaccination record card indicating that I would be vaccinated against Pfizer.

We went down the hallway and waited outside the room for about half a dozen vaccinated people.

When they came out, I went in and handed the form to the two staff. They asked us which arm we wanted. I was able to poke as quickly as any other shot.

Joey Palacios / Texas Public Radio

At the end of the jab, I was given a timer with a 15 minute countdown. Vaccinated people are placed around to make sure there are no adverse effects of the injection. There was a QR code on the table, I went to the online booking system and signed up for the second dose.

When I went outside, I saw a line wrapping around the building. At least 250 people were waiting.

All of this happened on Saturday morning, less than a week after the state announced the new authorization. However, it is not clear how often vaccines are available in this way at this hospital or other healthcare providers.

Dr. Bridger said there have been some cases of one-off distributions in San Antonio in the last few days, but it is difficult to track them down.

“It’s like a pop-up vaccination event with no coordination or advanced communication here for hours, there for hours. It’s happening,” she said.

I’m trying to manage two lines at a time

A spokesperson for CHRISTUS Santa Rosa said in an email that vaccine prioritization remains for healthcare professionals and Phase 1A workers. However, “CHRISTUS Santa Rosa occasionally administers Tier 1B vaccines to remain a good administrator of state-assigned vaccines,” said Nikela Prader, CHRISTUS Health Public Relations Specialist in South Texas. Southeast Texas.

She acknowledged the new state guidance, but said the hospital system was working on another distribution method and that non-healthcare workers seeking vaccines should not arrive at the hospital for vaccines.

“… Our hospital continues to care for patients with COVID and other medical needs, so we are working to take this process over to specific clinics and outpatient clinics. We are ready to provide this kind of care to a large number of people, “she said.

The CHRISTUS hospital system will launch this registration system within the next week.

“We are expediting the process of determining if the general public falls into these groups and, if so, expecting to be able to sign up for an appointment to receive the vaccine. “She added.

CHRISTUS Health website list Phase 1B vaccine distribution Some locations in Texas may be ready by Monday, January 4, but no location has been specified.

Dr. Bridger says she and San Antonio Metrohealth were not critical of these types of distributions. “The vaccinated (donor) is said to’need to get the vaccine to as many people as possible in the shortest possible time,'” she said.

Metro Health seeks to help track events that may require registration.

“We’re trying to put a little structure into it. We’re trying to get legitimate information about where and what people can use and set up websites that are actually available. Pre-registration. If an event is happening, there is a registration link for them on that website, “she said.

In addition, Bridger said Metro Health could consider systems to identify high-risk populations and identify where vaccine providers are most in need.

“For the location of vaccination, we plan to create a map showing that these geographic locations need to be prioritized,” she said.

Vaccines are a high priority for many, as cases are accelerating nationwide. I need to find vaccination opportunities for other members of the family, such as my father and grandmother, like many others who have been vaccinated. Tracking it remains a challenge until the system is installed.

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