Updated at 9:36 p.m.: revised to include a statement from UT Southwestern Medical Center representative.
A Dallas hospital will be among the first four sites in Texas to get shipments of the COVID-19 vaccine Monday.
Methodist Dallas Medical Center will begin immunizations for health care workers and other staff members who interact with COVID-19 patients once the shipment arrives, said Pam Stoyanoff, president and chief operating officer of Methodist Health System.
She said the team at Methodist was elated to learn Sunday that its workers would be among the first in the state to get vaccinated. More than 120 physicians, clinicians and staff members are scheduled to get their vaccines Monday.
“They’ve worked hard the past nine months. They’re still working hard today with the current surge,” Stoyanoff said. “We’re thrilled to be able to take this next step forward in fighting this pandemic, and we couldn’t be more honored to be the first in the metroplex to have access to it.”
For the health care workers who have spent months caring for patients who are battling the virus, the vaccine is a godsend, Stoyanoff said.
“I can’t wait to see that truck pull into our dock, I can’t wait to see the vaccine get loaded off of it and thaw,” she said. “I think it’s going to mean the world to a lot of people.”
She said the hospital system has taken great care to keep its workers protected from COVID-19.
“But nonetheless, this is a virus that is easily transmitted. And you take a risk every day when you sit on the front lines and take care of patients with COVID,” she said.
Methodist is slated to get 5,850 doses in the first week of distribution. The vaccine will go first to workers on the front lines of fighting the coronavirus, and getting the shots will be voluntary, Stoyanoff said.
“We have people ready to give the vaccine, we have our first group of folks ready to receive the vaccine, and as soon as we hear it’s on its way, we’ll get all that revved into gear,” she said.
The three other Texas sites receiving shipments of the vaccine Monday are Wellness 360 in San Antonio, UT Health Austin Dell Medical School and the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, according to a list provided by the Department of State Health Services.
UT Southwestern Medical Center and Parkland Memorial Hospital are among 19 Texas sites set to get vaccines Tuesday.
Catherine Bradley, a representative for Parkland, confirmed that the hospital would be receiving vaccines Tuesday morning and expect to distribute the vaccine to their front-line workers later that day.
“We’re hopeful and excited to know that we can share this news with the city of Dallas,” she said.
A representative for UT Southwestern also confirmed the medical center would be receiving vaccines Tuesday.
“UT Southwestern is pleased by the prospects for the pending vaccine delivery as an additional layer of safety in addition to our existing protocols,” said spokesperson Russell Rian. “We are prepared to distribute to our front-line workers once we receive shipments.”
The first U.S. shipments of the vaccine were on their way to states across the country Sunday, days after the Food and Drug Administration granted emergency authorization for the Pfizer and BioNTech coronavirus vaccines.
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar detailed what could come in the weeks and months following the initial vaccine shipments.
He said the plan is to have 20 million people vaccinated by the end of December, up to 50 million by the end of January and 100 million by the end of February. That includes plans for a second vaccine, developed by Moderna, which is expected to gain emergency authorization from the FDA soon.
The FDA gave emergency use authorization for Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine Friday for people 16 and older, and Moderna’s vaccine is expected to be authorized after a review scheduled for Thursday by the agency’s independent advisers.
”We’ll be getting more and more Pfizer product, and we’ve got 12 and a half million Moderna product, assuming that we get approval at the end of this week on Moderna, that we’ll ship out very soon thereafter,” Azar said during an interview with CBS News’ Face the Nation.
Texas has been allocated more than 220,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine for the first week of distribution, including thousands that will be distributed to North Texas hospitals.
Chris Van Deusen, spokesman for the Department of State Health Services, said the department expects the vaccine shipments for the remaining 86 sites will start later in the week.
Texas’ vaccine allocation strategy was recommended by a panel of experts. They prioritized health care workers getting vaccines to protect them as they care for COVID-19 patients “and preserve the health care system’s ability to function,” the state health department said on its website.
Following are the providers in North Texas that will get the vaccine in the first week of distribution and how many doses they’ll receive. Some counties in the region, including Rockwall, Denton and Ellis, were not selected to receive vaccines in the initial distribution.
Dallas County
- Texas Scottish Rite Hospital For Children — 975
- North Texas Infectious Diseases Consultants — 975
- Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas — 2,925
- Medical City Dallas Hospital — 1,950
- UT Southwestern Medical Center — 5,850
- Methodist Dallas Medical Center — 5,850
- Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas — 5,850
- Baylor Scott & White Medical Center at Irving — 975
- Christus Health Clinic in Irving — 1,950
Collin County
- Medical City Mckinney — 975
- Medical City Plano — 2,925
Tarrant County
- Medical City Arlington — 975
- Texas Health Huguley Hospital Fort Worth South — 975
- Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth — 4,875
- Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center in Fort Worth — 975
- Texas Health Harris Methodist Fort Worth — 5,850
- Cook Children’s Occupational Health Services in Fort Worth — 3,900
- Baylor Scott & White Medical Center at Grapevine — 975
Wise County
- Wise Health System in Decatur — 975
Kaufman County
- Terrell State Hospital — 975
Hunt County
- Hunt Regional Medical Center — 975
Gov. Greg Abbott announced earlier this month that Texas will receive 1.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of the year.
Larger shipments are expected to follow next week, assuming a second vaccine manufacturer gets emergency authorization by then.
Increased vaccine allotments are expected in January and in the following months, Abbott said in a written statement.
The Washington Post contributed to this report.
