CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Wednesday Governor Greg Abbott encouraged Texas health care providers to enroll in the Texas Department of State Health Services’ (DSHS) Immunization Program to be eligible to administer COVID-19 vaccines once they become available.
Hospitals, medical practices, pharmacies, and long-term care facilities that want to participate are required to enroll as vaccine providers to administer coronavirus immunizations in Texas.
"While potential COVID-19 vaccines continue to undergo clinical trials, the State of Texas is taking a proactive approach to ensure the vaccine is distributed as quickly as possible once available," said Governor Abbott.
According to the governor’s office, the supply will be limited and “provided to critical populations such as health care workers or people at a higher risk of severe disease.”
As more doses becomes available, more enrolled providers will begin to receive vaccines for the residents they serve.
Doses of the vaccine and the supplies needed to administer it will be provided by the CDC and shipped to providers after allocated by the DSHS.
Under federal guidelines, providers who choose to participate must agree to “administer vaccine regardless of a recipient’s ability to pay, provide a vaccination record to each recipient, store doses of vaccine under the proper conditions, and report the number of doses received and used.”
Any vaccine must be authorized by the Food and Drug Administration before it can be distributed in the United States.
