COVID-19 vaccine still being held back in Williamson County
WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas - A deep freeze storage unit was purchased to hold the COVID-19 vaccine at the Family Emergency Room clinic on Whitestone Blvd. in Cedar Park.
Friday, Dr. Henry Higgins, the CEO of Family Emergency Room, showed FOX 7 Austin how nothing was in the freezer. "On a scale to 1 to 10, it’s a 10," said Dr. Higgins about his disappointment.
Williamson County Commissioners selected the clinic as the place where first responders and others in the Tier 1 classification are to get vaccination shots. A call list is already made.
"Best estimate is about 380 people, that’s just the people actively scheduled, we have a whole 'nother list of Tier 1 and Tier 2 people who have pre-registered, our goal is the minute we get our hands on vaccine we are going to start vaccinating Texans. Period," said Dr. Higgins.
Medical staff at the clinic even gave up their holiday break to give out the vaccine. "If someone pulled into our parking lot right now with the vaccine, we'd start giving out vaccine right now," said Dr. Higgins.
The 900 doses that arrived in Williamson County on Wednesday did not go to the clinic. The box was delivered to the Williamson County and Cities Health District, which is operated by an appointed board of directors and not the County Commission.
Higgins believes the District might have gotten the vaccine that was intended for his clinic. "Very confused because the reality of is we've been preparing for the arrival of the vaccine for several weeks. And we are ready," said Dr. Higgins.
Officials with the health district announced late Wednesday they would not provide shots until Saturday, after Christmas. A spokesperson for the district blamed the state for that claiming; they were told Tuesday the vaccine would not arrive on Wednesday.
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When it did arrive; to avoid confusion, it was decided to start vaccinations after Christmas. The delay not only affected those wanting a vaccination shot, but also people who wanted to get tested for COVID-19 at the Family Emergency Room clinic. The testing service here at the clinic on Whitestone Blvd was suspended because staff anticipated that they would be giving vaccinations right now.
County Judge Bill Gravell, when FOX 7 Austin spoke to him Thursday, said the entire situation is unacceptable. "We got to realize and we can’t forget, we are in the middle of a pandemic, where people are dying daily,"
"Listen, this is not the time for us to take a break, to celebrate with eggnog, it’s time for us to save lives," said Judge Gravell.
Judge Gravell told FOX 7 Austin Friday that the district turned down his request to have them provide vaccine to the clinic. With the health district sticking to its plan for Saturday, Dr. Higgins and his staff will have to wait. It may not be until Monday when their shipment arrives and the clinic’s freezer is filled with the vaccine.