According to state health officials, all adults age 18 and up in Texas will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, effective March 29.
The current requirements from vaccine candidates are those fitting the 1A, 1B or 1C phases of the vaccine distribution.
According to an article from the Texas Tribune, over 9.3 million doses of the vaccine have been administered in Texas already and 3 million people are fully vaccinated. However, the state must reach between a 70 and 90 percent vaccination rate to develop herd immunity, according to health experts. For Texas, this means that at least 20,300,000 of its 29 million citizens should be vaccinated, though almost a quarter of that are under the age of 18.
“Of the three vaccines available, only the two-dose Pfizer vaccine is available for ages 16 and up,” the article reads. “The others, manufactured by Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, are available for ages 18 and up.”
Although appointments will be open to everyone 18 and up, the Texas Department of State Health Services, or DSHS, is asking health care providers to prioritize people 80 years old and up to ensure as small a burden on this age group as possible.
Texas will soon launch a website for adults to register for the vaccine at their local health centers and clinics. For more information about Texas’s vaccine rollout plan, visit the DSHS Vaccine information website.