State Rep. James White (R-Woodville) said vaccines coming on line means the end of the COVID-19 pandemic is coming, but it won’t happen overnight.
“Many projections suggest as the vaccine distribution extends deeper into the general population in late spring and early summer we could see our state emerging to normalcy in the second half of the year,” White told the Lone Star Standard.
He said his focus would be on getting the vaccine to the people who are most in need first, including health care workers and support personnel, high-risk populations (the elderly and at nursing homes), first-responders, teachers and essential workers.
White added that he plans to take the vaccine himself.
He said the distribution of the vaccine is progressing slowly at first in Texas because of the need for cold storage for the Pfizer vaccine. A just-approved vaccine by Moderna does not need the deep-freeze storage to preserve its potency that Pfizer's does.
“With the Moderna vaccine coming online very soon, I am predicting the distribution and administration to increase progressively,” White said. “The Moderna vaccine comes in smaller lots and has a longer shelf effectiveness at less cooler temperatures.”
A report in the Austin American-Statesman said the first doses of the Pfizer vaccine began distribution in Texas on Dec. 14, with injections of the drug to begin the following day. Approximately 224,250 doses are being allocated to 110 health providers across Texas.
Vials of the vaccine have gone to the University of Texas Health Dept. in Austin, the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Methodist Dallas Medical Center, and the Wellness 360 Center at UT Health in San Antonio.
Health officials have said that although more extensive information remains to be gathered about the side effects of the vaccines, they are safe to use. White said he would like to see more information about the safety of the products and their effectiveness. He urged residents to pull together as a team during the distribution process.
“The end is in sight,” he said. “We need to come together unified to defeat COVID-19.”
