COVID-19 Vaccinations Underway At Methodist Dallas Medical Center
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — Doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are on the ground at Methodist Dallas Medical Center this morning. The hospital is among one of the first in the U.S. to receive the medicine.
A UPS truck carrying refrigerated containers of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine arrived at Methodist Dallas just before 8:00 a.m. Methodist began immediately administering the first of two required doses to more than 5,000 frontline staff following federal and state guidelines.
The initial shipment Methodist received is strictly designated by the State to be used only for Methodist employees and medical staff in accordance with federal and state guidelines.
"The first group to receive the vaccine works directly with patients diagnosed with COVID-19 or at high risk for COVID-19," said Chief Medical Officer Martin L. Koonsman, MD. "That includes not only physicians and nurses, but also ancillary staff and technicians, food and environmental services workers, and others who care for patients with COVID-19."
In addition to Methodist Dallas, the Texas Department of State Health Services said doses of the vaccine were headed Monday to three other sites in Texas: MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Wellness 360 at UT Health San Antonio and UT Health Austin's Dell Medical School.
In all, the state will receive some 19,500 doses of the vaccine today. Another 75,000 doses of the vaccine were scheduled to be delivered Tuesday to 19 sites in Texas, state officials said.
According to leaders, Texas will get a total of 1.4 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in December.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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