Some of you may be wanting to get vaccinated for COVID 19. Here’s some information from the State of Texas. If you live in Texas outside of Milam County, this is the information for you.
How to sign up for a COVID-19 vaccine in Texas.
Sign up with a vaccination hub: https://bit.ly/3qjZOMP
Use the Texas COVID-19 vaccine provider map to sign up with a community provider: https://bit.ly/3oDhjHu
Please be patient as supply is limited. Hubs may have long waiting lists but more vaccine is coming. We greatly appreciate Texans’ eagerness to get vaccinated. And we thank providers for their hard work to vaccinate hundreds of thousands of people already.
More Texas COVID-19 vaccine information: dshs.texas.gov/coronavirus/immunize/vaccine.aspx
Milam County Information
If you live in Milam County, we get regular updates from Judge Steve Young on the Moving Milam Forward Facebook page. If you didn’t see this week’s update, we are sharing it here, because it contains important information. From Steve Young, Monday, January 11:
I am happy to report we vaccinated another 56 individuals today at the former Rockdale Medical Clinic. We have now vaccinated almost 400 individuals in the County and tomorrow, we will assist Winnie L to vaccinate another 100 plus individuals. These are residents and staff.
Today, we received another 200 doses and we will get that administered this week. We plan to run a large clinic in Rockdale this Thursday, January 14, 2021, where we will use those doses. If we get more doses, we will set up another clinic.
We have Texas A&M Health Science under the direction of Dr. Joy Alonzo coming to assist us on Thursday. We will also have our Health Department Nurses and others to assist in the vaccinations. Those to be vaccinated will be contacted and told of their appointment time. We will not take any walk ins. This is by appointment only.
Once there, one must complete and sign a consent form. Second, we will take Medicare numbers from those that have Medicare. Third, there is counseling from a nurse or other licensed medical professional, where one is asked about prior reactions and other important related medical issues. Fourth is the shot, which only takes a minute or so. Last there is a 15 minute waiting period in observation, just to make sure that help is around should there be a reaction. If everything runs smooth, the whole process takes about 30 minutes.
We are administering the Moderna drug which is a two-shot vaccine, meaning that a booster shot is necessary 28 days after the first shot. Those who are vaccinated will be given a card depicting the type of vaccine they received and when the booster shot can be given. It is imperative that both shots be received. Further, the drug cannot be intermingled with another drug, such as the Pfizer vaccine. The vaccine will be provided at no cost, although there may be an administration charge for those with insurance.
While vaccinations are totally voluntary, we highly recommend that everyone receive a vaccination. Even if you have previously been infected by the virus, you should still get the shot. This is our best chance to get this terrible pandemic under control. In order to establish herd immunity, we need 70% – 90% of the Milam County population to be vaccinated. We have been under the gun for almost a year and now we have a ticket to safety, so please do your part and get the shots!
Those eligible for the shots are:
1. Group 1A – healthcare workers, including long term staff workers, EMS, home health care workers, rest home residents, staff that interact with symptomatic patients, school nurses and others.
2. Group 1B – those over 65 and those over 16 with underlying chronic health conditions which puts them at increased risk for a severe illness from the virus, including:
- Cancer
- Chronic kidney disease
- COPD
- Heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies
- Solid organ transplantation
- Obesity
- Pregnancy
- Sickle cell disease
- Type 2 diabetes mellitus
If you want to get on the vaccination list, please call the Milam County main number at 254 697 7000 or simply email Amy Guillen at [email protected] and we will get you on the list. We need your contact information, including your email and we will put you on the list. The shots will be given to those on the list on a first come, first serve basis. We currently have about 1,200 individuals on the list.