HOUSTON – The White House announced on Wednesday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is working with Texas officials to establish three Community Vaccination Centers for vaccination distribution in the state, including one in Houston at NRG Park.
Between them, the Texas sites will offer 10,000 vaccine doses per day, seven days per week, for the foreseeable future. Texas Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee said the Houston site will get 6,000 doses per day in addition to the weekly state allotment.
The ‘super sites’ in Houston, Arlington, Dallas and two others in New York are part of a FEMA pilot program to vaccinate vulnerable populations throughout the country. The Houston site is expected to being vaccinations on Wednesday, February 24th, representatives for the Governor’s and Lee’s office said.
Lee and the governor also said the pilot program may expand to other vaccination sites in neighborhoods throughout Greater Houston in the coming weeks and months.
Details about who will be able to sign up and how will be released in the coming days, state and local officials said.
“FEMA now has a large role in ensuring mass vaccinations and mass immunity across the nation,” Jackson Lee said.
3/3 -Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Chair of COVID-19 Task Force
— Sheila Jackson Lee (@JacksonLeeTX18) February 10, 2021
Special section: COVID-19 Vaccine Central
The sites would be operational seven days a week for eight weeks, according to Abbott’s tweet on the matter. His office clarified that the exact duration of the sites in Texas has not been determined.
Texas is working with FEMA to create some Super Sites for vaccinations.
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) February 8, 2021
Initially it would likely be 2 sites with 5000-6000 additional vaccinations per day, 7 days a week for 8 weeks.
It would likely start in Houston & Dallas -- with possible expansion to other locations.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo thanked the White House for “taking us up on our offer” to use NRG Park as a vaccine center.
Mayor Turner released the following statement after the announcement:
“On behalf of all Houstonians, I thank the White House for its plan to establish a COVID-19 mass vaccination site at NRG Park in Houston. Getting the vaccine into the arms of as many people as possible as quickly as possible is vital to ending this pandemic and saving lives.
“We look forward to working with FEMA, the Texas Division of Emergency Management and Harris County to iron out the details, including registration and access. We must work collaboratively to vaccinate as many people as possible and in a targeted way to include a diverse population.”
Good news. The sooner we increase vaccine supply, the faster we can reach herd immunity. We’re ready to support State and Biden Administration efforts to distribute more vaccines. There are ~300K people on our waitlist & we’re able to distribute more vaccines than we’re getting. https://t.co/RPdKeLisL1
— Lina Hidalgo (@LinaHidalgoTX) February 8, 2021
Where do you think the super sites should be located in Texas? Let us know in the comments.