Williamson County signs agreement with Family Hospital Systems, expects to receive vaccine doses Wednesday
WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) -- Williamson County Commissioners approved an agreement with Family Hospital Systems, the designated hub provider, to administer the COVID-19 vaccine.
Family Hospital Systems is expected to receive 6,000 COVID-19 vaccines Wednesday, but it's nowhere near what the county needs.
County Commissioner Valerie Covey said earlier this month that officials believe Williamson County has 120,000 residents who would qualify to receive the vaccine as part of the state's Phase 1B.
"It was frustrating to see Travis County with multiple sites, vaccinating. Then, Bell County came out with it, and there was nothing in Williamson County," said Williamson County resident Traci Peckham.
Peckham and her husband both fall into the Phase 1B vaccine group and aren't willing to travel long distances to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
Peckham signed the wait list for Family Hospital Systems, the Williamson County vaccine hub provider, on Tuesday. It may be a while until she actually receives her first shot.
"Family ER, as of right now, has pre-registered 39,728 folks," Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell said.
Six thousand doses barely meets a fraction of the demand.
"Travis County had received 12,000 doses initially, and obviously didn't give any to Williamson County, I can respect that," said Judge Bill Gravell. "I felt like we were big kids at the table so to speak to make our own request. I requested 30,000 and they laughed at us. I appreciate the laughter, but then we received 6,000."
Texans heard from Governor Greg Abbott Tuesday in a press conference where he laid out the state's vaccine distribution so far.
"We had 28 large scale vaccine hub centers like the one we have at Houston Methodist. We increased that number dramatically since last week," Gov. Abbott said. "This week, we now have 78 large scale vaccination centers all together. We do expect to see ongoing increases in the number of doses that will be available to us, but again that depends on the federal government."
Judge Gravell says the county must now prove they can efficiently and adequately get shots into arms in order to receive more doses.
"Once we get the vaccines in our hands, then we will be prepared to roll them out within the hour," a Family Hospital Systems spokesperson said.
Family Hospital Systems says they will be able to administer 120 doses an hour between its Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex drive-thru clinic and the Sun City Ball Room hub location. The two locations are expected to open by Wednesday afternoon.
People who have registered could see an appointment confirmation as early as 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.