Sam Houston State University Student Health Center received their first batch of COVID-19 vaccines on Feb. 24, according to Dr. Drew Miller’s campus wide email. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, Walker county does not have a registered vaccine hub and local providers still have not received the vaccines.
Currently, local pharmacies lack the supplies to start vaccinating residents or have all appointments fully booked.
Vaccine providers CVS, H-E-B and Brookshire Brothers currently have no available appointments in Huntsville. Additionally, Brookshire Brothers have temporarily suspended their vaccine waiting list in both Texas and Louisiana due to limited supplies. Meanwhile, Kroger’s official website states that all available doses have currently been administered for Texas.
While Huntsville still waits, the campus will begin the vaccination process with faculty and staff with the Moderna, two-shot vaccination. The SHSU Student Health Center will be following state eligibility rules while scheduling appointments with Phase 1A and 1B groups who are currently on their waitlist.
At SHSU, Phase 1A and 1B include medical professionals, residents in long-term care facilities and persons over the age of 65 and 18-year-olds or over who have a chronic medical condition. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, chronic medical conditions include cancer, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), down syndrome, heart conditions, organ transplantation patients, obesity, pregnancy, sickle cell disease, and type 2 diabetes.
As Texans await a chance to register for the vaccine waiting list, Gov. Greg Abbott announced on Feb. 25 during a news conference that Texas could potentially lift the statewide orders in place throughout the state pertaining to the pandemic.
“We’re working right now on evaluating when we’re going to be able to remove all statewide orders, and we will be making announcements about that pretty soon,” Abbott said.
With only 5.1% of Texans vaccinated, Abbott still hopes to lift the mask mandate while promising no more shutdowns in Texas.
To join the SHSU Student Health Center vaccine waitlist request can be made through emailing shc@shsu.edu or calling 936-294-1805.
