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Hill County Residents Now Have More Vaccine Options
Hill Regional Hospital (HRH) announced last week that it is now offering COVID-19 vaccines on a regular schedule and currently has openings for both the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and the Moderna vaccine, both of which will require a return for the second doses either three weeks or four weeks later.
Hill County Emergency Management Coordinator Tom Hemrick reported last week that with the number of vaccines now coming into the county, anyone who wants to be vaccinated should now be able to get an appointment.
Hill Regional Hospital reported that first doses of the two-dose vaccines are consistently being given on Wednesdays, with second doses generally being given on Thursdays. Recipients of the vaccines will have their return date on the back of the card and are expected to honor those appointments.
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by County Judge Justin Lewis (Monday, February 1, update) The county fair was last week and by all reports was a success. I want to thank the Fair Board, the participants, numerous volunteers, the ag teachers and 4-H folks that helped out. These individuals made extensive modifications to the format to ensure a safe and socially distanced fair could take place for our children. I want to especially recognize Tammy Christian, the ag teacher from Penelope, for being the steam that powered the engine. She was pulling double, or maybe triple, duty but you’d never know that talking to her. She kept us where we needed to be and was instrumental in pulling off this COVID-modified event. Thanks, Tammy!
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Over 2,000 On Vaccine Waitlist, Supply Still Limited In Hill County Hill Regional Hospital announced last week that over 2,000 people are currently on the hospital s waiting list to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, but it is still unclear when the next vaccine shipments will arrive. Last week, the hospital provided second doses of the Moderna vaccine to first responders who received injections during the first round of vaccinations. We will get to you as quickly as we can as the vaccines arrive, said hospital spokesperson Tricia Shelton. We are hopeful that the releases will pick up for our area. Hill County Judge Justin Lewis, along with Ascension Medical Group in Hillsboro and this hospital are working hard to secure those additional resources.
Share The Hill County Commissioners Court met in a brief special session Tuesday, January 19. Commissioners voted to rescind former court orders awarding bids for the construction of a new Precinct 3 maintenance barn in Penelope and a bridge over Brooken Creek on HCR 3206. The court will accept bids for the projects again after determining that the requests were not properly advertised the first time. County Judge Justin Lewis also updated commissioners on an effort to increase COVID-19 vaccine availability to Hill County residents. Although the county is not in charge of the vaccine rollout, Lewis said that the county worked with Ascension Medical Group Providence Clinic and Hill Regional Hospital to develop a proposal that was submitted to the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) and the Texas Department of Emergency Management (TDEM).
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COVID-19 Vaccines Arriving In Texas, First Deliveries Not Available Locally Health care workers in Texas began receiving COVID-19 vaccines this week, and the state was slated to receive 224,250 doses of the Pfizer vaccine by the end of the week. The deliveries began after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized emergency use of Pfizer s vaccine for individuals 16 and over last week. The doses were shipped to 109 hospitals in 34 counties, but Hill County was not on the first week s distribution list released by the Department of State Health Services (DSHS). With the minimum order for the Pfizer vaccine set at 975 doses, the initial distribution was limited to larger hospitals.