When will the general population be able to start getting vaccinated against covid-19?

As three coronavirus vaccines have already been approved and there are more distribution centers, North Texans are wondering when it will be their turn to get the injection.

Until recently, only healthcare workers, Texans over the age of 65, and people with certain diseases were eligible for the vaccine.

The range of people who can be vaccinated grew on Wednesday, when the state health department announced that teachers, school employees and daycare workers can now be inoculated.

But when will healthy people under 65 who do not work in health or education get their vaccine?

The question is more pertinent especially since Dallas County said it still couldn’t prioritize teachers because there is a vaccine shortage and no clear instructions.

As of Friday, more than 4 million Texans had received at least one dose of the vaccine and more than 2.2 million already had all their doses, according to data from the state health department.

In Dallas County more than 324,000 people had received at least one dose and more than 185,000 were fully vaccinated.

President Joe Biden announced last week that he expected to have enough vaccines for all adults in the country by the end of May.

Gov. Greg Abbott said Friday that Texas could roll out the vaccine to the general public in May.

“It would probably be more like early May, not late April, when anyone who wanted to get vaccinated would be able to do so,” Abbott said at a news conference in Tyler.

But whether the United States can distribute them all in time for Memorial Day weekend is another matter.

In a span of about a year, Dallas County has gone from registering its first confirmed COVID-19 case to having vaccinated more than 324,000 people, which is a remarkable feat according to Health Minister Dr. Philip Huang. and Dallas County Human Services.

“That is quite impressive,” Huang said. “It is an incredible scientific achievement; it is something tremendous ”.

However, he acknowledged that much work remains to be done, and that more people need the vaccine.

“Nothing has been perfect,” Huang said. “The bottom line is that we all want more vaccines and that is a limitation.”

Although he said he was encouraged to hear Biden say that the country should have enough doses for all adults by the end of May, distributing those vaccines will be challenging, Huang said.

“We want everyone to receive the vaccine; the problem is the supply ”, he said.

Huang hopes that more segments of the population will be able to access the vaccine in the coming weeks and months and that by the summer it will be available to everyone.

He added that the state health department has not told him which group could be vaccinated next or when.

–