Galveston County, UTMB to open mass COVID-19 vaccination hub - Houston Chronicle

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LEAGUE CITY — Galveston County officials and the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston announced plans Wednesday to collaborate on a mass COVID-19 vaccination hub at Walter Hall Park in League City, which will eventually have the capacity to administer thousands of shots per day.

County Judge Mark Henry said he was notified last week by the state that Galveston County would be designated a hub site for vaccines and began reviewing locations throughout the county that could serve that purpose. Walter Hall Park in League City made sense as the county’s primary vaccine site, he said, in part because it’s centrally located near the border of Harris and Galveston Counties, but also because it has the open space to handle a steady stream of vehicles filing in for shots.

“We reviewed about six different locations, they all had strengths and weaknesses. This one had the best overall strength because it's a county-owned facility, we can control it 100 percent start to finish, we can close it down, we don't have to ask anyone’s permission,” Henry said, adding that his county is looking at similar county-owned sites for smaller vaccine hubs, such as Jack Brooks Park in Hitchcock.

The site will have a drive-thru format, with three to four lanes queued up with cars so those eligible can get vaccine shots from a nurse. A greeter will be at the park entrance verifying a patient’s identity and ensuring he or she has an appointment. The county and UTMB are still working to determine how much staffing the site will require, in addition to coordinating with state transportation officials to facilitate traffic to the site.

The plans for the Galveston County vaccine hub will look similar to a designated site in Montgomery County, where traffic moved smoothly Wednesday at the county fairground. The site opened at 9 a.m after the Lone Star Family Health Center received 2,000 vaccine doses and continues through Friday. Residents were directed to a 60,000-square-foot arena.

Montgomery County Judge Mark Keough said all 2,000 appointments were booked within 18 minutes Tuesday.

“We have had a great response,” Keough said. “It’s been pretty amazing today. It’s moving very smooth.”

The Walter Hall Park hub in League City is set to open on Saturday by appointment only, and the goal is for the site to eventually administer as many as 5,000 vaccine doses per day. According to state rules, only front-line health care workers, people over age 65, and individuals with underlying health conditions are currently eligible. As a designated mass vaccine site, it also must be open to all state residents, though local health officials noted that League City happens to be one of the regional epicenters for COVID-19 infections. Nearly one-third of Galveston County’s COVID-19 cases have come from League City.

“This is a very good place to have a vaccine,” said Philip Keiser, Galveston County’s local health authority.

The challenge for all of the mass vaccination sites across the state will be ensuring a steady supply chain of vaccines. Just last week, UTMB was forced to cancel thousands of vaccine appointments because the state failed to deliver enough doses.

Keiser said the state will guarantee a certain percentage of its vaccine supply to designated hub sites but at least to start, the Walter Hall Park site will only be able to handle around 1,000 doses per day.

“Right now (with vaccines), there is a little bit of catch-as-catch-can,” Keiser said. “So we just have to play this week by week.”

Catherine Dominguez contributed to this report.

nick.powell@chron.com

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