Thousands receive COVID vaccines, highest risk UT Health patients are next

Nursing student administers COVID vaccine

UT Health San Antonio has handed out approximately 8,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine since the first injections began Dec. 15.

Front-line health care workers, physicians, nurses and students who interact with possible COVID-19 patients received the first shots. The vaccines were made available to all UT Health San Antonio faculty, staff and students Dec. 28.

The Pfizer vaccine regimen consists of two doses administered approximately 21 days apart. The second round of injections at UT Health San Antonio begins Jan. 5. The vaccine is also being given to UT Health San Antonio-eligible Tier 1b patients beginning with primary care and geriatric care center patients first.

The vaccines on campus are being administered in the School of Nursing through a large, collaborative process including hundreds of people across the university.

The School of Nursing’s Wellness 360, in conjunction with the Department of Pathology in the Long School of Medicine, also continues to offer COVID-19 testing to UT Health San Antonio faculty, staff and students.

Primary care patients (current patients only) of the UT Health Physicians practice will be vaccinated by appointment only and are being contacted directly through MyChart. The highest risk primary care patients will be scheduled for vaccination clinics beginning Jan. 9 at the Medical Arts and Research Center, said Robert Leverence, MD, chief medical officer of UT Health Physicians. The practice also plans to vaccinate all high-risk patients who have existing scheduled appointments in primary care clinics, effective immediately.

The Mays Cancer Center, home to UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson, has been allocated enough Pfizer COVID vaccines to vaccinate between 1,000 and 2,000 of its cancer patients, said Mark Bonnen, MD, chief medical officer, Jan. 4. The target date for the first vaccines to be administered is Jan. 11.

Both Drs. Leverence and Bonnen emphasized that the best way for patients to stay abreast of COVID vaccine communications is to ensure that their MyChart account is active. All UT Health patients who are eligible for a vaccine, according to prioritized criteria, will be notified via a personalized link through MyChart that should be used to schedule their appointment for the vaccine.

If you have general questions about COVID vaccine eligibility for members of the community, please visit https://www.sanantonio.gov/gpa/News/ArtMID/24373/ArticleID/19927/Metro-Health-Provides-COVID-19-Vaccine-Update.



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