Special to The Dallas Examiner
Starting at Monday, UT Southwestern Medical Center will begin providing COVID-19 vaccines to current UT Southwestern patients who are 65 or older or have specified medical conditions.
Information for patients is available at utswmed.org, including vaccination updates, answers to frequently asked questions, and other resources.
Current UTSW patients will be notified through their secure MyChart accounts when they are eligible to schedule a vaccination. The MyChart message will include a link for making an appointment and instructions, so there is no additional need for patients to contact a clinic or provider.
UTSW appreciates everyone’s patience and understanding with the start of this important next step in our commitment to caring for the health of our community.
The pace at which vaccinations occur will be dependent on the size and frequency of vaccine shipments, which remain dynamic and uncertain. Meticulous planning has been underway for several months at UT Southwestern to ensure distribution is equitable, effective, and efficient.
UT Southwestern continues to follow state guidance for vaccine distribution. The Texas Department of State Health Services has identified the following groups as eligible to receive vaccines during Phase 1B:
- People 65 years of age or older
- People 16 years of age or older with chronic medical conditions that put them at increased risk for severe illness from the virus that causes COVID-19, including:
- Cancer
- Chronic kidney disease
- COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
- Heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease or cardiomyopathies
- Solid organ transplantation
- Obesity and severe obesity (body mass index of 30 kg/m2 or higher)
- Pregnancy
- Sickle cell disease
- Down syndrome
- Type 2 diabetes mellitus
The vaccination rollout to date at UT Southwestern has been swift and efficient: All doses from each shipment have been nearly depleted before the next arrives, leaving none wasted. More than 11,000 doses have been administered to the workforce at UT Southwestern since it received its first shipment on Dec. 15.
UT Southwestern’s Vaccine Science Review Committee conducted an independent evaluation of the clinical trial data on both the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines, which agrees with the FDA assessment of the vaccines’ safety and effectiveness.