Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Jefferson County Immunization Clinic on Viterbo Road in Beaumont is expected to receive 1,950 doses of the Pfizer vaccine this week.

To view Texas COVID-19 vaccine availability log onto https://tdem.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=3700a84845c5470cb0dc3ddace5c376b

The state of Texas will receive 332,750 first doses of COVID-19 vaccine from the federal government this week.

The Texas Department of State Health Services said the vaccine is to go to residents of long-term care facilities and people 65 and older and those with medical conditions that put them at greater risk of hospitalization and death from COVID-19.

In addition to the first doses mentioned above, the state is ordering 216,350 doses intended as the second dose for people first vaccinated a few weeks ago.

DSHS automatically allocates second doses to providers based on the number of first doses they received, so people should be able to return to the same provider to receive their second dose.

Those in Jefferson County seeking a COVID-19 vaccine have new instructions, according to an update announced Friday evening by the SETX Vaccine Committee.

Anyone who previously left their name on various local waitlists needs to complete a registration at vaccine.beaumonttexas.gov. You can register at this time, but scheduling will be done at a later time once vaccinations are available.

If you are unable to access the website, call centers have been established at 409-550-2536 for further assistance.

This covers citizens in Hardin, Jefferson, Jasper, Newton and Orange counties. Call center assistance will be available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This number will be operational starting Monday (Jan. 25).

Authorities stress do not show up to any vaccination sites until you have received a confirmed appointment time from the Public Health Department. No one will be served without an appointment.

The SETX Vaccine Committee has developed a distribution plan to vaccinate the most vulnerable population (currently vaccinations are for Phase 1A and 1B eligible populations) while efficiently using state and local resources.

Each county or Public Health Department has submitted the number of vaccinations they can administer each day by appointment only. The plan was submitted Friday (Jan. 22).

Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick, along with other elected officials, will hold a press conference Monday (Jan. 25) to give the status of the plan, the daily/weekly dissemination of information through the Southeast Texas Regional Emergency Operations Center and where the region stands on vaccines.

Texas providers have administered more than 1.6 million doses of vaccine. 1.37 million people have received at least one dose, and more than 228,000 have been fully vaccinated

Vaccine remains limited based on the capacity of the manufacturers to produce it, so it will take time for Texas to receive enough vaccine for all the people in the priority populations who want to be vaccinated.

Currently, there is not enough vaccine to supply every provider with vaccine every week. The amount of vaccine provided to Texas is expected to remain steady for the next few weeks. Additional vaccines are in clinical trials, and Johnson & Johnson could request authorization for its vaccine from the Food and Drug Administration as early as next month.