Vaccine delivery elusive in county

Gonzales providers which have previously been allocated doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, Gonzales Healthcare Systems/Sievers Clinic and the H-E-B pharmacy, are not set to receive more vaccine this month.

County and municipal officials stated that requests have been made for more vaccines, but none of these providers appear on the Department of State Health Services allocation lists for Week 7 of vaccine distribution, which began Jan. 25.

The DSHS reported on Jan. 23 that the agency is continuing to focus the state’s vaccine supply on the 82 hub providers across the state. These providers have been selected as hubs because they are capable of vaccinating 100,000 people or more. A total of 212 providers will receive 332,750 doses of vaccine this week.

No one is required to be vaccinated in their county of residence, which means that those who can secure an appointment with hub facilities in other counties may be able to get their vaccine that way.

Gonzales and Guadalupe Counties have created vaccination clinic plans which would allow greater numbers of people in the area to be vaccinated as well, although they are both dependent on either county receiving more vaccine.

Case totals

There were 124 active cases of COVID-19 in the county as of Tuesday, Jan. 26, with 2,016 recovered and 10 deaths reported, according to daily reports shared by Gonzales County Judge Patrick C. Davis. Between Tuesday, Jan. 19 and Tuesday, Jan. 26, 183 new cases were reported, with a spike in reporting of 74 cases on Thursday, Jan. 21.

DSHS data on COVID-19 in Gonzales County shows that there has been at least 32 deaths resulting from COVID-19, and it’s not clear why there is a discrepancy between the two.

Hospitalizations in Trauma Service Area P, which includes Gonzales County have not risen or fallen by very much over the course of the last week. Lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 made up 23.63% of total hospital capacity as of Tuesday, Jan. 26. This marks the fourth week of high hospitalizations, mandating bar closures and the reduction of operation capacity to 50% for most retail businesses and restaurants under Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s Executive Order GA-32.

As of Wednesday, Jan. 27, there were 23 active cases of COVID-19 reported in Gonzales Independent School District, nine in Nixon-Smiley Consolidated Independent School District, and three in Waelder Independent School District.

DSHS data shows that 921 people have received at least the first dose of the two-shot Moderna vaccine, with only 99 completing their vaccination with a second shot.