El Paso officials discuss virus vaccination success so far as health dept. receives 5,000 more doses

EL PASO, Texas -- The El Paso Department of Public Health announced Thursday it had received 5,000 additional Covid-19 vaccines after exhausting its previous 5,000 doses at a mega-site distribution earlier this week.

Word of the receipt of the added vaccines came as County Judge Ricardo Samaniego and Mayor Oscar Leeser held a news conference on the success of El Paso's vaccination efforts so far.

The health department said those who have pre-registered with it for vaccination should be on the lookout for a phone call or email if they are selected to be vaccinated in this next round.

The newest shots will be administered at a rate of 1,000 a day starting on Friday, Lesser said.

Only those who are healthcare workers, are over age 65 or who suffer from a critical medical condition are currently eligible to receive a vaccination under state of Texas guidelines.

Officials said El Paso is getting about 3% of the state's latest vaccine allotment, even though the community is less than 2% of the state's population.

Across Texas, the state as of Thursday has now distributed more than one million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, according to Gov. Greg Abbott's office.

You can watch the news conference held by El Paso officials in its entirety in the video player below.