Immunize El Paso says it could vaccinate 1,000 El Pasoans a day, but the state of Texas has yet to act
EL PASO, Texas -- Immunize El Paso says it is waiting on the state of Texas to allow it to vaccinate more area residents against Covid-19. To date the healthcare clinic has vaccinated 2,000 El Pasoans with their first and second doses.
"We received our initial vaccine allocation in the beginning of January, we've already exhausted that. We've already provided all of our second doses that would have gone along with that first shipment," Dusty Warden, Immunize El Paso's director of operations said.
The non-profit said it is being forced to wait for the Texas Department of State Health Services to allocate it access to more vaccines.
"Our impact has been exclusively to 2,000 patients between their first and second dose and I know that the people that have been working for our non-profit for years are aching to do more for our community," Warden said.
Immunize El Paso indicated it submitted an application to become a hub vaccination provider; officials told ABC-7 they would have the ability to vaccinate about 1,000 El Pasoans a day.
"There's an entire community of non-profits and private providers that are willing to step up to the challenge in order to make a further impact. What we want to see is more vaccines come to the El Paso area to have a bigger impact," Warden said.
ABC-7 asked the state why Immunize El Paso had not been approved for more vaccines.
"The majority of the doses are allocated to hub providers. The vaccine will continue to be allocated to smaller providers in the El Paso area. For next week, one non-hub provider in El Paso will receive vaccine from the state allocation," the Department of State Health Services said in a statement.
