Drive-thru vaccination sites are the most efficient way to vaccinate the greatest number of people in a day; however, Williamson County and its partners also are working on reaching smaller groups that fall in the state’s priority list of Phase 1a and 1b. In order to help the most vulnerable in the community receive the vaccine, this week the County began using special teams to vaccinate people who have a difficult time going to a drive-thru location.
Williamson County has two COVID-19 vaccination partners, Family Hospital Systems (FHS) and Curative, that are quickly vaccinating Texans through drive-thru sites at Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex and the Georgetown ISD Athletic Complex. Curative will open another drive-thru vaccine site March 12 at Dell Diamond. All vaccine doses are scheduled by appointment only. These sites are able to vaccinate between 2,000 to 4,000 people per day.
In addition, Williamson County and the Williamson County and Cities Health District (WCCHD) have started the VaxMob mobile vaccine strike team that visits congregate settings throughout the county. This effort includes Williamson County EMS’s Community Health Paramedics and Mobile Outreach Team who traditionally work with vulnerable populations and those who have difficulty with access to care. The VaxMob targets people who work or live in settings where they are in close proximity to others as well as people who are not able to travel to receive the vaccine. In its first week of operations, the VaxMob was able to vaccinate 210 individuals at facilities such as Williamson County Juvenile Services, Hope Alliance and St. Cyril Catholic Church in Granger.
Today, Curative began using its mobile vaccination van to vaccinate residents at long-term care facilities. The van is called the SOS Van, after Governor Abbott’s Save Our Seniors (SOS) initiative, and the team is working with facilities that have not been able to bring vaccinations directly to their residents. Initially, they have three facilities on their list to vaccinate. Their plan is to vaccinate 300 to 400 people each week with a goal to be completed by the end of April.
The Williamson County and Cities Health District (WCCHD) also is working to vaccinate the county’s vulnerable population with a vaccination location in Taylor at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. This site targets people in Phase 1a and 1b who due to transportation issues need a vaccination site in the eastern part of the county. This site is by appointment only with emailed invitations going to people from the County’s centralized waitlist with zip codes on the east side of the county, as well as people referred to them from their community nonprofit partners. They are able to vaccinate approximately 500 people per day.
Residents in the state’s Phase 1a and 1b groups that want to receive the vaccine can register on the County’s centralized waitlist at www.wilco.org/coronavirus.