Published: October 30, 2009 01:59 pm      

DSHS orders 1.5 M doses of vaccine

AUSTIN - The Texas Department of State Health Services continues to order the state’s full allocation of the H1N1 vaccine as quickly as possible, with more than 1.5 million doses ordered as of Friday. More orders and shipments will follow as doctors and clinics confirm their orders with DSHS, according to a Friday release

The statement said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has allocated about 2 million H1N1 vaccine doses to Texas. Some three-quarters of a million of those doses were allocated Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and are in the process of being allocated to Texas providers.

A CDC report issued Friday on national shipments does not include orders processed after Wednesday afternoon and currently on the way to Texas .

The DSHS said, given the limited national supply, Texas is allocating vaccine to private practice providers, public and private hospitals, local health departments and DSHS regional offices to vaccinate those most at risk – pregnant women, children and health care workers who provide direct patient care.

Acc0rding to the state health department, the national supply still isn’t adequate to meet the public demand. Texas will allocate more vaccine to other groups as it becomes more widely available. About 12,000 Texas providers have registered to receive the vaccine.