HARLINGEN — Some local leaders believe health officials are shortchanging Cameron County, giving more COVID-19 vaccine doses to Hidalgo County.
State health officials stand by Cameron and Hidalgo counties’ allocations, determined according to their populations.
But like Gov. Greg Abbott, officials question whether the federal government is using outdated population figures to calculate the number of vaccine doses it’s shipping to Texas.
Meanwhile, Cameron and Hidalgo counties’ vaccination numbers are falling short of national figures.
“There is something definitely wrong in the distribution,” Josh Ramirez, Harlingen’s public health director, said. “The distribution has not been equally or fairly distributed.”
For weeks, local officials have been requesting the state ship the county more vaccine doses as manufacturers ramp up production.
“All of us have expressed puzzlement that the allocations have not gone up,” Mayor Chris Boswell said, noting the state’s been shipping the county 6,000 doses a week. “I’ve been expecting our allocations to go up but they have not.”
Boswell said he’s expecting the county’s allocations to climb to 15,000 to 20,000 doses a week.
“I think we have the capacity to administer that number,” he said.
Cameron County requesting more vaccine doses
Despite local leaders’ call for more vaccine doses amid stepped-up production, for weeks the state has been shipping the county 6,000 doses a week.
“That’s been a concern for the past few months now,” Melissa Elizardi, the county’s spokeswoman, said. “The want and the need are great. We want to get more shots in arms.”
As part of the nation’s vaccine distribution program, the federal government directly ships doses to counties with populations of 500,000 or more.
While Hidalgo County’s population is estimated at 875,116, Cameron County’s population estimate is at 424,187.
But local officials believe the county’s population stands at more than 500,000, Elizardi said.
State officials stand by vaccine shipments
State officials said Cameron and Hidalgo counties’ vaccine shipments have exceeded their population levels.
“Both Cameron and Hidalgo counties have been allocated slightly more than their proportion of the state’s adult population,” Lara M. Anton, spokeswoman for the state health department, stated. “The (Expert Vaccine Allocation Panel) tries to keep allocations to counties that have providers close to their proportion of the adult population. There are fluctuations in allocations from week to week based on the amount and type of vaccine sent to Texas by the federal government.”
Hidalgo vaccine providers’ allocations raise questions
In Hidalgo County, state-approved vaccine providers such as hospitals and doctor’s offices help boost the county’s overall vaccine numbers.
“The population is bigger and there are a lot more providers,” Ramirez said.
Among Hidalgo County’s private providers is Doctor’s Hospital at Renaissance, which has administered about 100,000, Ramirez said.
Meanwhile, Valley Baptist Medical Center has administered 2,000 to 3,000 doses, he said.
Ramirez said the Harlingen hospital has been requesting the state send doses to help fully vaccinate about 1,500 members of its staff.
State-approved providers receive shipments based on their capacity to administer and store vaccine doses, Anton stated.
“Which providers receive vaccine can change depending on the providers’ ability to administer it within seven days and their ability to store it,” she stated.
Providers boost Hidalgo’s total allocation numbers
Across Cameron County, which has been receiving weekly state shipments of 6,000 vaccine doses, Texas health officials also send vaccine to state-approved providers such as hospitals, clinics, doctor’s offices and pharmacies, Elizardi said, adding she didn’t have those figures readily available.
While Hidalgo County is also receiving 6,000 doses a week, private vaccine providers greatly bolster its total allocation, Carlos Sanchez, the county’s spokesman, stated.
Last week, the county’s overall vaccine allocation reached 20,000 doses, he stated.
“Private providers have been the bulk of the rest of the doses,” he stated. “The number of doses varies from week to week.”
Cameron, Hidalgo vaccinations falling short
So far, Cameron County officials have administered 160,988 vaccine doses, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services’ website on Monday.
In Hidalgo County, officials have given 280,196 doses, the website states.
Meanwhile, Cameron County has fully vaccinated 57,761 people, while partially vaccinating 103,883, according to the state’s health department.
In Hidalgo County, officials have fully vaccinated 95,327, while partially vaccinating 181,767.
COVID-19 vaccines manufactured by Pfizer and Moderna require two doses administered within intervals of about 30 days.
Nationwide, nearly a fourth of the U.S. population — and almost a third of the adult population — has been partially vaccination.
NOTE: This article has been updated to remove inaccurate information.
