HOUSTON — Houston's COVID vaccination clinic opened for its second day Sunday, but less than 15 minutes after its scheduled opening time, the center announced that it was no longer taking appointments because all the slots were full.
The Houston Health Department said most of Sunday's appointments were booked via the department's call center on Saturday. The limited number of spots they had left was filled by people who showed up to the site without appointments.
In a tweet Sunday morning, the department asked Houstonians to not show up to the site unless they had an appointment scheduled.
Mayor Turner said he expects between 800 to 900 people to get vaccinated Sunday.
During a press conference, he mentioned how he hopes to open a major mega-site within the city that could vaccinate more than 1,000 people each day.
Houston's COVID vaccination clinic first opened its doors on Saturday.
There was an overwhelming response on opening day, so much so that the clinic's call center was inundated with calls, which produced a technical glitch, and the traffic was moved to on-site appointments only.
There were 1,008 people vaccinated Saturday, according to HHD.
The health department is working to add an online registration system to help with scheduling appointments.
Only those who met the state's Phase 1A and 1B criteria are allowed to get the vaccine right now. Those people are:
- First responders
- Healthcare workers
- People 65 years of age and older
- People 16 years of age and older with at least one chronic medical condition that puts them at increased risk for severe illness from the virus that causes COVID-19
On Sunday, the health department added an additional 982 cases to its records bringing the city's total to 121,451 cases. The death toll now stands at 1,568 in the City of Houston.
Turner is urging Houstonians to get tested this upcoming week due to holiday gatherings. He said although the vaccine is here in limited supply, the city is "not out of the woods."
For more information on the vaccine, visit the Houston Health Department’s website.