COVID-19 Hospitalizations Rise in Tarrant County, Vaccine Delivery Imminent

In Tarrant County, COVID-19 related hospitalizations continue to rise, with ICU bed capacity in the county currently 96% full.

“Overall I think the picture does look pretty grim, I’m looking at just the data,” said Vinny Taneja, Tarrant County Public Health Director.

According to Taneja, there are only 18-ICU beds open in Tarrant County and 42% of all ICU beds are filled by someone with COVID-19.

“If there were critical injuries, we need ICU beds available,” said Taneja.

Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley told reporters that hospital leadership has so far expressed confidence in their ability to handle the rising number of COVID-19 patients.

“I’m still hearing that they feel comfortable with the availability of beds to handle the patients,” said Judge Whitley.

At Tarrant County Commissioners Court Tuesday, the timeline for the delivery of the first wave of the COVID-19 vaccine was also disclosed. Pending FDA approval later this week, the first shipments are expected to arrive by December 16 – 17.

The first round will deliver just over 18,500 doses to eight Tarrant County Hospitals. Commissioners also signed a letter, sent to Governor Greg Abbott, recommending that teachers be considered for the first wave of vaccinations.

“I really hope they consider giving that to educators, they want kids back in school, and you can’t have them there without teachers,” said Whitley.

Tarrant County officials expect the COVID-19 vaccine to become widely available to the general public by February into March.

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*Map locations are approximate, central locations for the city and are not meant to indicate where actual infected people live.

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