Denton County Public Health Begins Vaccinating Medical Service Providers, Health Care Workers

Denton County Public Health has begun vaccinating emergency medical service providers and home health care workers as part of the 1A vaccine distribution group designated by the Texas Department of State Health Services.

According to Denton County Public Health, eligible pre-registered staff from local fire departments and home health agencies received their first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine during DCPH's first drive-thru vaccine clinic

The vaccine clinic was held at the University of North Texas' Discovery Park facility on Tuesday.

"We are excited about the vaccine's arrival in Denton County as we continue to work on the first tier of vaccinations for our health care workers," Denton County Judge Andy Eads said. "We are following state guidelines to ensure vaccines received by the county go to fill in the gaps for those on the front lines, as well as our most vulnerable populations at long-term care facilities. We will continue to follow those guidelines as we receive additional vaccines and look forward to the day when every Denton County community member can easily find a vaccine provider for themselves."

While the vaccine remains limited in availability, Denton County Public Health is reminding all community members to maintain at least six feet of physical distance and wear masks or face coverings over both the nose and mouth in public settings and when around individuals outside of the household

Community members should also wash and/or sanitize their hands frequently and stay home if they are symptomatic, have recently had close contact with a person with COVID-19, or are awaiting COVID-19 test results.

"As the vaccine begins to arrive in our communities, we must continue to practice personal responsibility with mask wearing, handwashing, and social distancing," Dr. Matt Richardson, Director of DCPH, said. "While hope has arrived with the vaccine, COVID-19 remains highly infectious and our hospitals are currently strained with a large number of COVID-19 patients. Doing our part now, while we wait for our opportunity to get vaccinated, helps relieve that stress on our hospital systems and lower the number of new infections in Denton County."