AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Thursday outside a UPS distribution center in Austin that the COVID-19 distribution Operation Warp Speed is a “monumental medical miracle.”
Abbott said there have already been about 95,000 doses of the Pfizer-produced vaccine delivered across the state. On Thursday, more than 129,00 more doses will be delivered, constituting 224,000 doses distributed in Texas the first week of availability.
The governor expects more doses next week following the assumption that Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine gains emergency clearance from the Food and Drug Administration.
“There will be well over a million people vaccinated in the state of Texas alone, just this month,” Abbott said during the press conference. “And those numbers will continue to increase as production continues to increase.”
The Association of Texas Professional Educators, the largest education association in the state, said it is thankful for the scientists, medical experts, and health and safety officials who have helped make the COVID-19 vaccine a reality.
But it questions why educators also have not been included in the groups of employees who are getting the first doses of the vaccines, saying these workers also are on the front lines of the pandemic.
"The vaccine distribution announcement is welcome news," an ATPE statement said. "But we are disappointed with the lack of assurance that public school employees will soon have the option to receive vaccines."
You can watch the live stream of the press conference here.