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    The Mobile Health Truck arrives in Dripping Springs. PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY EDWIN REYES
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    Above left: Owner of First Medical Response, Edwin Reyes, receives a shipment of Moderna vaccines. Center: Phoenix Jackson prepares Moderna vaccines, pictured on right.
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Mobile healthcare truck in Dripping Springs

As the COVID-19 vaccine rollouts continue in Texas, one Dripping Springs company is hitting the pavement to deliver as many vaccines as possible to their neighbors. Through its mobile vaccination clinic, First Medical Response of Texas (FMR) has been able to administer nearly 400 vaccines in Dripping Springs and an additional 686 in the surrounding area.

Owner of FMR, Edwin Reyes says his team is vaccinating people as soon as they get the vaccines in. “We are probably one of the only mobile providers right now providing mobile vaccinations,” he said. “We’re capable of deploying to any site once we have the vaccines in hand.”

The vaccines, however, do have a shelf life. Reyes said, “Once the vaccines come out of refrigeration, and they’re out in room air, we only have six hours to give them.”

Recently the FMR team found themselves with a handful of leftover vaccines. To ensure that no vaccine was wasted, they were able to quickly move their truck to the Highpointe of Dripping Springs neighborhood amenity center and notify their neighbors through social media about the opportunity to receive a vaccine.

At this time, FMR is awaiting the arrival of 1,000 more doses of the Moderna vaccine from the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). When the vaccines arrive, FMR will work through their waitlist of currently 4,000 people to administer the vaccinations.

Residents who meet the requirements of phases 1A and 1B can receive the vaccine. Reyes says they will begin including phase 1C as soon as they have finished allocating their supply to those on the waitlist in previous phases.

In a press release last week, DSHS announced the supply is expected to increase in the coming months, and additional vaccines are in clinical trials and may be authorized by the Food and Drug Administration.

As a reminder, here are the criteria for each phase:

Phase 1A includes frontline health care workers and long-term care residents and staff.

Phase 1B includes Texans who are 65 years and older and people who are at least 16 with a qualifying health condition that puts them at an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19. According to DSHS, qualifying conditions include, but are not limited to: Cancer, Chronic kidney disease, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease or cardiomyopathy, Solid organ transplantation, Obesity and severe obesity, Pregnancy, Sickle cell disease, Type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Phase 1C includes all other essential workers. According to DSHS, those are workers in transportation and logistics, water and wastewater, food service, shelter and housing (e.g., construction), finance (e.g., bank tellers), information technology and communications, energy, legal, media, and public safety (e.g., engineers), and public health workers.

If you would like to be placed on the waiting list to receive a vaccine from First Medical Response, you can fill out a Google form via their Facebook page, or send an email through the contact page of their website, firstmedicalresponse.org/ contact, to request the link for the waitlist.

For a list of other vaccine providers in the Dripping Springs area, please visit the DSHS website at dshs. state.tx.us/coronavirus/immunize/vaccine.aspx.

Dripping Springs Century-News

P.O. Box 732
Dripping Springs, Texas 78620

Phone: (512) 858-4163
Fax: (512) 847-9054