Friday Last Day For Pfizer Vaccine At Montgomery County Hub

CONROE, TX — The Woodforest Bank Stadium COVID-19 vaccine hub in Shenandoah will administer its final doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine Friday and will close for good Tuesday, Montgomery County officials announced at the Commissioner's Court meeting Tuesday.

The hub will only administer second shots of the Moderna vaccine Tuesday, Jason Millsaps, executive director of the Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, told the court. Millsaps added that the breakdown of the site will begin the following day and should take a couple weeks before turning it back over to the Conroe Independent School District.

According to data from the Texas Department of State Health Services, 48.02 percent of Montgomery County residents age 12 and older have been administered at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 35.8 percent are fully vaccinated. Those are slightly below the statewide numbers of 51.73 percent and 41.33 percent, respectively. In Montgomery County, 77.92 percent of residents age 65 and older have received one dose, and 63.78 percent are fully vaccinated.

With the vaccine now readily available to those who want it in Montgomery County, Millsaps said it was time to close the mass operation.

“The demand has dramatically decreased in the last month, which is the reason we are closing the mass sites,” Millsaps said. “It’s not feasible to continue.”

Millsaps cited concerns over side effects from second doses, strong efficacy of first doses and physician's orders as some of the reasons demand has shrunk. He added that there are 57 other sites in the county, mostly pharmacies and hospitals, that are administering doses of the vaccines and likely would be able to administer second doses with proof of a first shot. Millsaps also said vaccine hub providers CHI St. Luke's The Woodlands and Lone Star Family Health Center would still provide vaccines at their own sites.

Active cases in Montgomery County are continuing on a downward trend as the Montgomery County Public Health District announced Tuesday that there are 159 less than in Monday's update. There are currently 1,139 active cases in the county, the lowest amount since June 23, according to data provided by MCPHD.

MCPHD also confirmed the deaths of three more county residents with COVID-19 — a Spring man in his 60s, a Magnolia woman in her 70s and a Porter man in his 70s. All three were hospitalized with co-morbidities, and their deaths bring Montgomery County's total to 308. MCPHD added 11 cases Tuesday, raising the county total to 54,199 since the beginning of the pandemic.

Other vaccine information

DSHS has set up a public vaccination website to help Texans register for a COVID-19 vaccine appointment close to them. To schedule an appointment, click here.

National pharmacies CVS and Walgreens also are distributing the vaccine across the country. To check availability in your area and register for a vaccine, click here for CVS and here for Walgreens.

For more information on vaccination locations throughout Texas, click here.