COVID-19

The short line outside of the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center looks longer because of social distancing. Some of the first citizens in Lubbock to get the coronavirus vaccine seem to be taking no chances when they’re this close to pandemic relief.

Once inside, Lubbock Health Department Director Katherine Wells said people fill out a one-page form. The city is operating on trust with the people currently eligible to be vaccinated- citizens don’t need to bring any documents. 

As COVID-19 hospitalizations surge across Texas, other areas are entering restrictions Lubbock has been under for months. 

Patients who have tested positive for the coronavirus account for over 15% of all hospitalized patients in 18 of the 22 trauma service regions in Texas, according to the most recent data from Texas Health and Human Services. Sixteen of these regions have been above this mark for a week, which triggers state-mandated reopening roll backs. 

From KUT: 

Chris Bennett spent much of Tuesday afternoon on the phone trying to find a vaccine provider for his parents and himself.

“I called H-E-B. I called St. David’s. I called Seton. And I called Austin Regional Clinic,” he said.

Each one told him that he and his parents couldn’t get a vaccine from them.