Stiffed? Analysis reveals Texas ranks 48th among states for vaccines received

Despite being the second most populous state and administering more vaccines on average than the top 10 biggest states on a per capita basis, Texas ranks 48th against other states for vaccine distribution with fewer vaccines received than the four most populous states.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, 31,161,075 doses of the vaccine have been distributed across the U.S as of Monday. That means that 9,438 doses are allocated per 100,000 people. However, Texas has received 7,262 doses per 100,000 people, or 2,105,600 total vaccines, which is around 600,000 doses less than the state should have received had it received its fair share.

Texas Congressional offices don't seem to be aware or concerned with the discrepancy at the moment, according to author Bill King, who said in a newsletter this weekend that two officials told him that they were too busy with the impeachment to look into it at the moment.

Texas is more than five weeks into the vaccine distribution effort, and so far it has been a rocky one, marked with struggle, confusion and a distinct lack of doses to go around.

Texas ranks 48th among U.S. states in the number of COVID vaccines it has received on a per capita basis but outperforms in terms of how many of these vaccines it has administered—7th in the nation—as of Jan. 17.

(Bill King)

Whether the federal government is allocating vaccines to the states on a prorated schedule or based on the level of outbreak, Texas has not received enough doses. This week, Texas received an additional 332,850 doses of the vaccine.

Even with the additional vaccines from this week's allocation, Texas will still be shortchanged by more than 670,000 vaccines. However, Texas has been assigned the second-highest number of vaccines, behind California, which will receive more than 150,000 more at 485,800, this week.

Like most states, Texas is still focusing its efforts on Phase 1A and 1B, leaving many Austinites frustrated and wondering when it will be their turn to get the vaccine. With reports of people jumping ahead in line, ICUs running out of beds and shipments being delayed, Texas is in dire need of vaccines—and fast.