COVID-19 Vaccination
COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation Phase 1B
Effective immediately in Texas, Phase 1B of vaccination will focus on people for whom there is strong and consistent evidence that COVID-19 makes them more likely to become very sick or die. Preventing the disease among people who have these risk factors will dramatically reduce the number of Texans who die from the disease and relieve pressure on the healthcare system by reducing hospital and ICU admissions. Vaccination will also reduce absenteeism among the front-line workers at the greatest risk of severe disease and protect individuals at risk for health inequities.
Who is eligible to receive the vaccine as part of Phase 1B?
Texas Phase 1B Vaccine Priorities
- People 65 years of age and older
- People 18 years of age and older with at least one chronic medical condition that puts them at increased risk for severe illness from the virus that causes COVID-19, such as but not limited to:
- Cancer
- Chronic kidney disease
- COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
- Heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease or cardiomyopathies
- Solid organ transplantation
- Obesity and severe obesity (body mass index of 30 kg/m2 or higher)
- Pregnancy
- Sickle cell disease
- Type 2 diabetes mellitus
What is the cost for the Vaccine?
The vaccine is free of charge while supplies last. Please check vaccine availability before coming to the hospital, located at the top of this webpage. Please discuss any concerns of receiving the vaccine with your Primary Care Doctor.
Where to get the Moderna vaccine
Scenic Mountain Medical Center – Watley Plaza
(North Driveway Entrance on Martin Luther King Blvd)
1601 W. 11th Place Big Spring, Texas 79720
Wednesdays & Fridays from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Vaccines will be offered on a walk-in basis for the first vaccine. You will receive an appointment for the second vaccine. Vaccines will be administered while supplies last and restart when new shipments are received. Once you arrive, please enter through the north driveway entrance of Watley Plaza on Martin Luther King Blvd. Our clinic staff will escort you inside to register and receive your vaccine once they are ready for you. Supplies are limited, please check vaccine availability before coming to the hospital, located at the top of this webpage.
About the Moderna Vaccine
The Moderna vaccine (mRNA-1273) was granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine advisory committee on December 17, 2020. EUA allows for the use of medical countermeasures, including vaccines, during public health emergencies, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic. Under an EUA, FDA may allow the use of unapproved medical products, or unapproved uses of approved medical products in an emergency to diagnose, treat, or prevent serious or life-threatening diseases or conditions when certain statutory criteria have been met, including that there are no adequate, approved, and available alternatives.
Similar to the Pfizer vaccine, Moderna includes a 2-dose schedule taken approximately four weeks apart. The Moderna vaccines proved to be approximately 95% effective in preventing COVID-19 in its vaccine trial of 30,000 individuals in 89 different clinical sites covering 32 U.S. States. According to the CDC, Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines carry genetic material that teaches our cells how to make a harmless piece of “spike protein,” which is found on the surface of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. These do not affect our DNA and cannot give the vaccine recipient COVID-19, though side reported side effects include fever, headache and muscle aches. Other mRNA vaccines have been studied for influenza, Zika, rabies, and cytomegalovirus (CMV).
Learn more about the Moderna vaccine on the CDC website.
Steward Health Care