Harris County Emergency Services District 48, a first-responder organization serving the area between The Grand Parkway and Fry Road, began administering COVID-19 vaccines to area residents Feb. 26. So far, district personnel are administering the Moderna-produced vaccine to residents in approved categories at high risk of catching the disease or facing complications from the virus. Preregistration for the vaccination is required.

“We are only opening registrations for (categories 1A and 1B),” said Battalion Chief of Community Medicine Joe Casciotti. “We’re only opening registrations as we know we’re definitely getting doses, so we knew we had 200 doses (for the weekend of Feb. 26-March 1) and we opened registration for that. I should hear in the next day or two whether we’ll get another allocation next week and when we know for sure we’re going to get them; we’ll open up more registrations.”

HCESD 48 Division Chief of Community Risk Reduction Jason Tharp said the process to get vaccinated is pretty simple and the vaccination is completely free for those receiving the injection, though the patient’s insurance may be billed if they have health insurance. Regardless, he said, there is no out-of-pocket cost for the vaccine through the department.

Casciotti elaborated on the process. He explained that the patient comes in, verifies their registration using some form of ID so that staff can ensure they’re providing the injection to the correct individual. They answer some simple screening questions and then enter a room where they are provided with a vaccination card and then given their first dose of the vaccine. This generally takes less than ten minutes. Once that is completed, they are asked to sit in a neighboring room for about 15 minutes for observation to ensure they don’t have an adverse reaction to receiving an injection – just like with any other shot they might receive – and are sent on their way, ready to come back in two weeks to receive their second and final injection, he said.

Tharp said, in general, about 10 people are being given injections every 30 minutes and once the team worked out a few minor workflow issues on the first day, everything has flowed smoothly.

“We even got little stickers made that say, ‘I got my vaccine at HCESD 48,’” Tharp said.

Casciotti said the process for HCESD 48 to become a vaccine provider began in mid-December of 2020 when the vaccines first got approved. The department applied to the state to become a provider and obtain and verify they had the correct types of equipment for storage of the vaccine on-hand. That got finalized at the beginning of January, he said, and since then they’ve been looking to receive their weekly allotments of doses to provide to those who register. While most recipients are from the Katy area, Casciotti said there are no geographic boundaries or other requirements to receive a vaccine because the focus is on getting as many group 1A and 1B people vaccinated as possible as quickly as possible.

“They can be from anywhere actually, for the state of Texas. You don’t have to even be a state resident and you actually don’t even have to be a United States citizen or resident,” Casciotti said.

Casciotti said he has received the vaccine himself and while he had an immune response which is expected with any vaccine, there were no other side effects besides a sore shoulder at the injection site. He generally felt like he had a mild flu for a short time but was back to normal in about 48 hours. Most patients, he said, should expect about the same. Any patient that is concerned about an adverse reaction to the vaccine should speak with their physician before taking this or any other vaccine, he added.

Phase 1A patients include front-line health care workers and residents at long-term care facilities. Phase 1B includes people age 65 or older or those age 16 or older with a health condition that increases the risk of severe COVID-19 illness such as cancer, kidney disease, COPD, Down Syndrome, heart conditions, pregnancy or obesity, among others.

Readers can find out if they are in categories 1A or 1B by visiting the Department of State Health Services COVID-19 Vaccine Information website at:

• https://dshs.texas.gov/coronavirus/immunize/vaccine.aspx

Casciotti said those in Phase 1A or 1B who are seeking the vaccine, which has not been made mandatory by any government entity, may keep an eye on the HCESD 48 website for registration opportunities.