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Concern growing over vaccine deserts in Houston
FOX 26's Tiffany Justice has more as there is concern growing in one Houston area that finding a COVID-19 vaccine has become very difficult.
HOUSTON - Many have heard of food deserts, but right now, there is talk about vaccine desert for many Houston communities.
Dr. Forough Farizani, the Medical Director at Hillcroft Physicians, P.A., a family practice in Southwest Houston tells FOX26, they are having a hard time getting vaccines to give to their 20,000 plus patients who are considered high-risk.
"In the past two or three weeks, we have been bombarded with phone calls for vaccines and unfortunately we don’t have it, and I have to say it’s a shame, because our patients are very vulnerable," said Farizani. "For the most part, they are not privileged people to really know their way around and find the help they need. They are very dependent on us."
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Priority has been given to pharmacies in CVS, Walgreens and H.E.B. to help administer the vaccines.
But for certain areas of Houston, they’re hard to come by.
State Representative Gene Wu, who represents Southwest Houston, says there are different hurdles to deal with when it comes to vaccine distribution for this district.
Southwest Houston is a diverse area, largely made up of immigrants.
"There are many communities that don’t really have access to those places," said Wu." There are a few CVS’s within my district. There is only a single H.E.B. within the boundary of my district."
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Dr. Farizani added that for the majority of her patients, the option of going to one of those locations is still not accessible to them.
"Majority of these people don’t have a computer, or they are not computer savvy," said Farizani.
Farizani goes on to say, for those in her community, they’ve built trust with their healthcare provider and don’t feel comfortable going elsewhere.
"The reality is, they are scared of getting the vaccine."
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Congressman Al Green penned a letter to Governor Greg Abbott, Wednesday saying quote: "We urge you to include low-income individuals and households, including high-risk minority groups, as priority populations as you consider guidelines for the allocation of the COVID-19 vaccines."