Harris County COVID-19 Vaccinations: Federal Vaccine Mega Site Opens at NRG Park, Serving 6,000 Daily

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) – A large COVID-19 vaccination clinic at NRG Park, which began in earnest Wednesday morning, is set to serve 6,000 people a day in Houston, organizers said.

SkyEye flew over the sprawling complex where rows and queues of vehicles were routed to vaccination posts under white tents.

The opening of the drive-thru vaccination clinic did not go without some hiccups. A number of factors, including missed appointments throughout the day, caused some people to wait up to 45 minutes. FEMA told ABC13 it is working to resolve the long waits.

The clinic had a soft launch on Tuesday and will provide another site in addition to county, city, hospital and pharmacy locations across the region.

According to the organizers, at a minimum, the federal site should vaccinate 126,000 people. An estimated 300,000 people who have registered for the vaccine are still waiting for their first dose of the vaccine. The mega site should greatly increase the chances of getting the photo soon.

On Monday afternoon, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, FEMA Regional Director Tony Robinson and other local officials gave details of the COVID-19 mass vaccination clinic, managed by the state and supported by the federal government.

WATCH: Preview of NRG Park COVID-19 vaccine mega site before soft opening

Since its announcement a few weeks ago, workers have built the temporary mass vaccination center. This will be a drive-thru facility in the yellow lot at NRG Park.

“People deserve good news, a little bit of hope,” Hidalgo said. “This site marks the biggest effort yet to get our community vaccinated.”

According to Hidalgo, they will vaccinate those living in postal codes hit hard by the virus.

“All of us at the national, federal and local levels agree that this site needs to focus on the people who have been left behind so far, who have been hit hardest by COVID-19 Hidalgo mentioned. “We did this by finding the zip codes with the highest incidence of the virus, the highest social vulnerability and the social vulnerability index.”

Postal codes are: 77022, 77029, 77032, 77078, 77087, 77093, 77502, 77504, 77506, 77587, 77011, 77012, 77015, 77016, 77020, 77026, 77028, 77033, 77037, 77038, 77039, 77048 77086, 77091, 77503, 77060, 77080, 77099, 77013, 77014, 77036, 77050, 77051, 77076, 77090.

Hidalgo added that people 65 and over on the waiting list who come from the top 10 city and county zip codes will be given top priority for vaccines on the site.

The next priority group will be people aged 65 and over.

“Then we will prioritize the following among the 25 other hardest hit postcodes before we step off the larger waiting list,” Hidalgo said. This group will include those aged 60 to 64 with underlying medical conditions living in high-risk postal codes.

The fourth priority group will be people aged 60 to 64 with underlying health problems.

FEMA uses the Harris County and City of Houston waiting lists. People are contacted for appointments.

To join the City of Houston waitlist, visit their website at houstonemergency.org/covid-19-vaccines or call 832-393-4301.

The Harris County waiting list can be reached at vacstrac.hctx.net.

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