Midland Health Accepting Anyone 16 or Older to Register For the COVID-19 Vaccine

Now anyone age 16 and up can register and set up an appointment for the Pfizer vaccine.

According to NewsWest 9, Midland Health has made the decision to begin vaccinating anyone 16 and older and of course 16 and 17 year-olds will have to have a parent or guardian with them.

"We've just got to get vaccines out," Russell Meyers, Midland Memorial Hospital CEO said. "That's the most important priority."

But vetting each age group and scheduling them is time consuming.

"It's got to be a manageable system," Meyers said. "As we've set this up, we don't have the time or the abundant resources to do that level of vetting the population."

Opening up the vaccines to everyone is the best plan right now according to Midland Health.

"What makes sense in Houston or Austin doesn't necessarily always make sense for Midland, and so we're trying to stay as close to the state's guidelines as we can, while pushing those boundaries a little bit to be sure that we meet the particular needs of our community," Meyers said.

Midland County has vaccinated over 66,000 people while Ector County has vaccinated over 55,000.

Midland Health has a lot of vials of the Pfizer vaccine and the current phase allowed by the state is now having fewer people getting scheduled for shots.

So getting those shots into arms is the most important thing right now.

In a Midland Health press release they said it is "extremely important that we get vaccines in arms to achieve our ultimate goal of herd immunity."

Get yourself registered for the vaccine by going to the Midland Health website, or by calling 432-221-4VAX.

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