Mega Doctor News
By News and Internal Communications
RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – UT Health RGV has opened its online COVID-19 Vaccine Interest Registration form to the public today, to the first 10,000 registrants who qualify under the expanded Phase 1A, 1B and 1C guidelines determined by the State of Texas.
After 10,000 submissions are recorded, UT Health RGV will temporarily close the platform in order to process and administer vaccines to the newly registered group.
Once the university has worked through the list of 10,000, it will then reopen the public platform for another round of registrations via the COVID-19 Vaccine Interest Registration form.
UT Health RGV currently is administering an average of 2,000 first-dose shots each week.
Links for the community to register:
• English: uthealthrgv.org/vaccine
• Spanish: uthealthrgv.org/vacuna
ARE YOU ELIGIBLE?
There is no citizenship or residency requirement, and registrants are not required to show a Social Security number.
Most recently added to the eligibility list was Phase 1C, which includes people 50 to 64 years of age.
The federal government previously had expanded Phase 1B eligibility determinations to include the following education and childcare personnel:
• Those who work in pre-primary, primary and secondary schools.
• Head Start and Early Head Start programs (including teachers, staff and bus drivers).
• Those who work as or for licensed childcare providers, including center-based and family care providers.
In addition to education and childcare personnel, those who fall into Phase 1B are people 65 and older, or 16 and older with a health condition that increases risk of severe COVID‑19 illness, including but not limited to:
• Cancer.
• Obesity (BMI 30+).
• Type 2 diabetes.
• Chronic kidney disease
• COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).
• Down Syndrome.
• Heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies.
• Organ transplantation.
• Pregnancy.
• Sickle cell disease.
Those who fall into Phase 1A are frontline healthcare workers and residents at long-term care facilities.
UT Health RGV will continue to update access to its COVID-19 vaccine registration portal as changes in the availability of the vaccine occur.
