Winter Weather Throws Wrench in COVID-19 Vaccine Efforts | The Weather Channel – Articles from The Weather Channel | weather.com – The Weather Channel

LOUISVILLE, KY - FEBRUARY 12: A woman walks down the sidewalk toward Bates Memorial Baptist church to receive her Moderna COVID-19 vaccine on February 12, 2021 in Louisville, Kentucky. Friday marked the first day that Norton Healthcare offered the vaccination in predominantly black areas of the city, with black churches being the operation centers for the pop-up clinics.

Brutal weather is throwing a wrench in COVID-19 vaccine programs in several states.

From Oregon to Oklahoma to Texas to Virginia, some vaccine clinics are being temporarily shut down or scaled back due to a parade of winter storms across the country.

In Houston, city-run vaccine sites will be closed the first two days of this week.

"We knew the weather forecast (and) didnt schedule new appointments for Monday or Tuesday," Houston Health Department spokesperson Scott Packard told weather.com in an email Friday.

It's their first weather-related closure. The 100 or so people that were already scheduled will be switched to later in the week, Packard said.

Despite the closures, he said the city would still use all of its allotted vaccine doses for next week.

(MORE: 700,000 Without Power As Dual Winter Storms Pummel East and West)

In the Fort Worth area, Tarrant County Health Department spokesperson Brian Murnahan said turnout for vaccines was lower than usual on Thursday, the day that ice and freezing rain caused a deadly early-morning pileup on Interstate 35.

"We probably saw about 80% of what we normally would have expected," Murnahan said in a phone interview.

On Friday, the county offered vaccine appointments to fewer people. One reason for that was to prevent people from having to wait outside in the cold at one site in particular.

Murnahan said county vaccine clinics would be closed as usual on Sunday, and won't open on Monday because of the Presidents Day holiday. After that remains to be seen.

Were going to be watching the weather and kind of seeing what happens, and well make the best decisions on what were going to do at that point," Murnahan said.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a state of emergency for all 254 counties in the state on Friday, ahead of a forecast that includes bitter cold, wind, snow and ice across much of the south from Sunday through Tuesday.

Murnahan said the goal was to at least serve those who have already gotten their first dose.

We dont want people to get behind on those second shots," he said.

The largest vaccination site in Dallas, Fair Park, closed Saturday because of the weather and won't reopen again until at least Tuesday, Dallas Judge Clay Jenkins said in a news release.

"With expected extreme weather conditions, including dangerously low temperatures and hazardous roadways, we must prioritize people's safety," Jenkins said. "As soon as we can safely open again, we will."

On Thursday, Jenkins tweeted that both weather and logistical delays had hampered virus distribution throughout the week. On Friday, Fair Park opened later than usual and only served those who had been scheduled to get their second dose on Feb. 8-11.

Vaccine shippers UPS and FedEx replied to emailed questions with statements saying they have extensive contingency plans in place to help mitigate potential delivery delays.

UPS spokesperson Matthew O'Connor added: "We delivered everything on time during the last storm, as well as the Noreaster at the end of December."

As of Friday, about 69 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been delivered across the country, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 37 million have received shots, including 13 million who've gotten both doses.

For the latest coronavirus information in your county and a full list of important resources to help you make the smartest decisions regarding the disease, check out our dedicated COVID-19 page.

The Weather Companys primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.

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Winter Weather Throws Wrench in COVID-19 Vaccine Efforts | The Weather Channel - Articles from The Weather Channel | weather.com - The Weather Channel