With a COVID-19 vaccine set to make its debut in the U.S. amid a surge in cases, the City of Lubbock may actually be one of the first places to receive it.

The Texas Department of State Health Services reports that University Medical Center and Covenant Medical Center in Lubbock will be among the 109 Texas hospitals scheduled to receive one of the first shipments of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Of a shipment of more than 224,000 doses expected to make its way to Texas by December 14th, University Medical Center would receive about 1,950 doses of the vaccine, and Covenant Medical Center would receive 2,925 doses.

The Texas Department of State Health Services is also partnering with pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens for vaccine distribution. According to the TDSHS website, pharmacies that sign up would be involved in scheduling and coordinating on-site clinics for the vaccine.

Those likely to get the vaccine first include healthcare workers, first responders, those with underlying health conditions, and people over the age of 65.

Over the weekend, a combined 652 new cases of COVID-19 were reported by the City of Lubbock: 372 new cases on Saturday, Dec. 5th, and 280 new cases on Sunday, Dec. 6th. It was also reported that the COVID-19 hospitalization percentage for Lubbock was 25.45 percent.

Meanwhile, California has once again taken the national lead in terms of confirmed COVID-19 cases. As of Monday, December7th, California reported more than 1.37 million cases of COVID-19, slightly more than Texas’ 1.34 million.

Despite a surge of COVID-19 in both California and Texas, New York still leads the nation in COVID-19 deaths at 34,552. Texas has reported 23,187 deaths, and California has reported 19,937 deaths.

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