By Associated Press - Thursday, April 1, 2021

SAN ANTONIO (AP) - San Antonio has become the last major Texas city to establish a sign-up portal for scheduling COVID-19 vaccinations.

City Council voted on Wednesday to set up the portal, allowing residents to be notified when vaccination appointments become available.

The San Antonio Express-News reported this is a capability that other Texas cities such as Austin, Houston and Dallas, have had for months. Last month, Texas launched its online registration system for scheduling vaccine shots.

The online portal was delayed in San Antonio as the city’s top health officials resisted the idea of a registry, believing it would do little to ease people’s anxiety about obtaining an appointment, given the limited supply of vaccine.

“Unless we experience a dramatic increase in vaccine supply, which to this point we have not, residents are going to continue to be frustrated with the process and inability to secure a vaccine as soon as possible,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg said.

But supporters say the registry could save people hours of trying in vain to secure an appointment.

“I think it’s going to make a significant difference,” said District 9 Councilman John Courage, the council’s main proponent of a registry.

The system will take at least three weeks to set up and open to the public, according to officials.

Once it’s operational, only individuals 65 years and older will be eligible to sign up even though all Texas residents 16 years and older are now eligible to get the vaccine.

About 86,000 residents who are 65 years and older in Bexar County, where San Antonio is located, have not yet been vaccinated, said Assistant City Manager Colleen Bridger, the city’s coronavirus czar.

State health officials on Thursday reported 118 new deaths, along with 3,206 new confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases. State health officials said that 2,954 people with COVID-19 required hospitalization as of Thursday. Hospitalizations and new cases have steadily dropped in the state since they peaked in January.

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