Texas Motor Speedway vaccine site preparing for winter weather

The Texas Motor Speedway vaccine site will not have as many doses as it did last week, but it does hope to be open for three days again, weather permitting.

Denton County has about 6,000 leftover doses due to cancellations and missed appointments. The plan is to get them in people's arms this week.

A clinic is set for Tuesday at Texas Motor Speedway. But another one tentatively scheduled for Thursday is in jeopardy due to possible inclement weather.

Denton County Public Health Director Dr. Matt Richardson is hoping for another successful three-day run at TMS this week, weather permitting.

"The weather is a complication," he said.

Dr. Richardson says Tuesday is a go. The goal is to administer thousands of COVID-19 doses that are leftover from cancellations and missed appointments.

Organizers will continue to use the 16-lane setup at TMS where the average wait time last week was under an hour. No major problems reported.

"We're planning on giving just under 6,000 doses this week from all of the weeks combined," Dr. Richardson said.

That's in addition to 3,500 second doses.

Thursday is where it gets tricky. Possible inclement weather could cause a delay or cancellation.

"Safety is a priority for winter weather, and we want to respect that for both the participants who are driving from sometimes great distances as well as the staff and volunteers on site," Dr. Richardson said.

Dr. Richardson says it's important for folks on the waitlist to continuously check their email, text, and voicemail for updates from the county.

Denton County Judge Andy Eads also keeping a close eye on the forecast.

"We want to get people out in the weather unnecessarily. We also want to get people their vaccines," he said. "We know it's time sensitive and so many people have been eagerly awaiting their vaccinations, so we're going to be balancing it out."

Judge Eads says the county is taking steps to keep staff and volunteers warm.

"We have plenty of hand warmers we purchased to make it as easy as possible for our volunteers who will be out in the elements," he said.

Friday, the county plans to administer some 9,700 COVID vaccines allocated by the state for this week. Those will all be first doses.

Judge Eads says he should have better idea closer to Thursday as to how it will play out at TMS. As of now, the clinic is set to begin at noon. The forecast could change all that.