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COVID-19 vaccine will be voluntary for UT Austin community

Health care providers at the university will be the first to access the vaccines at UT.

AUSTIN, Texas — As the University of Texas is set to distribute thousands of COVID-19 vaccines once it has been officially approved, UT health leaders held a press conference Tuesday to answer questions.

Firstly, the Pfizer vaccine will be distributed to health care workers. At UT, those will be distributed to frontline care providers.

Amy Young, vice dean of professional practice at Dell Medical School and the chief clinical officer for UT Health Austin, said these vaccines will be 100% voluntary.

"We hope that as many people that are willing and able will be vaccinated, it's just a very important player in our ongoing fight against COVID," she said. "So we know while you get the vaccine, have more protection and as more people get vaccinated, we'll have more protection for our community. That's really important to all of us to remember, to mask the social distance and wash our hands as we go through this period."

The vaccines will be distributed according to state and federal guidelines, which currently dictate that this first wave of vaccinations be provided to health care workers. As the state enters its next phase of distribution, the university will continue to follow guidelines but could possibly be able to provide more throughout the Austin community.

RELATED: Austin COVID-19: How many vaccines are coming in the first wave?

"So at this point, we'll be starting out and working with our health care providers according to the state regulations and guidelines around the immunization of health care providers, that because we have a nursing school that has outpatient clinics in Austin, has outpatient clinics, we contemplate when we get to some of those later stages of vaccine administration that we would be offering and administering vaccines to the greater Austin," said Young.

Terrance Hines, executive director and chief medical officer of University Health Services, added that though he knows taking the vaccine will be a personal choice, he hopes as many people as possible will take it.

"I think it's just important to highlight the vaccine is really only one step, one layer in the ways that we hope to protect our campus," he said. "It's also a new vaccine and we're continuing to learn about that. So we're also respectful that this is a personal choice for a lot of folks who take it very seriously."

UT health leaders said that, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the vaccines will be provided at no cost to the individual.

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