Governor Greg Abbott and TDEM announced the creation of the State Mobile Vaccine Pilot Program to ramp up COVID-19 vaccination efforts in underserved areas of Texas. As part of this pilot program, state mobile vaccination teams made up of Texas National Guard personnel will be deployed to five rural Texas counties — DeWitt, Marion, Real, Sherman, and Starr — to administer vaccinations to qualified Texans in those communities. Texas National Guard teams are prepared to begin vaccinations on Thursday and the Texas Division of Emergency Management is actively working with county officials to schedule their deployment.