Dallas County’s first public ‘mega’ COVID vaccination site will be in Fair Park

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Dallas County is expected to launch its first public ‘COVID-19’ mega ‘vaccination site in Fair Park next week, where thousands of people a day can be inoculated against the deadly virus that fuels the pandemic, officials said on Thursday. .

If the municipality receives the doses of the state in time, the goal is to vaccinate those who do not have regular access to a doctor starting on Monday. Filming will be administered in the Tower Building and adjacent facilities only by appointment.

The Parkland Health & Hospital System is also expected to supply vaccines next week on its campus in the city’s medical district, as well as at two public coronavirus testing sites: Ellis Davis Field House and Dallas College Eastfield Campus.

Vaccination will be done by appointment only at all four locations.

People can apply online to get the COVID-19 vaccine on all websites. Younger family members and those with access to the Internet can help those who need help registering, officials said. More than 50,000 people signed up in the first 48 hours after Dallas County launched the site on Saturday.

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said Fair Park was finally selected for the county’s first “mega” vaccination site because of its location and ample indoor space that will allow vaccinates to be monitored from a safe distance after the injection. The city of Dallas is also partnering with the county in this effort.

The county’s effort to start vaccinating thousands of people comes at a time when frustrations escalate with slower-than-expected and confusing implementation. The state on Thursday said it was also switching to larger suppliers instead of smaller pharmacies to provide the public with “identifiable locations where vaccination is taking place and a simpler way to sign up for an appointment with each supplier”.

Although vaccines are available to anyone in Dallas County, the location is in part planned for south Dallas to increase access for residents who may have difficulty obtaining it elsewhere.

Southern Dallas is home to many of the county’s most vulnerable communities. Residents living below Interstate 30 are more likely to be black and Latino, work in jobs that cannot be done at home, and live with several generations, a potent combination, making them ripe for the most serious cases of COVID.

Many neighborhoods in southern Dallas lack major supermarket and drugstore chains, which will play a disproportionate role in distributing the vaccine to most healthy people later this year. Southern Dallas County residents face a long list of other barriers to vaccines, such as insufficient technology to register for injection and transport to inoculation sites. There is also a deep historical mistrust between black and health communities.

This will not be the first time that Fair Park will be used during the pandemic. It has been the site of several important food offerings.

The large fairground was selected after county officials analyzed several locations in southern Dallas, including the University of North Texas Dallas and the Forester Athletic Complex.

In December, the federal government approved COVID-19 vaccines for emergency use. According to the Texas Department of Health, the Lone Star State has shipped approximately 1.3 million doses.

Given the limited supply of vaccines, the federal and state governments created a tiered system to inoculate different populations, prioritizing health professionals and elderly residents in long-term care facilities.

Texans over 65 and who have serious medical conditions, such as heart problems, cancer and diabetes, are also eligible to receive the vaccine according to state guidelines.

Most healthy Texans should expect to be eligible for the vaccine later this year.

Jenkins said earlier this week that he expects the state to provide the county with 2,000 injections per day. He hopes to dramatically increase the number of vaccines – and locations – during the winter.

“We will receive more and more vaccines,” he said. “We are going to need more and more locations.”