These Dallas-Fort Worth providers are among 28 Texas vaccination centers

These Dallas-Fort Worth providers are among 28 Texas vaccination centers

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Six agencies in Dallas-Fort Worth will serve as COVID-19 vaccination centers as Texas moves to a centralized approach to vaccine distribution, the state announced on Sunday.

In Dallas County, the county’s health department, UT Southwestern Medical Center and Parkland Health and Hospital System were designated as centers by the State Department of Health Services.

In Tarrant County, the county health department and Texas Health Resources have been designated by the state as centers. And the sixth is the Denton County Health Department.

Collin, Rockwall and Ellis counties are not on the state list. Providers will not exclusively vaccinate people who live in their respective counties.

Why is Texas creating vaccination centers?

State officials said their goal is to send most of the vaccines that Texas allocates to major centers to streamline immunizations.

This week, the 28 centers will receive 158,825 doses of the vaccine and 38,300 doses will go to other suppliers across the state, according to a press release.

“The idea is to concentrate a large part of the vaccine in a smaller number of places so that there is a more centralized opportunity to vaccinate people,” said state health department spokesman Chris Van Deusen. The Dallas Morning News.

Van Deusen added on Sunday that the state asked chosen vendors to also vaccinate people in neighboring areas.

Vaccines were allocated based on the number of people that each provider estimated they could serve in a week.

Joe McKay receives the Modern COVID-19 vaccine from Arlington firefighter Derek O'Neill at the Esports Stadium Arlington & Expo Center on Tuesday, January 5, 2021, in Arlington. The Tarrant County Public Health Vaccination Program (TCHP) is being implemented by the Arlington Fire Department as part of the city's mass vaccination effort. (Smiley N. Pool / The Dallas Morning News)

Who is eligible to receive a vaccine at one of the centers now?

Any of the first two levels – phase 1A and 1B – of the state’s priority vaccination list is eligible to be immunized in any of the poles, regardless of where they reside, according to the state health department.

Phase 1A includes frontline healthcare professionals and residents of long-term care facilities, and phase 1B includes anyone aged 65 or over or anyone with a chronic medical condition that puts them at greater risk if they contract COVID-19 .

Doctors observe a CT scan of the lung at a hospital in Xiaogan, China.

Do people need commitments?

The state has asked everyone who seeks a vaccine at one of 28 distribution centers to not just show up. “Find out first if visits are accepted,” says the health department on its website.

In northern Texas, several providers have established registration sites where people can indicate that they are eligible and want a vaccine. The state health department provided links to each vaccination center provider’s website.

What are Dallas County’s plans to distribute the vaccine?

Dallas County announced last week that it planned to launch a “mega” vaccination site in Fair Park, where the county hopes to vaccinate thousands of people a day.

Photos will only be available by appointment to people who have signed up online.

The Tower Building (left) in Fair Park in Dallas, photographed on Thursday, January 7, 2021.

Are these the only places to get vaccines?

People who are eligible for vaccines can obtain vaccines through other providers, but there is no comprehensive list of those providers or the number of doses available.

The state says most of the doses destined for Texas will start going to the 28 centers announced on Sunday.

How many doses will each hub receive this week?

Here is the distribution of vaccines to the 28 centers, according to the state health department:

Dallas County

  • Dallas County Health and Human Services, 6,000 doses
  • Parkland Hospital, 6,825 doses
  • UT Southwestern Medical Center, 10,000 doses

Tarrant County

  • Tarrant County Public Health, 9,000 doses
  • Texas Health Resources, 10,050 doses

Denton County

  • Denton County Public Health, 3,500 doses

Bell County

  • Bell County Public Health District, 3,900 doses

Bexar County

  • San Antonio Metro Health District, 9,000 servings
  • University health system, 10,725 doses

Brazos County

  • CHI St. Joseph College Station Hospital, 1,200 doses

Cameron County

  • Cameron County Public Health, 6,000 doses

El Paso County

  • El Paso Fire Department, 5,000 doses
  • El Paso University Medical Center, 5,000 doses

Harris County

  • Harris County Public Health, 8,000 doses
  • Houston Department of Health, 8,000 doses
  • Houston Methodist Hospital, 10,725 doses

Hidalgo County

  • Doctors Hospital at Renaissance, 6,500 doses
  • Hidalgo County Health and Human Services, 5,000 doses

Lubbock County

  • Lubbock City Department of Health, 5,000 doses

Maverick County

  • Fort Duncan Regional Medical Center, 1200 doses

McLennan County

  • Waco-McLennan County Public Health District, 1,500 doses
  • Providence Ascension Hospital, 1,500 doses

Nueces County

  • Corpus Christi-Nueces County Public Health District, 4,000 doses

Potter County

  • Amarillo Department of Public Health, 5,000 doses

Smith County

  • Northeast Texas Public Health District, 1,500 doses
  • UT Health Science Center Tyler, 1,500 doses

Travis County

  • Austin Public Health, 12,000 doses

Webb County

  • Laredo Municipal Health Department, 1,200 doses
An image illustration taken on February 27, 2020 from the US Food and Drug Administration shows the coronavirus, COVID-19.

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