Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins argues with the state about COVID-19 vaccine allocations in North Texas

AUSTIN – Northern Texas is receiving more doses of the COVID-19 vaccine next week, but Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins says the state is still cheating local residents with its fair share of vaccines.

Dallas County is receiving about 9,000 other first doses distributed among several providers, according to the Texas Department of Health Services.

Jenkins said the increase has not come close to the number of vaccines the state has cut since the federal government opened a site in Dallas County that is vaccinating about 21,000 people a week.

The state is counting the doses given at the federally supported location as part of the county’s allocation, although these injections are only for the region’s most vulnerable residents in specific neighborhoods. That means the state is sending fewer doses to county centers that should vaccinate anyone who is eligible, regardless of where they live, said Jenkins.

The waiting list for these places includes about 650,000 people, he added.

“There was never an understanding that, by getting help for needy people in Dallas County, the state would punish the rest of people in Dallas County,” he said.

The State Department of Health Services defended its decision. Spokesman Chris Van Deusen said before the Federal Emergency Management Agency website opened, Dallas County had already received more than an average portion of the vaccine per capita.

“Doubling it up would simply not be fair; it wouldn’t be fair for the rest of the state, ”he said. There are still some urban and suburban communities that have not been reached where they should be, added Van Deusen.

The conflict shows how demand for the coronavirus vaccine is still outstripping supply.

About 1.7 million Texans are fully vaccinated, state data show. But the first two Texas priority groups for the vaccine, which include frontline health workers and people 65 and older, account for about 10 million residents.

The state is expected to receive about 700,000 first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine next week – one of its biggest shipments.

As a result, the number of vaccines the state has allocated to providers in Collin, Dallas, Denton and Tarrant counties is expected to increase. Dallas and Tarrant counties have 21,060 doses of their total reserved for FEMA websites.

Not including these injections, Dallas County centers and small providers are expected to receive about 34,000 first doses in the next week. That represents about 24,700 first doses in the past week.

In the previous three weeks – when a federal website was not yet open – providers and hubs in Dallas County hubs were allocated between 42,000 and 48,000 first doses, according to state data.

Typically, when counties receive a federal grant for something like body cameras, the state does not match them with the equivalent, said Jenkins. As the state receives more doses going forward, Dallas County vaccinators should see their allocation increase, not decrease, he said.

Vaccine shipments to Texas are only expected to grow, mainly with the approval of a third vaccine from Johnson & Johnson. Unlike Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, it requires only one dose.