Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins says there are not enough people registering for the COVID-19 vaccine
As the availability of COVID-19 vaccines is expanding in Texas, Dallas County leaders said they would like to see more people register to receive the vaccine.
DALLAS – Next week, Texas will receive more than 2 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and Dallas County will receive more than 100,000 first doses.
But officials said there were not enough people registering for the shot.
The state said 30% of Dallas County residents gave their first injection, leaving more than 1 million others in need of an injection, and county leaders said there were not enough people applying to receive the vaccine.
Saturday was another busy day at the COVID-19 vaccination site in Fair Park in Dallas.
“We are ready to start seeing more of the family because it just became the home,” said Glenda Spears, who received the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.
Some received the second dose of Pfizer or the unique vaccine from Johnson & Johnson.
“We are going to do 11,000 shots [Saturday], we’re going to have a busy week all week, we just need more people to register, “said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.
Now that every adult is eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine, the county went through a waiting list of more than 1 million people just a few weeks ago.
“We are running out of people signing up for the list, if you sign up today, we will make an appointment for you this week,” said Jenkins.
The waiting list is so low that Glenda and Sue Spears signed up on Saturday and made an appointment the same day.
“We looked everywhere, there were none available, so we said we are going to bite the bullet and come,” said Sue.
While more people are being vaccinated, this week came with a major problem.
RELATED: 8-year-old child mistakenly vaccinated at the Dallas County COVID-19 vaccine site
An 8-year-old child received an injection of COVID-19 vaccine, something Jenkins called disappointing.
“It’s disturbing, human error,” he said. “It has been fixed, it shouldn’t happen again. If you somehow get an appointment from someone in the state for a child under the age of 16, we won’t be seeing children under the age of 16 yet.”
The child has been registered and, despite the verification process when you receive the vaccine, the child still received the vaccine.
No vaccine has been approved by the FDA for children under the age of 16, and those aged 16 and 17 can only receive the Pfizer vaccine.
“I am hopeful that in the summer, we will be serving children aged 12 and over, and in the fall, the rest of them, but for now, the research has not yet arrived,” said Jenkins.
County health officials said state data of 32% with the first dose is a backward statistic, but said it shows that there are still many people who need to register and get vaccinated.
“Less than a third of our people got a chance, which means that two thirds of Dallas County need to come here and take the first chance,” said Jenkins. “If you are 65 or older, you no longer need to register, we will move you to the front of the line and give you that chance.”
There are 18% of residents in Dallas and Tarrant counties who are fully vaccinated.