Dallas County’s initial COVID vaccines went to these wealthy northern neighborhoods

Updated at 16:15 with the reaction to the data.

Only 97 residents living near the Dallas COVID-19 vaccine site in Fair Park were among the initial 3,000 inoculated during the first week of operation, according to a Dallas Morning News analysis of limited county data released Saturday.

Meanwhile, more than half of Dallas County’s first doses were for residents living above Interstate 30, which for decades has divided the city by race and wealth. The county’s first data cache was divided only by zip code and does not include specific demographic data, such as race, sex and age.

However, this snapshot seems to show that elected officials may fall short of their goal of providing equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccine.

Dr. Michael LeNoir, former president of the National Medical Association, an association of black doctors, was not surprised by the first reports of injustices in the Dallas County vaccine program. Health departments with insufficient resources, the distrust of blacks and Latinos in the health care system and the lack of grassroots networks are contributing to the problem, said the South Dallas native.

“We need to make sure that there are opportunities to hit,” he said. “And we have to talk about the virus and the vaccine in a rational way.”

More than 10,000 people were vaccinated at Fair Park this week after the site opened on Monday, county officials said.

The Fair Park site and other state vaccine centers are open to all residents. But city and county officials pinned their hopes on helping black and Latino residents with the opening of the first mega site in South Dallas. Midweek, technical problems and poor communication with the county’s reservation system produced a different result.

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, responsible for county emergency management, acknowledged that most people were white.

The new data reinforces some of the that: Residents of three zip codes in North Dallas received the majority of vaccines, according to county data less than a third of the doses administered this week at Fair Park. ZIP code 75230 in the center-north ranked first with 164 photos, according to the data. This was followed by Zip Code 75225 from University Park, which received 152. And 96 people at Zip Code 75248 from Far North Dallas were also vaccinated.

One of the most affected postal codes during the pandemic was 75227, which includes Pleasant Grove. Only 47 residents in this southern Dallas neighborhood were vaccinated during the first few days of the site. And only eight people at CEP 75210 at Fair Park received doses.

“It is not enough to install a vaccination facility in a community,” said Amber Sims, co-founder of the Imagining Freedom Institute, a Dallas nonprofit organization focused on racial equality.

The striking differences between these communities can be seen in family income, according to data from the US Census Bureau. For example, the average family income at 75230, which includes Preston Hollow, is $ 91,596, while it is $ 43,890 at Pleasant Grove 75227. The average family income in the Dallas-Fort Worth area is $ 70,281.

The state has made the vaccine available to frontline health professionals, people over 65 and those with an important medical condition that can make COVID-19 worse. But Dallas County has prioritized northern Texans over 75. Authorities said they are more likely to run out of hospital resources if they become ill.

In a statement on Saturday, Jenkins said he hopes that by returning to a system where people have to make appointments to get the vaccine, the county can ensure that the vaccine is distributed more equitably.

“In order for this to continue, it is imperative that everyone do everything they can to encourage enrollment, especially in the zip codes below the digital divide, where enrollment is late.”

County officials said the nomination system is already generating a larger mix of people. The county invited 9,000 people aged 75 and over to be vaccinated on Saturday and Tuesday. Although race and ethnicity data were unknown for about 3,000 of the invitations, more than 4,200 were Asian, black or Hispanic. The reservations made also showed greater geographical diversity, with groupings in Irving, DeSoto, Richardson and Grand Prairie.

“These efforts are to offset what we saw in the first 3,000,” said Jenkins. “Moving forward, we will have much more parity. We are trying to be fair to everyone ”.

The situation is dire: an earlier analysis by The news found that young blacks and Latinos are dying of COVID at a disproportionate rate compared to whites. And new cases of coronavirus continue to be reported in record numbers. Hospitals are at a breaking point. A more contagious strain of the virus is picking up speed, with the first reported case in Dallas County announced on Saturday.

County Commissioner Elba Garcia, who represents western Dallas County, said that local governments responsible for vaccination face several challenges – especially a limited supply of vaccines.

“The challenges are many, and it all comes down to the fact that we don’t have enough vaccine,” she said. “I have a lot of demand and I don’t have enough product.”

In the absence of more vaccines, Garcia said, the county must work to focus on the most vulnerable CEPs it has identified.

In a statement, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson agreed with Garcia, asking for more vaccines. He asked the state to supply doses directly to the city.

“I will continue to do everything I can to ensure that the most vulnerable – not just the well connected – have access to the vaccine and that we can obtain collective immunity across our city,” said Johnson.

Sims said the government needs to do more to reach vulnerable communities.

“This will require more than a few city officials to say they got the vaccine,” said Sims. “This will continue to require Dallas to face up to its history of racism and inequality.”

How to get the COVID-19 vaccine in Dallas

The Dallas County Department of Health, Parkland Health & Hospital System and UT Southwestern Medical Center are considered vaccination centers by the state and are working together to vaccinate people from a single registration list, which the county has previously established . Any northern Texas can register on the county’s website or call 469-749-9900.

After a few days of allowing anyone aged 75 and over without an appointment to be vaccinated in Fair Park, the county will once again require people to reserve seats. The Fair Park venue will be closed on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr ..