Dallas complained about the Fair Park vaccine hub. The results speak for themselves
Now that anyone who wants a COVID-19 vaccine can easily get one, we sometimes forget how it was a few months ago. There were only a few thousand doses a week, tens of thousands of people on a Dallas County waiting list, and endless headaches for the public and district officials in charge of administering the doses.
We fought the Dallas County executives in February because the vaccine was messed up at a mega-site in Fair Park. At the time, you had to park and stand in line, and the county’s appointment system was easy to manipulate, with multiple people sharing a link meant for a single person to book an appointment. As a result, several people who were not in priority groups appeared for a shot and were turned away. Without an appointment, walk-ups were allowed for short periods of time, creating widespread confusion and arguments among Dallas city and county officials.
But the district leaders ugly battles over priority zip codes, logistics and marketing campaigns eventually ended, and the results of their efforts are remarkable. When the Megasite Fair Park closed on Saturday, county statistics had given more than 462,000 doses since February. About 44% of those vaccinated at Fair Park were Latinos and about 15% were Black, which tracks the county’s demographics closely.
The question of how a fair distribution of the vaccine can be guaranteed was an important sticking point in the early days of the Megasite Fair Park. We commend the Dallas County Commissioners and Dr. Philip Huang, the county health director, for tackling the Herculean effort and putting the puzzle together as best they can. The United States still has a lot of work to do to address vaccine reluctance, but Dallas County should be proud of what it accomplished at Fair Park.
Although there were many stumbling blocks in the spring, the Fair Park grounds became a prime example of efficiency thanks to a joint effort between our local and federal governments. The site became a drive-through operation, operating 18 lanes at its peak, delivering more than 12,000 doses per day.
In April, in preparation for the departure of military and federal workers helping out at Fair Park, district commissioners unanimously agreed to a contract with a private company to handle the vaccination effort under the district’s supervision. The Dallas County Health Department will continue to deliver vaccines at its Jefferson Oak Cliff Clinic. You can make an appointment by calling 972-692-2780.
We must also thank the hundreds of volunteers, pharmacists, and county, federal, and military personnel who have worked at Fair Park for months. Without their patience, the effort would have been impossible, sometimes in the face of hostile vaccine seekers.
However, we cannot breathe a sigh of relief as the more contagious delta variant of the coronavirus is multiplying. Only 51% of Dallas County’s eligible population are fully vaccinated. We are looking for our local leaders who continue to show the same tenacity and creativity that have brought us this far.
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