Dallas Resumes COVID Vaccinations at Convention Center With Improvements
DALLAS — Last weekend cars lined up for COVID-19 vaccine at Kay Bailey Hutchison, but the process was far from smooth. Some waited in line for hours to be turned away, others showed up without appointments due to confusion. The City has evaluated the process, identified some of the issues, and has resumed with an improved system.
COVID-19 inoculations resumed Wednesday at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center as the City began to distribute nearly 2,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine.
The first two hours of Wednesday’s operations were reserved for people who were unable to receive their vaccine on Saturday after the City ran out of doses. Last week, the City vaccinated 5,257 people with Moderna doses during its first three days as a public vaccine provider.
“I am proud of the way our city has stepped up to help vaccinate as many people as we can, and I am grateful for all of our partners who are helping us in this massive and critical undertaking,” Mayor Eric Johnson said. “Each vaccine dose that we give out saves lives and represents a step toward ending this awful pandemic.”
The Office of Emergency Management released a graphic late Thursday that shows the ZIP codes of those who responded to a post-vaccination survey at the convention center. The City’s doses, which are supplied by the State of Texas, cannot be restricted to only City of Dallas residents. The City is working to develop a dashboard to visualize the demographic data it collects.
Scheduling Changes Should Reduce Hiccups
Dallas Fire-Rescue has also made interim changes to its scheduling system to require people to enter their unique Dallas County registration number to book their appointments. The intent is to help alleviate a link-sharing problem that had allowed people to make unauthorized appointments without an invitation from the City.
The Office of Emergency Management, led by Rocky Vaz, continues to explore other, more secure scheduling software options.
“We have seen challenges with vaccine distribution across the country, but we know how important it is to get this process right,” said Vaz, who serves as the City’s Emergency Management Coordinator. “Our team is working hard to identify and respond to hiccups in our system, and we are committed to creating the best possible experience for people who need this lifesaving vaccine.”
Methodist Health System will distribute about 3,000 of the City’s Pfizer doses on Thursday and Friday. Mayor Johnson will tour the Methodist operation on Thursday at Methodist Dallas Medical Center in Oak Cliff.
For more information on the City’s COVID-19 response efforts, visit DallasCityHall.com/covid19.
