A new partnership between the city of Dallas and Methodist Hospital is aimed at improving and expanding vaccination capabilities, officials from both entities said Monday.
“I want to say that I'm sorry,” Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said. “We’re doing the best we can and we’re committed to trying to improve this process.”
Want to Get on a Vaccine Waitlist?
County health departments have launched waitlists for adults 16 years old and over.
You can register to recieve the vaccination in Collin, Dallas, Denton and Tarrant counties. Links are below:
Waitlist Links: Collin - Search Waitlist | Dallas | Denton | Tarrant
You do not need to be a resident of the county to register for a COVID-19 vaccine in that county -- registration is open to anyone in Texas. For those without internet access, Tarrant County is also taking registrations by phone at 817-248-6299. In Dallas County, call the DCHHS vaccine hotline at 1-855-IMMUNE9 (1-855-466-8639). In Denton County, call 940-349-2585.
For a more detailed breakdown of who is included in each priority group in Texas, see this page from the Texas DSHS.
The mayor blamed a combination of ineffective city confirmation procedures and thousands of uninvited guests trying to get vaccines Saturday, along with an extremely ambitious plan to administer more than 2,000 doses in a single day.
City staff culled out most of the uninvited guests before they received vaccinations, but the supply was exhausted before 300 people with valid appointments had been served.
Officials said those people will be called back first this week.
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“Please don’t come if you were not invited by the city of Dallas. We need everyone to wait their turn,” Johnson said.
But the Mayor’s apology came with praise for the city’s effort to launch vaccination with 5,000 doses received from the state last week.
“We’re stepping out into a void that needs to be filled in order to assist the county in their primary responsibility which is to distribute this vaccine,” Johnson said. “We are and will continue to be accountable for our results. I’m very excited about the new partnership we announced yesterday with Methodist.”
For the new allotment of 4,875 doses coming to the city of Dallas this week, 3,000 will be administered at Methodist Hospital’s main Oak Cliff location.
Dallas Emergency Coordinator Rocky Vaz said the partnership was formed as a way to reduce delays and expand capacity.
“The answer is both. We knew we had a challenge on Saturday. We know what our capacity here is. We can not do 2,500 in a day,” Vaz said. “But we know the vaccine supply will get better, and we know we’ll get more doses. We want to build partnerships where we can share vaccines and do it effectively in the timely manner, do it with the utmost customer service that we can provide to people, so that’s the plan.”
Methodist was the first hospital in North Texas to receive the vaccine for medical workers in December. It has the super cold storage required for the Pfizer vaccine which will be delivered this week.
President and Chief Operating Officer Pam Stayanoff said Methodist has applied to the state to become a Texas vaccine hub for now it will share the supply allotted to the city of Dallas.
“Providing the vaccine is not an easy thing to do so I want to commend you for stepping forward and having the courage to do this because this is not easy,” Stayanoff told Mayor Johnson. “We want to thank you for allowing us to join you. We’re proud to work together.”
Methodist will contact 3,000 people from the Dallas County Registration list by phone for appointments split between Thursday and Friday.
The city of Dallas will administer 1,875 doses by appointment, split between Wednesday and Thursday at the Convention Center.
Southern Methodist University delivered a sub-zero freezer for convention center storage of the Pfizer vaccine.
Several state lawmakers toured the Kay Bailey Hutchison site on Monday, escorted by Mayor Johnson and other city officials.
State Senator Royce West said people need to be reassured that it in their best interest to receive this vaccine to end the pandemic.
“This is of biblical proportion as far as I'm concerned as far as the number of people that have died around the country. So, we've got to make sure we have a system in place to get people comfortable with this and get them registered,” West said.
West said the 500,000 doses to be distributed by the State of Texas this week is a substantial increase from 300,000 last week and he expects the number of doses to continue rising.
Dallas County separately operates the Fair Park vaccination hub. It has experienced many of the same problems with appointment invitations sent to uninvited guests.
The city of Garland has its own health department with a vaccination hub operating in that city. Parkland Hospital and UT Southwestern Hospital operate vaccination sites.
Dallas County Commissioners expanded registration capabilities last week. They will discuss registration and vaccination efforts again Tuesday.
Want to Get on a Vaccine Waitlist?
County health departments have launched waitlists for adults 16 years old and over.
You can register to recieve the vaccination in Collin, Dallas, Denton and Tarrant counties. Links are below:
Waitlist Links: Collin - Search Waitlist | Dallas | Denton | Tarrant
You do not need to be a resident of the county to register for a COVID-19 vaccine in that county -- registration is open to anyone in Texas. For those without internet access, Tarrant County is also taking registrations by phone at 817-248-6299. In Dallas County, call the DCHHS vaccine hotline at 1-855-IMMUNE9 (1-855-466-8639). In Denton County, call 940-349-2585.
For a more detailed breakdown of who is included in each priority group in Texas, see this page from the Texas DSHS.
*Map locations are approximate, central locations for the city and are not meant to indicate where actual infected people live.
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