More assistance at COVID-19 vaccination sites is needed as Fort Worth officials look for more temporary workers to staff sites, the city says.
“When additional allocations of COVID-19 vaccines began to arrive in Tarrant County, the city quickly ramped up to recruit temporary workers needed to efficiently move thousands of patients through the vaccination process. In late March, more than 130 job offers were extended to temporary employees to staff COVID-19 clinics at Farrington Field and the Bob Bolen Public Safety Complex,” the city wrote in a newsletter. “Now, additional vaccination site assistants are needed.”
Tasks expected from vaccination site assistants include screening individuals, reviewing health question responses, checking patient consent forms, preparing vaccination cards, and staffing the patient observation area.
More than 1.9 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine will be shipped to providers across Texas next week, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. Of that, the state’s allocation sheet reports more than 15,000 first doses are going to Tarrant County’s hub providers.
Get DFW local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC DFW newsletters.
In Fort Worth, a series of vaccine registration events started in March and will continue through the middle of May. The latest event was held at Tarrant County College’s Trinity River Campus East on Belknap Street Saturday.
There was little traffic at the site Saturday, but nearly 200 people have signed up since the events kicked off in March, according to Roderick Miles. Miles is an executive administrator overseeing programs and outreach initiatives for Tarrant County Commissioner Roy Brooks of Precinct 1.
“The county is really pushing for people to get vaccinated and to get registered so that we can get back to a sense of normalcy, so there is a renewed sense of urgency,” Brooks said. “One of the things I’ve learned is in order to have additional vaccination sites, we have to increase that number of people getting vaccinated, so they can justify actually having those sites up and running and having the staff operating those facilities.”
The site Saturday offered assistance in both English and Spanish in an effort to overcome language barriers. Michelle Polemeni was one of the volunteers who offered help in both languages.
“The higher rates have been in African-Americans and Hispanic people,” Polemeni said, referring to the rate of infection. “So, that’s why we want the people to get registered to get the vaccine.”
Upcoming vaccination registration sites in Fort Worth include:
- April 19- 3-7 p.m.: Como First Missionary Baptist Church: 5228 Goodman Ave., Fort Worth, Tx. 76107
- April 24- 11 a.m.-2 p.m.: Los Pastores Panaderia: 3812 E. Rosedale St., Fort Worth, Tx. 76105
- April 26- 3-7 p.m.: Great Commission Baptist Church: 7700 McCart Ave., Fort Worth, Tx., 76133
- May 3- 3-7 p.m.: Baker Chapel AME: 1050 E. Humbolt St., Fort Worth, Tx. 76104
- May 8- 11am-2 p.m.: El Rio Grande Supermercado: 3037 South Freeway, Fort Worth, Tx. 76104
- May 10- 3-7 p.m.: First St. John Cathedral: 2401 E. Berry St., Fort Worth, Tx. 76105
- May 15- time pending: Fiesta Mart: 4245 E. Berry St., Fort Worth, Tx. 76105
