As the COVID-19 distribution continues, entities like pharmacies and clinics are working to keep up with demand.
In Grand Prairie on Wednesday, people waited inside their cars outside Purple Hearts Primary Care Services on W. Pioneer Parkway for their shots. Family nurse practitioner Raven Modisette was among those helping with vaccine inoculations Wednesday.
“We’re out here in the cold and rain. We’re doing our due diligence to help vaccinate 70-80% of America, so we can have herd immunity,” Modisette said. “Right now, we’re in a pandemic so we’re asking people to drive up and be patient. We’re categorizing and vaccinating with urgency.”
Dr. Sada Shah waited inside her car with her husband for more than four hours Wednesday.
“Now, we’re going to be fine. We won’t be as scared when we get the second shot,” Shah said. “Maybe we can get back to normal after a few months of being vaccinated.”
In Fort Worth, John Peter Hospital opened vaccine availability to qualifying patients on Wednesday. Patients must meet the criteria established with guidance from the state. Criteria includes being 65-years-old and older, or people who are 18 and older with at least one chronic medical condition that puts them at an increased risk for severe illness from the virus that causes COVID-19.
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Vaccines through JPS were available starting Wednesday by appointment only at the following locations:
- Southeast Medical Home (1050 W. Arkansas Lane, Arlington, TX 76013)
- Northeast Medical Home (3200 W. Euless Blvd, Euless, TX 76040)
- Stop Six Clinic (3301 Stalcup Rd., Fort Worth, TX 761190
A spokesperson for the hospital system said Wednesday, all 350 appointment slots were filled immediately after registration opened. Call lines into the hospital are “flooded”, according to a press release from the hospital.
In Dallas, Dougherty’s Pharmacy is also experiencing an influx of calls regarding the vaccine. Peter Pham is a clinical pharmacist for the Dougherty’s.
“This morning, I had a facility reach out to me and put their name on a list. That’s 170 plus residents, including 40 more. That bumps it up to 210 people in one facility,” Pham said. “Then we had a record-breaking of 200-plus people that, at first we were trying to service them on a waiting list, but it became too much of a long list. We knew that we had to stop because that’s a lot to handle.”
Pham said that does not mean they don’t plan to vaccinate those people but he said right now, they are following the guidelines on priority.
The pharmacy received 500 doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine on Christmas Eve and once they began administering on Monday, fellow clinical pharmacist Dawn Moshier said it took 24 hours to use their entire share.
The doses primarily served long-term care facilities, Moshier said.
“A lot of the vials are overfilled, so we done 599 shots in 24 hours,” she told NBC 5. “When you’re in homes and you give it them, they’re crying. They’re hugging you, they’re thanking you. You think about it, you’re saving people’s lives.”
The pharmacy is now waiting on their next share of doses. Until then, they are preparing for the next round of inoculations.
“This is no different than when massive flu vaccines come out, if you think about it. Or flu shortages. It’s basically the same thing,” Moshier said. “You just have to be compassionate and caring with the patients and just listen to them.”
Pham said once they receive their next batch of vaccines, they will share the news on social media with information for the public.
*Map locations are approximate, central locations for the city and are not meant to indicate where actual infected people live.
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