Hundreds of people received their COVID-19 shots at a mass vaccination site in Arlington hosted by Tarrant County Public Health on Saturday.
The site at the Dan Dipert Career and Technical Center was only open for one day and vaccines were available for everyone eligible, with a focus on the newly approved age group of 5-to-11 year olds.
Katya Aguero of Arlington said two of her three children were eligible.
“They’re more exposed than us, because they go back to school. They’re with a lot of kids. Every family is different,” Aguero said, explaining her decision to get her daughters vaccinated. “We just want all of this to be done. Whatever’s best for them, it’ll be best for us too.”
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Though the building is owned by Arlington ISD, those who attend school outside the district were welcome to receive the vaccine. Open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Erin Beasley with Tarrant County Public Health said they administered nearly 300 vaccinations by their third hour of operation Saturday.
Beasley is the Immunization Division manager for Tarrant County Public Health, which estimates about 204,000 children in the county fall in the 5-to-11-year-old age range.
“This particular zip code is one that we’ve seen fewer numbers of vaccinations. So, that really is important to us,” Beasley said. “We look at the data. We look at the numbers, and we want to focus on those areas. That’s how you slow the spread of the virus.”
Vaccination efforts continued in Dallas County on Saturday, as well. At a kids’ health and safety fair organized by the Dallas Police Department, free vaccinations were provided for families in need. Ofc. Bervin Smith, a neighborhood police officer in the department's northeast division, said the fair has been an annual event for 28 years.
Over the years, the event has expanded with different vendors offering health resources. Most of the event was set up as a drive-thru at Lake Highlands High School with an estimated 2,500 people served Saturday.
“Sometimes things are in your backyard, that are able to help you and you’re not aware of it. So, we put those things in one big parking lot,” Smith said. “Everything out here is free, and it’s a need. It’s not necessarily like a bunch of giveaways just to give, but we’re giving it out in the community that could use the assistance and use the help. We’re trying to bridge that gap. That’s what we do here in the northeast.”
Kristi Clark of Dallas brought her two children to be vaccinated at the health fair.
“I feel like the clock has been ticking forever for us to get our kids in, because we all want our life to return to normal as quickly as possible,” Clark said. “We want the kids to feel comfortable wherever they are. We don’t want to feel like we’re limited by the things we can do whether that be traveling or going anywhere.”
The CDC reports as of Nov. 4, 426.7 million vaccine doses have been administered in the U.S. Overall, about 222.6 million people, or 67% of the total U.S. population, have received at least one dose of vaccine.
