Tarrant County and the Arlington Fire Department are trying to clear up a message sent by mistake regarding COVID-19 vaccine appointments.
A small number of people who registered for the COVID-19 vaccine received a message Monday that said they were scheduled to receive their second dose in Arlington on Tuesday when it would actually have been their first dose.
The county said the error in wording was quickly fixed and those affected received a follow-up message that clarified the mistake.
The fire department said it would only administer first doses on Tuesday, with a goal of 100,000 this week, according to the city.
People with appointments scheduled at Arlington’s Esports Stadium + Expo Center for their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine should arrive as planned.
The fire department, did, however, begin to administer nearly 3,000 second doses of the vaccine on Monday, by appointment only.
Those who were eligible had received their first vaccination at the same site Dec. 29-31, according to the fire department.
“I just come to get my second shot,” said Rafael Herrera, who works at the University of Texas at Arlington. “I feel pretty good. I feel more comfortable.”
Two pediatric nurses also received their second vaccination.
Kita Northern said she wanted to encourage residents in hard-hit communities to register for their shot too.
“We know first-hand what COVID-19 can do,” Northern said. “We’re just encouraging minorities and the Black and brown people to get out there and get it.”
Nurse Lavonne Davenport King knows all too well what the coronavirus can do.
“I’m doing this for my parents. They didn’t get a chance to do this so I’m doing this,” she said. “I lost both my parents to COVID, 28 days apart from each other. We did everything we could to keep them safe, so we weren’t careless in that area. Just, it can easily creep up in your house.”
Both nurses pleaded for the public to trust the science and not conspiracy theories regarding the vaccine and virus.
“Everyone is listening to Facebook, fake news,” Northern said. “It’s just fake.”
“Please get the vaccine,” King said. “What other option is there? Death? There’s no side effect greater than death.”
Arlington fire said it received 7,000 doses from the state Monday morning to be used this week until the supply is depleted.
All of the vaccines are set aside for first doses only, and only by appointment for those who registered with Tarrant County Public Health.
The Arlington site's hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
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The fire department will also begin to distribute a flyer, hoping to raise awareness about the COVID-19 vaccination registration process and who is eligible for a vaccine at this time: health care workers, people over 65 years old and adults with chronic medical conditions.
