After registering more than 888,000 people since December 2020, the Tarrant County Public Health Department says they've scheduled appointments for everyone currently on their COVID-19 vaccine waitlist.
The health department asks that if you've registered recently and have not received an appointment to please call their hotline at 817-248-6299 to get you set up.
Of the 842,523 vaccines that have been administered in Tarrant County through Wednesday, April 7, the health department said 780,007 of them (84%) went to county residents while 134,516 (16%) went to out-of-county residents.
The number of Tarrant County residents who received at least one dose of the vaccine through TCPH is 450,242 (21%) while the number of fully-vaccinated residents is at 265,617 (12%).
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Got a question about the COVID-19 vaccine? Get the answers here in our FAQ.
Data from the Tarrant County health department indicated 65% of the people who have received the vaccine were white, 10% were Black and 8% were Asian. The remaining 17% identified as Other (10%) or did not report a race (7%). By ethnicity, 45% were not Hispanic or Latino while 11% identified as Hispanic or Latino; 44% did not report an ethnicity.
Women were 52% of those receiving vaccines while men were 40%; 8% did not report.
The most common age groups getting vaccinated were those between 25-49 and 50-64, both at 32%, while those 65-74 were 19% and those 75 and up were 12%. Those between 16-24 were 6% of those being vaccinated.
The county is still administering vaccines and said Friday that people who now sign up on the county's waiting list should expect to be contacted for an appointment with in 24-48 hours.
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.
COVID-19 Vaccines
In Texas, the COVID-19 vaccines are currently available to anyone over the age of 5. The vaccines are still not approved for children younger than 5 however -- those trials are ongoing.
Once vaccinated, people who received either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines are expected to get some level of protection within a couple of weeks after the first shot, but full protection may not happen until a couple of weeks after the second shot. For those who receive the Johnson & Johnson vaccine -- there is only one shot needed.
As of Jan. 3, 2022, it is also recommended those who are age 12 and up and who have been fully vaccinated receive a booster as early as five months after their last dose, for a total of three shots. The vaccine made by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech is the only U.S. option for children of any age.
As for even younger children, kid-size doses for 5- to 11-year-olds rolled out in November and experts said healthy youngsters should be protected after their second dose for a while. But the FDA also said on Jan. 3, 2022, that if children that young have severely weakened immune systems, they will be allowed a third dose 28 days after their second. That’s the same third-dose timing already recommended for immune-compromised teens and adults.
Pfizer and Moderna are studying their vaccines, in even smaller doses, for children younger than 5.
Even when fully vaccinated, it's still possible to become infected by the virus since none of the vaccines offer 100% protection from infection. With that in mind, even if you've been vaccinated it's still a good idea to wear a mask and keep some separation between strangers or those whose vaccination status is unclear.
