The Dallas County Department of Health and Human Services expects to open an upcoming COVID-19 mega vaccine center in Fair Park next week with the chance to vaccinate up to 2,000 people a day as the state opens in large-scale vaccination centers.
County officials say they plan to start Monday, but that may depend on when they receive the next vaccine shipment from the Texas State Department of Health Services.
Vaccines will only be given to people on the DCHHS waiting list and by appointment only; they will not be administered to the general public or to consultations. Currently, Dallas County only vaccinates those in Phase 1A, but expects to start vaccinating those in Phase 1B when the mega center opens next week.
The county also plans to offer vaccinations for up to 1,000 people a day at Ellis Davis Field House and Eastfield College, in addition to the 2,000 people a day at the Fair Park mega center.
Currently, the COVID-19 vaccine is only given to people who are part of Phases 1A and 1B, as indicated by the Texas Department of Health Services. Those in phase 1A are front-line health workers or residents in long-term care centers. Phase 1B includes those over the age of 65 or those over the age of 16 with a chronic illness that puts them at risk for serious illness.
Once vaccinated, people 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. Even when fully vaccinated, it is still possible to become infected with the virus, as the vaccine does not offer 100% protection.
The Fair Park Mega Vaccine Center arrives when the state Department of Health begins targeting vaccines to providers who can vaccinate more than 100,000 people at large-scale vaccination centers.
“Providers who receive larger amounts of vaccine will vaccinate health care workers, people over the age of 65 and people with a disease that increases the risk of serious illness or death. They also promise to provide a phone number and a registration website and focus on the areas and populations most affected by COVID-19 while vaccinating people from surrounding areas, ”the DSHS said in a prepared statement.
Texas DSHS said it will release the full list of vaccine center providers later this week, once the vaccine allocation is complete.
Additional vaccines will still be distributed to smaller suppliers in other parts of the state; in all Texas will distribute a total of about 200,000 doses of vaccine next week to large and small suppliers across the state.
“The vaccine remains limited based on the ability of manufacturers to produce it, so it will take time in Texas to receive enough vaccine for people in priority populations who want to be vaccinated,” DSHS said. “Supply is expected to increase in the coming months and there will be additional vaccines in clinical trials that may be authorized by the Food and Drug Administration.”
The week of Jan. 11 is the last week the state must set aside doses to vaccinate residents and staff of long-term care facilities under the federal pharmacy-LTC association. which means that more vaccines will be released next week for use in other settings.
NBC 5’s Katy Blakey contributed to this report.