Dallas County commissioners agreed Tuesday to prioritize vaccination of residents in zip codes that appear to be most vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic. But leaders withdrew from the plan a day later, after the state threatened to reduce the city’s vaccine supply and said the plan “did not conform to previously agreed guidelines.”
The outlined plan would have prioritized certain zip codes for vaccine distribution at the county’s Fair Park distribution center. The county would still have followed the state-established tier system that determined which groups were eligible for the vaccine, but within those groups, residents of those zip codes would have priority.
During Tuesday’s meeting, commissioners said prioritization would involve “exhausting” all efforts to help people in vulnerable areas get daily open-ended vaccination appointments in the county’s online dating system. Once they had made a “good faith effort” to do so, people from other areas could make appointments.
“You will always have some [of appointments] for the rest of Dallas County, “said Commissioner JJ Koch.” We do not exclude them. ”
An information document said the plan would require that “vaccine distribution in Dallas County should begin with priority zip codes and move to the rest of the county when supply allows,” adding, “When it goes to the next level, the distribution should only be start with priority zip codes and do not include the entire county, unless there is a wide offer. ”
Tom Fox / AP
The county said it prioritized the zip codes listed by research firm PCCI with high scores on its “vulnerability index.” According to PCCI, the index assesses factors such as comorbidity prevalence, social distance capacity, and socioeconomic status. Most of the zip codes they planned to prioritize, according to the Dallas interactive database, have some of the highest incidence of new cases in the last two weeks in the county.
Since the zip codes selected for prioritization are based on this system, the commissioners who supported the move agreed that the areas receiving priority could change if the data were changed.
These zip codes are made up primarily of black and Latino people, who according to the CDC are more likely to contract, be hospitalized, and die from the disease.
Of the 79,010 living in zip code 75211, for example, 71,800 are black, Hispanic or Latino, according to the database, and more than 6,300 people are 65 or older.
According to a report from the commissioners’ court, the Texas State Department of Health Services warned the commission in writing Wednesday that the order “does not comply with previously agreed guidelines.”
CBS Dallas-Fort Worth reported that in the letter, the state warned that the plan conflicts “with the stated goals of DSHS and the state of Texas that the vaccine be distributed as widely and equitably as possible to communities across the state. ”
Dr. Philip Huang, director of Dallas County Health and Human Services, said Wednesday during an emergency commission meeting that if the county did not terminate the plan at 8 a.m. Thursday, the state said they will no longer receive the scheduled vaccines.
“They’re discounting us for 9,000 doses for next week, and if they don’t hear about resolving that, they’ll definitely reduce or, I guess, cancel our dose,” he said.
Commissioners on Wednesday voted to withdraw the plan.
“We just have to do what they ask of us,” said Clay Jenkins, a Dallas county judge. “Cancel the order again. We may retrieve it another day.”
But Commissioner JJ Koch criticized Jenkins at the meeting, saying he had been “naive” with the state in informing him of Dallas’ vaccination plan. Jenkins had sent a letter to the state about the commission’s vaccine prioritization plans, CBS Dallas-Fort Worth reported.
“You made it clear to the state that we were completely shutting down people who weren’t in those zip codes. That’s not the case,” Koch said, saying other people would and would have been able to receive the vaccines as well.
Last week, the county only allowed residents age 75 and older to make vaccination appointments, according to CBS affiliate KYTX. Koch spoke out against the election during Tuesday’s meeting, arguing that the county’s current priorities excluded minority residents.
“Those who are over 75, those who have come to life, are richer and whiter. They tend to be those who live in single-family homes, have enough wealth and ability to stay properly segregated from other people like not to suffer from the disease, ”Koch said. “We are missing out on this 65-75 [age range], [where] there are a lot of Latinos, African Americans, who continue to work, in multigenerational family homes … and not in a position where they can move away from other people. “
“We’ve prioritized people because of a number without really looking at who these people are in our geography,” he said.
Chris Van Deusen, director of media relations for the Texas State Department of Health Services, told CBS News that vaccination center providers are required to “make sure they are vaccinating people in the areas and populations most affected, but they cannot do so to the exclusion of literally everyone. ”
“In exchange for receiving an increased and steady amount of vaccine, all providers at the center have agreed to vaccinate people regardless of where they live, including surrounding counties. The purpose of being a center is to provide vaccine to broad communities.” said Van Deusen said. “[Dallas County Commissioners Court] they can use some of their vaccines to target specific groups or areas, but they can’t do everything and still be a center provider. ”