On Wednesday, 862 people were vaccinated through a pop-up vaccination clinic offered in Fort Worth.
The vaccination clinic at the Handley Meadowbrook Community Center was hosted by the City of Fort Worth and MedStar. Six pop-up vaccination clinics have been held in the city so far, but pre-registration was not required for the first Wednesday.
According to MedStar, registration was not necessary to have more people vaccinated. Michael Potts, emergency administrator for MedStar, said the 1,000 vaccine doses offered Wednesday came to their assignment.
Texas will become the largest state to extend COVID-19 vaccine suitability to all adults, more than a month before President Joe Biden set a goal of making the shots available to anyone who wants one by May 1.
“They really appreciate that we bring the vaccines to them within their community, which is close to their home,” said Potts. “They don’t have to drive to the Speedway, they don’t have to drive to Arlington to have a chance.”
Vaccine eligibility Wednesday followed current state guidelines.
Those who qualify include:
- Primary health care workers.
- Residents of long-term care facilities.
- People aged 50 and over.
- People 18 years of age and older with at least one chronic medical condition that puts them at increased risk for serious coronavirus disease.
- School and childcare staff.
The event was not widely advertised until Wednesday morning. Initially, there was no line at the community center when it opened. However, more people came all afternoon.
Mansfield’s Michael Bui said he heard about the event from his wife, who advised him to go.
“I couldn’t miss the opportunity. I knew it was something I would eventually do,” said Bui. ‘The sooner the better, because I have little ones at home. A brand new baby at home, so the safer I could make myself, the better I can be for them. ‘
Keri Weatherd of Fort Worth described the process as “simple and easy.” Weatherd found out via Facebook.
“I’ve literally been looking for a vaccination for two weeks, so everything keeps turning me down. When I saw this, I came down,” she said.
As Tarrant County prepares for the next phase of the vaccine rollout, with all Texas adults eligible, Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley said they are ready. To begin with, Whitley said they will likely continue to require registrations.
“We don’t want 10,000 people to show up for 1,000 shots. That creates a lot of confusion, frustration and a lot of traffic,” Judge Whitley said on Wednesday.
However, Whitley said this can change over time.
“I think all I’ve learned over the past year is never say ‘never’. It’s still important that we get certain information from the individual and through the registration process we get that information up front. little time, ”he said. “What I would say is we are going to experiment. If we see something that seems to work in one location, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be doing the same thing in one location. we try a few more times and we don’t see a huge line or we don’t see many people showing up and eventually not getting the vaccine, then we’ll try. ”
According to Potts, more pop-up sites are in the works. They are usually held on Wednesdays, although the venue and assignment are usually not known until the Friday before.
Would you like to get on a vaccine waiting list?
The county’s health departments have launched waiting lists for those who want to be vaccinated and are eligible for Stage 1A, 1B, 1C and daycare and education personnel.
You can register to receive the vaccination in Collin, Dallas, Denton and Tarrant counties. Links are below:
Waiting list links: Collin – Search waiting list | Dallas | Denton | Tarrant
You don’t have to be a county resident to register for a COVID-19 vaccine in that county – registration is open to anyone in Texas. For those without Internet access, Tarrant County also takes phone registrations 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.