Dallas County commissioners agreed on Tuesday to prioritize the vaccination of residents in zip codes that appear most vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic. But leaders withdrew from the plan a day later, after the state threatened to cut the city’s vaccine supply, saying the plan was “not in line with previously agreed guidelines.”
The plan outlined would have given precedence to certain zip codes for vaccine distribution at the Fair Park distribution center in the county. The county would still have followed the tier system established by the state that determined which groups are eligible for the vaccine – but within those groups, residents of those zip codes would be prioritized.
At Tuesday’s meeting, commissioners said prioritizing would “exhaust” all efforts to help people in vulnerable areas get vaccination appointments every open day in the county’s online appointment system. Once they did “good faith” to do so, people from other areas could make arrangements.
‘You always have a little bit [of appointments] for the rest of Dallas County, “said Chief JJ Koch.” We do not exclude them. ‘
According to a briefing paper, the plan would mandate that “distribution of vaccines in Dallas County must begin with priority zip codes and move to the rest of the county if supplies permit,” adding, “When you move on to the next level, distribution should only start with priority postal codes and not encompass the entire province, unless there is a broad supply. ”
Tom Fox / AP
The province said it prioritized zip codes listed by research firm PCCI as scoring high on its “vulnerability index.” According to PCCI, the index evaluates factors such as the prevalence of co-morbidity, the capacity for social distance and socioeconomic status. The majority of the zip codes they planned to prioritize, according to the Dallas Interactive Database, contain one of the highest numbers of new cases in the last two weeks in the county.
Because the zip codes selected for prioritization are based on this system, commissioners who supported the move agreed that the areas given priority could change as the data shifts.
Those zip codes are mostly black and Latino individuals, whom the CDC says are more susceptible to contract, hospitalization, and death from the disease.
For example, of the 79,010 who live in zip code 75211, 71,800 are black, Hispanic, or Latino, according to the database, and more than 6,300 people are 65 or older.
According to a briefing from the Commissioners Court, the Texas Department of State Health Services informed the commission in writing on Wednesday that the injunction “does not conform to previously agreed guidelines.”
CBS Dallas-Fort Worth reported that the state warned in the letter that the plan is in violation of “the stated goals of the DSHS and the state of Texas for the vaccine to be distributed as widely and fairly as possible in communities in the state.”
Dr. Philip Huang, director of Dallas County Health and Human Services, said at an emergency committee meeting Wednesday that if the county didn’t revoke the plan at 8 a.m. on Thursday, the state said they would no longer receive their scheduled vaccines.
“They need us 9,000 doses by next week, and if they don’t hear that we have this fixed, they will either definitely cut back, or, I think, cancel our dose,” he said.
The commissioners voted on Wednesday to revoke the plan.
“We just have to do what they ask us to do,” said Judge Clay Jenkins of Dallas County. Revoke the order. We can bring it back on another day. ‘
But Commissioner JJ Koch criticized Jenkins at the meeting, saying he had been “unfair” to the state when he informed him of the Dallas vaccination plan. Jenkins had sent a letter to the state regarding the commission’s vaccine priority plans, CBS Dallas-Fort Worth reported.
‘You made it clear to the state that we are completely excluding people who were not in those zip codes. That’s not the case, ”said Koch, who said other people should and could have gotten the vaccines too.
Last week, the county only allowed residents 75 and older to make vaccination appointments, according to CBS partner KYTX. Koch spoke out against that choice at Tuesday’s meeting, arguing that the province’s current priorities exclude minority residents.
“Those who are over 75, those who have come this far in life, are richer and whiter. They are usually those who live in single-family homes, have enough wealth and the ability to keep themselves quite separate from other people. disease, “Koch said.” We’re missing 65-75 [age range], [where] there is a huge number of Latino, African American, who are still working, in multi-generational family homes … and not in a position where they can isolate themselves from many other people. “
“We’ve prioritized people because of some without really looking at who those individuals are in our geography,” he said.
Chris Van Deusen, director of media relations for the Texas Department of State Health Services, told CBS News that vaccination center providers “should make sure to vaccinate people in the hardest-hit areas and populations, but they can’t do that to the exclusion of literally everyone else. . ”
“In exchange for receiving a larger and consistent amount of vaccine, all hub suppliers have agreed to vaccinate people regardless of where they live, including from surrounding counties. The aim of a hub is to provide vaccine to broad communities,” said Van Deusen said. “[Dallas County Commissioners Court] can use some of their vaccines to target specific groups or areas, but they can’t do that with everything and remain a hub provider. ”