Surprise! In-Fighting on Dallas Council Actually Brings Progress on Vaccinations
The state will send more doses, and the city is setting up more centers to get shots. A meeting is set for Monday to get everyone on the same page and air some grievances.
By Matt Goodman
Published in
FrontBurner
January 22, 2021
3:01 pm
The city of Dallas is receiving 5,000 vaccine doses from the state next week, allowing fire department paramedics to vaccinate members of the public for the first time.
The city is also establishing its own vaccine registration sites to help sign up residents who may lack a computer or internet access, or who are just unaware that they need to register with the county. Prior to this, the state had only provided vaccine doses to the county, outside of some for EMTs and other first responders. Now city employees will take a more proactive role in the distribution of the vaccine as well as signing up residents for appointments.
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson says city will set up COVID vaccine registration sites
His announcement came hours after South Dallas activists urged elected officials to stop bickering and focus on signing up the most at-risk residents
Claudia Fowler, center, speaks during a press conference conducted by a group of Black advocates as they call for action from Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson to help improve the access to the COVID-19 vaccine for people of color, on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021 outside of Fair Park in Dallas.(Ben Torres / Special Contributor)
Updated at 8:40 p.m. Revised to reflect an announcement from the mayor about vaccine registration hubs.
Dallas Political Battles Further Complicate Fair Vaccine Distribution
Local governments are responsible for getting vaccines in people s arms. It isn t going smoothly because they don t all agree on the best path forward.
By Matt Goodman
Published in
FrontBurner
January 21, 2021
3:53 pm
If you live in Dallas and hope to get the COVID-19 vaccine soon, good luck. Bureaucracy and infighting are in far greater supply.
The mayor is at odds with the county judge and members of the City Council over how to register residents for vaccinations. The state of Texas has threatened the County Commissioners Court with pulling the Fair Park mega center’s vaccine supply, which triggered an emergency meeting to kill an order. And members of the City Council allege the mayor is making it harder to get people living in poor neighborhoods signed up for appointments. It has been a mess.
West said he felt the letter was needed to reassure county officials and Dallas residents that the city and the county can work together. The original dispute stemmed from the county s efforts to get doses of vaccines to vulnerable populations with little access to medical care, which led to confusion, leaks from council members and Johnson s complaint that the county was not communicating properly with the city. Johnson fired off his complaint in a letter to Jenkins.
Speaking to Jenkins over the weekend, West asked what he and other council members can do to help. He said Jenkins told him it would be helpful to beef up vaccine registration outreach efforts.
Four miles of roadway in Dallas will now bear the name of Botham Jean, the Black man who was killed in his apartment by an off-duty police officer in 2018.