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Decreasing COVID-19 Vaccine Rates Slow Dallas County’s March toward Mass Immunity
Public health officials haven t seen an increase in shots, despite increasing vaccine availability. Still, 74 percent of the population already has some form of immunity.
By Will Maddox
Published in
Healthcare Business
May 26, 2021
9:20 am
As vaccinations slow, public health officials are delaying the expected date for when at least 80 percent of Dallas County will have COVID-19 immunity.
The Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation defines “herd immunity” as when 80 percent of the local population will be vaccinated against, or have antibodies for, COVID-19. PCCI has been a leader in mapping vulnerability for various ZIP codes and other specific populations throughout the pandemic. It originally expected Dallas to reach herd immunity in early June. That date has now been pushed to late July.
How many people need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 for Dallas County to reach herd immunity?
Although health officials don’t know for certain what the threshold of safety is, experts are able to come up with local estimates.
A senior receives a COVID-19 vaccination from a volunteer working the drive-thru line at Fair Park in Dallas, Wednesday, February 10, 2021.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)
Vaccination rates are rising across the state, helping to bring Texans closer to a return to their pre-pandemic lives.
But health experts say the state has a ways to go before enough people are protected against COVID-19 to achieve herd immunity a term for the indirect protection a population has when a large enough proportion of people have protection against a disease to significantly reduce infection rates.
Parkland Center for Clinical Innovationâs Forecasts Summer COVID-19 Herd Immunity for Dallas County
PCCI Forecast Is Based on Recoveries, Vaccines
DALLAS â Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation (PCCI), which improves healthcare for vulnerable populations using advanced data science and clinical experts, estimates Dallas County will reach a critical tipping point of COVID-19 âherd immunityâ in late-June due to total case recoveries and vaccinations.
PCCI forecasts that Dallas County is on track to have 80 percent of the county residents at levels of COVID-19 âherd immunityâ by early summer. This forecast is based on models estimating individuals who either have recovered from COVID-19 or who have received vaccinations.