DALLAS (1080 KRLD)- The Dallas County health director is urging more people to get the COVID-19 vaccine, saying the rate of vaccinations has slowed while hospitalizations and case numbers have started to increase. Across the 19 county area surrounding Dallas-Fort Worth, the Department of State Health Services reported 415 COVID-19 patients in the hospital Monday.
A month ago, hospitals had just 264 patients. COVID-19 patients are now using 10.2% of ICU beds, the highest percentage since May 17.
"The numbers are still relatively low, but it is concerning, some of these latest trends and numbers," says Dallas County Health Director Phil Huang. "We're certainly watching very closely in light of the presence of the variants and the fact we still have a significant number of people who are not fully vaccinated."
Huang says about 58% of Dallas County residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine. The Texas Department of State Health Services says 58% of people across the state have received one dose; 50.09% of people 12 and older are fully vaccinated.
Tuesday, Dallas County commissioners talked about options for increased outreach to show people hesitant to get the vaccine it is safe and effective.
"We don't clearly know which strategies are the strongest," says Dallas County Commissioner JJ Koch. "They've all been going in tandem. They haven't been measured, and we haven't tried to tease out what's working best in different types of communities."
Huang says 496,870 doses of the vaccine have been given at Fair Park. The drive-thru hub will close July 17 to prepare for the State Fair of Texas. Huang says the rate of vaccinations at Fair Park has slowed, and he is working with the State Fair of Texas to keep a smaller clinic open at the site.
"Our attitude, at this point, is every shot in an arm is a good thing. We're trying to take advantage of every opportunity we can get," he says.
Koch says outreach is becoming even more important as the "delta" variant becomes more common. He says Dallas County should consider a new way of highlighting risk levels that shows almost all people hospitalized or dying from COVID-19 are those who have not been vaccinated.
"Unfortunately, those voices shouting, 'bad things happen when you take this vaccine,' they can point to the one adverse event. They can embellish the anecdote and get people caught up on it," he says. "The adverse reactions are vanishingly small. We need to optimize our outreach, showing people the vaccine is safe. If you are vaccinated, your risk level is naturally lower. That's the only way we're going to get out of this thing."
Huang says Dallas County Health and Human Services has been working with community groups in areas with lower vaccination rates. He says teams have been "block walking" to give information, and the county will work with groups to open smaller vaccination sites.
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