DALLAS (1080 KRLD)- FEMA has taken control of Dallas County's vaccination hub at Fair Park and is able to vaccinate 3,000 people each day. FEMA began shots Wednesday morning, but Judge Clay Jenkins says the mega site was late to open.
"The FEMA mega-site for 1st doses is open and running smoothly today. Apologies, it was a little late to open today," he tweeted.
By the time the site opened, a line of cars stretched around Fair Park and onto I-30.
Fair Park line for COVID-19 vaccinescourtesy Alan Scaia/KRLD
"It's a lot of confusion out here today," one woman said, saying it took two hours to park her car and get in line for the bus that took people to the vaccination location. "Some of the people who are directing traffic don't even know what to tell you, where to go. It's just confusion."
"This has been unorganized," the man behind her in line said.
"Why has Dallas County consistently lagged behind every other county?" asks the Dallas County Republican Party's Will Busby. "Why can we not be efficient with our vaccine rollout?"
Busby says neighboring counties and the City of Dallas were able to resume vaccinations more quickly after last week's winter weather.
FEMA is targeting zip codes considered "underserved" areas of Dallas County. Busby says many workers in those areas cannot take time off to wait in lines for hours and says FEMA had to take control because county leadership was unable.
"There are people in Dallas County who are hurting. If they can get this vaccine, and they can safely get back out into society, do you know how happy they are going to be? That's what we're trying to do here with vaccine distribution," Busby says. "This isn't a Democrat or Republican issue. This is a humanitarian issue."
FEMA plans to vaccinate 3,000 people daily at Fair Park and will begin vaccinating the same number at Globe Life Field Friday. FEMA will be pulling names from the existing registration sites; no additional action is required if you have already registered.
Those who still need to register can register in Dallas County HERE. People can register in Tarrant County HERE.
