DALLAS (1080 KRLD)- Dallas County will now let people 75 and older get their COVID-19 vaccine at Fair Park without first making an appointment. Judge Clay Jenkins says people 75 and older will be directed to the front of the line when they arrive.
"We've got more and more doses coming to the community," he said Wednesday afternoon. "We got 5,000 doses from the state this morning that were going to expire somewhere else."
Jenkins says if FEMA, the National Guard and local volunteers are not "overwhelmed," they may lower the age where no appointment is required again on Friday.
Crews at Fair Park have now given 250,000 doses of the vaccine.
Courtesy Alan Scaia
"These guys work so hard," Jenkins says. "They get here at 6:30 in the morning or earlier. They don't leave until about an hour after the last shot is given."
Jenkins says crews have set single-day records for vaccinations at Fair Park each of the past two days, vaccinating 10,700 people Tuesday.
"It's really a testament to these men and women that this site runs so well," he says. "Every day, they get a little bit better."
Across North Texas, the Department of State Health Services reported 585 COVID-19 patients in the hospital, down from about 700 a week ago and 1,455 at the beginning of March.
"We're seeing the numbers go down," says Dallas County Health Director Phil Huang. "Getting these shots in the arms is really making a difference. It's still too early to quit, but it's getting us a long way."
Huang says just 23% of Dallas County residents have been vaccinated, so people should continue wearing masks and social distancing.
"It's too early to stop doing these things, but we're getting further," he says.
