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Dallas County on Wednesday temporarily opened its COVID-19 vaccination site at Fair Park to any North Texan 75 or older in an effort to quickly use a small surplus of shots.
The decision to open the vaccine site up to people without an appointment was made after the county began turning away people under 75 who were not authorized to make appointments but did, Dallas County Clay Jenkins said.
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Jenkins estimated the county had a few hundred shots available by late Wednesday. It was unclear how long the site would remain open to people without appointments. An appointment will most likely be needed by the weekend, Jenkins said.
Officials have encouraged residents to sign up at the county’s website to begin the registration process.
The Fair Park vaccination site is one of three “hubs” authorized by the state in Dallas County. Parkland Memorial Hospital & Health System and UTSouthwestern are also vaccinating North Texans. All three organizations will be working from the same registration, Jenkins said.
The Fair Park location was selected in an effort to help open up access to the vaccine to the county’s Black and Latino communities who have historically lived south of Interstate 30. Jenkins said the county is targeting people 75 and older due to the strain they can put on hospitals if they become critically ill from the coronavirus.
The crowd that arrived Monday and Tuesday was mostly white and older. But not every inoculated person was over 75. Jenkins said an open web link to the county’s appointment website was shared on social media, which allowed individuals who were not eligible to make an appointment. Moving forward, each person invited to schedule an appointment will have a special link that cannot be accessed by another person, he said.