Dallas County health leaders prepare for cold, flu season with limited COVID vaccine access
Dallas health leaders with limited COVID vaccine access
Dallas County has ordered the new COVID-19 vaccine from the state. While they wait, the county health director says there is uncertainty about who will be able to get it.
DALLAS COUNTY, Texas - If you or someone you know has gotten sick recently, you aren't alone. COVID-19 cases are on the rise in Texas.
But due to new federal guidance, COVID-19 vaccines may not be as accessible as they were in years past.
Texas COVID vaccine access
FILE - A health officer prepares a second COVID-19 vaccine booster to a resident.
Dallas County has ordered the new COVID-19 vaccine from the state. While they wait, the county health director says there is uncertainty about who will be able to get it.
The new 'Stratus' strain of the virus is spreading as we head into cold and flu season.
Dr. Philip Huang with Dallas County Health and Human Services told county commissioners this week that he does not know who will be eligible for the vaccine.
According to Huang, the county is still waiting for word on availability for the vaccines as they wait to receive them from the state.
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Federal cuts to COVID-19 funding has already resulted in the county canceling 50 vaccination events this year, Huang said.
Until now, the U.S. has followed guidance from independent experts who advise the CDC, which recommended yearly vaccinations for everyone 6 months and older.
HHS Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired every member of that advisory committee on immunization practices.
‘COVID is still in our communities’
What they're saying:
"COVID is still in our communities. While not as widespread and deadly as years ago, it is still impacting Texans," Huang said.
If you try to get a vaccine appointment at a pharmacy like CVS, you have to be older than 65 or meet one of a list of certain requirements, which includes conditions like weakened immune system, asthma, and diabetes.
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"We're still up in the air about the guidance," said Huang. "I know that there's a lot of loss of credibility now in some of these recommendations that are coming from the federal guidance because of what's happened. You know, I mean, the firing of the people that are on this advisory committee on immunization practice that are the real experts. And when you replace it with people who have an agenda for something like, you know, anti-vax, then you can't trust what's coming out of that recommendation."
Huang says when the county gets the vaccine they will try to roll out as many events as allowed within the eligibility requirements.
"We'll still have it in our, you know, brick-and-mortar clinics. We're trying to do one day a week out in the community," Huang said.
COVID vaccine access in Dallas County
What's next:
Huang said they will still do what they can to make the vaccination available to the public at no cost.
The state did not give a timeline on when the shipment will arrive.
The Source: Information in this report came from the Dallas County Health and Human Services.