DALLAS (WBAP/KLIF) – The City of Dallas and Dallas county are butting heads over communication surrounding the COVID-19 vaccination center at Fair Park.
There was some Confusion in Dallas this week after word got out that County Judge Clay Jenkins allowed walk-ins without requiring registration at the Fair Park vaccination mega-center for one day for anyone 75 or older. The issue, according to City Councilwoman Jennifer Staubach Gates, was that Jenkins only notified groups in low income, vulnerable areas.
“It was explained to us that he shared it to a group that represented a vulnerable population,” Gates said.
She said she has no issue with making vulnerable populations a priority but that not notifying all residents leads to mistrust.
Word spread fast on social media and residents from all over the county flocked to the site creating long lines and wait times.
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson sent a letter to Jenkins threatening to end the partnership if the county isn’t more transparent.
Judge Jenkins responded with a letter of his own, posted below:
I trust that everyone on this letter and all council members share the goal of getting our most vulnerable populations vaccinated as soon as possible. Thank you all for your support of the work the city staff is doing to help lead this response. There are a lot of heroic city employees doing great work.
Your letter is inaccurate. Community outreach efforts were made to reach seniors in underserved and hard hit zip codes in Dallas after the unauthorized sharing of a back link to sign up for appointments was broadcast by at least one Dallas City Council Member and led to our Monday-Wednesday appointments being filled by persons who did not receive an invite for an appointment. That group was overwhelmingly white, under 75 and from the city’s most affluent zip codes. Those unauthorized appointments were not honored Tuesday and Wednesday but led to less vaccines being administered on those days than expected.
Our effort was to remedy the problem described above by balancing the demographic makeup to help underserved communities. Southern Dallas churches, health centers, senior centers and other partners serving Black and Hispanic residents were enlisted for their help. Your and other’s decision earlier today to broadcast that vaccines are available to anyone over 75 without an appointment has undermined that effort and made it less likely the vaccine will get to the people at the highest risk in the hardest hit, most underserved zip codes this week.
I trust in the future you will route any questions through the Dallas City Manager’s Office, the city’s OEM leads for this response our call directly.
Jenkins said he considers the matter resolved.
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