Tarrant County teams with UNT Health Science Center to expand COVID-19 vaccinations
Tarrant County officials agreed Tuesday to work with UNT Health Science Center officials to ramp up COVID-19 vaccination efforts, especially in minority communities.
The partnership comes after the county has struggled to vaccinate minority communities. Out of the 45,000 vaccines the county has administered, about 4% of Black people and about 5% of Hispanic or Latino people have been vaccinated, according to county data.
The UNT Health Science Center plan is to expand vaccination sites through drive-thrus, schools and churches. It will also look for partnerships with health care organizations, clinics and schools, but no specifics were provided.
Officials will target minority communities and want to establish a call center to handle the massive amount of calls the county has received. They will also search for more staff to vaccinate more people.
County Judge Glen Whitley said he wants drive-thru and mobile sites set up as soon as possible. He fears if this plan is established throughout the next several weeks, the county will be sitting on vaccines that could otherwise be given out.
“We’re going to do whatever it takes to get the shots in the arms as quickly as possible,” Whitley said.
This story was originally published January 19, 2021 at 12:24 PM with the headline "Tarrant County teams with UNT Health Science Center to expand COVID-19 vaccinations."
