Experienced trouble during Arlington COVID vaccine? Officials say process is simplified
Arlington leaders say they’ve found their groove in administering the coronavirus vaccine after a rocky first week at Esports Stadium Arlington.
Officials with city Emergency Management have administered 7,600 doses of the vaccine since Dec. 29 and received another 4,000 doses from John Peter Smith Health Network on Thursday morning, the Fire Department announced on Facebook. Unlike the first round of distributions at 1200 Ballpark Way, those eligible were required to register with Tarrant County Public Health and wait for the county to direct them to a distribution site.
Arlington fire and police departments this week turned away anyone without an appointment before they entered the stadium parking lot, a fire department spokesperson said.
The revamped process, paired with a greater public understanding of the process, made for a smoother second week of distribution, Fire Chief Don Crowson said in a Wednesday phone interview.
“We’re hopefully moving into a more routine business model,” he said. “That consistency will help us get more numbers of the vaccines as they are available.”
Frustration mounted during the last days of December, as residents in state’s 1B distribution category — people 65 and over or those with health conditions making them at risk of COVID complications — inundated the distribution center following state officials’ order to offer them the vaccine.
The Arlington distribution site was set up for medical workers and first responders, who fall into the state’s 1A category. The optional registration website for those front-line workers was inundated as residents who fell outside of the category attempted to sign up.
“We worked through that issue,” Crowson said. “We didn’t turn anyone away, but what they were showing up to was a 1A site and we accommodated 1Bs.”
By Dec. 31, officials had burned through the city’s initial shipment. The majority of the vaccinations were used on elderly and at-risk residents. Some front-line workers who registered did not receive their vaccines.
The vaccine remains available to front-line workers, those 65 and up and people with medical conditions including but not limited to cancer, chronic kidney disease, heart conditions, obesity, diabetes or are pregnant. Those eligible to receive this round can register through the county public health website or by calling 817-248-6299.
Vaccines in Arlington will continue from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday.
Officials ask for patience
City officials have urged residents to be patient as the city and county continue to hash out logistics of mass distribution, while applauding the streamlined second-week distribution.
Dr. Ignacio Nunez, District 5 City Councilmember, emailed neighborhood groups and took to Facebook to explain the agency’s process as it evolved.
“Every individual state, every individual county, every individual city is having to make it up as they go along,” he said. “Because of that, there are going to be mistakes that are made at the beginning.”
In an update to residents through a Greater Arlington Chamber of Commerce Facebook Live session Wednesday, Mayor Jeff Williams lauded the the city Office of Emergency Management for both accommodating confused residents who qualified and improving upon the process.
“Our mass vaccination center at the Esports Stadium is one of the best in the state,” he said. “We literally are (vaccinating) about 1,500 people a day. We’re excited about how that’s going.”
County officials are working to secure larger spaces in Hurst and Fort Worth to vaccinate more county residents and allow for more to wait indoors. Officials plan to start vaccinating in Hurst next week.
All the while, officials in Arlington are hoping for greater vaccine allotments and increased production will keep the process moving for them.
“We need you all to be praying that the vaccines keep coming,” Williams said.
