Rural COVID-19 vaccination hub in Parker County to administer 2,000 doses every week
Gloria Garcia, 81, of Springtown, was one of more than 5,000 people on Parker County Hospital District’s COVID-19 vaccine waiting list.
“It’s been about a month, but I guess there just weren’t any available,” said Garcia’s daughter, Kathy Day. “We tried Tarrant County and some of the surrounding counties and pharmacies but everyone was out or just didn’t have any space for us.”
Garcia was one of the first people to get the vaccine Thursday at Parker County’s vaccine hub, which opened its doors at a temporary location at the North Side Baptist Church gymnasium at 910 N. Main St. The mass vaccination site was designated as a rural vaccine hub and is the result of the combined efforts of the hospital district, the county and state Rep. Phil King, R-Weatherford.
Starting next week, an average of 300 vaccines will be administered daily at 118 W. Columbia St. and 712 East Anderson St. in Weatherford. Appointments can be scheduled online at pchdtx.org.
Officials were using the site at the church through Friday to vaccinate the first 2,000 people on the waiting list, said Kathleen Durham, a hospital district spokesperson.
“We’ve been waiting some time for additional vaccines,” Durham said. “But my understanding is that we’ll continue getting 2,000 every week from now on.”
Health care providers in Parker County received 2,000 vaccines from the Texas Department of State Health Services in the first five weeks of distribution. Sean Hughes, county fire marshal and emergency management coordinator, said providers were running out of vaccines in a matter of days. “We had the capability, we just didn’t have the vaccines,” Hughes said.
Parker County residents would call his office frustrated to hear that Tarrant and Dallas counties were getting thousands of doses, while they continued to wait without knowing when or where the state was going to send the next shipment.
Parker Counnty teamed with the Parker County Hospital District, a nonprofit health care provider that administers 18,000 flu-shots every year across the county. Randy Bacus, who heads the district, said officials plan to expand the hub to include mobile immunization sites that can reach the county’s more rural areas.
“We have the staff, the deep freezers, the relationships with the community and county government,” Bacus said. “We just needed the vaccines.”
Texas residents can register to receive the vaccine anywhere in the state but many Parker County residents like Garcia could not get an appointment in Tarrant or other surrounding counties.
“I knew I could go anywhere but It’s just easier to have a place closer to home,” said Garcia Thursday after getting her vaccine.
“I’m glad I didn’t have to stand in the rain or wait in line for hours,” she added as she slowly made her way to her daughter’s vehicle using a walker. “The whole experience was relatively painless.”
This story was originally published January 21, 2021 at 4:28 PM.
