Denton County to administer another 22,000 COVID vaccines at Texas Motor Speedway
Denton County is once again preparing to vaccinate tens of thousands of people in their vehicles at the Texas Motor Speedway.
After more than 27,000 Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were administered during a three-day period last week, Denton health officials have found themselves with another large quantity of doses from the state to give out. The county is planning to administer 22,000 vaccines, by appointment only, over three days this week which began Tuesday, officials announced in a news release. There will be a break Wednesday, before the vaccination campaign resumes Thursday and Friday.
The event is in the parking lot of the Motor Speedway, where there are 16 lanes marked off that vehicles can move through, heading toward a white tent where workers will be administering the vaccines.
Everyone who shows up has to pre-register to get an appointment time.
Last week’s vaccination event was Denton’s largest to date, after the health department received 31,000 doses from the state, according to officials. Only 27,070 doses were administered, however, because of cancellations and no-shows, county spokesperson Dawn Cobb told the Star-Telegram on Tuesday. The leftovers are part of the doses that will be administered this week.
“We sent appointments out to individuals who canceled to come in for shots today,” Cobb said.
The only individuals who qualify for vaccinations at this time are those who fall in group 1A or group 1B under the Centers for Disease Control guidelines, which includes essential healthcare works along with those who are 65 and older and those who have certain pre-existing conditions. Many vaccines administered this week will be people’s second doses.
A person doesn’t have to be a Denton County resident to sign up to receive a vaccine on the online portal at DentonCounty.gov/COVID19vaccine. Those who sign up will receive updates over email about when they will be able to get the vaccine.
People getting vaccinated last week who spoke with the Star-Telegram said it was a smooth and mostly confusion-free process. It was an emotional experience for some.
Tuesday’s vaccine event was scheduled to run from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
It then runs from noon to 5 p.m. on Thursday and 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday.
The clinic times are estimated based on recent winter weather updates and could be subject to changes if inclement weather impedes driving conditions.
