UNT Health Science Center ends COVID-19 vaccine partnership with Tarrant County early
The COVID-19 vaccination partnership between Tarrant County and The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth (HSC) will end two months early, on July 31, officials announced Tuesday.
The partnership was first announced in early February as Tarrant County commissioners wanted a separate entity to handle vaccinations, specifically in minority and low-income communities.
HSC was initially given $2.5 million to take over vaccination efforts, and the contract was supposed to last through Sept. 30. Officials were tasked with creating programs to educate, register and vaccinate those in minority neighborhoods and areas with low vaccination rates. HSC opened several vaccination sites including one in the historically Black Stop Six neighborhood.
Advertisements, billboards and mailers were part of the HSC’s education efforts. Listening sessions in neighborhoods were also held.
But, as the months passed, vaccination rates declined and officials saw obstacles such as vaccine hesitancy, accessibility, inconvenient hours and poor translation services.
During Tuesday’s Commissioners Court meeting, Commissioner Roy Brooks was not happy with HSC’s work over the last several months.
“We have been unable to move the needle in certain ZIP codes,” Brooks said. “We have not been effective in reaching out to serve the underserved, and I’m tremendously disappointed.”
Commissioner Devan Allen said she agreed with Brooks.
In Stop Six, where HSC operated a vaccination site, the percentage of people with at least one dose is under 10%, according to county data.
In Diamond Hill, a largely Hispanic neighborhood that had high case rates and deaths, only 7% of their population has at least one dose.
In the Como neighborhood, about 13% of the population has at least one dose.
Most of Tarrant County’s highly vaccinated ZIP codes are predominantly white, affluent neighborhoods.
“They were supposed to come in and tell us how to move the needle in these communities and it just has not happened,” Brooks said.
HSC officials said in a statement that there’s no need for the center to continue its efforts because of the widespread availability of the vaccine and the county’s existing vaccination sites.
“While HSC and Tarrant County agree that the timing is right to wind down the vaccination partnership, HSC remains committed to improving the health and well-being of our community and looks forward to continued partnerships with Tarrant County,” an HSC spokesperson said in an email.
HSC officials said they look forward to continue working with the county in other ways to help with the needs of Tarrant County residents.
This story was originally published July 6, 2021 at 4:05 PM.
