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The City of Dallas is partnering with the Visiting Nurse Association of Texas (VNA) for a program aimed at vaccinating Dallas residents who lack transportation to reach vaccine hubs or pharmacies.
Dallas Fire-Rescue employees and VNA staff will vaccinate homebound residents with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Initially, the program will distribute 500 doses, officials said in a release.
“For our vulnerable homebound residents, this effort can finally bring an end to the fear of the last year,” Mayor Eric Johnson said in a release. “And for our entire city, these vaccinations represent another important step toward achieving community immunity against a deadly and devastating virus.”
The in-home vaccination program will start on April 13. Six teams of EMS staff will be able to vaccinate 12 residents per day, depending on vaccine availability, the city said.
Planning is currently underway for how to administer the vaccines “effectively, efficiently, and equitably,” city officials said.
“The clients we serve through Meals on Wheels are the most vulnerable in our community — they are elderly and homebound, do not have access to technology for scheduling, suffer from multiple chronic conditions and reside in areas most impacted by the pandemic,” says Katherine Krause, VNA President & CEO. “We knock on their doors every day connecting them to food and resources and it is vital that we bring this life-saving vaccine to them.”
While is the first at-home vaccination program for the City of Dallas, others are underway in North Texas.
Some counties have partnered with Gov. Greg Abbott, the Division of Emergency Management and the Department of State Health Services on the “Save our Seniors” program aimed at vaccinating some of the most vulnerable Texans.
Local authorities are allowed to determine whether to set up drive thru clinics or administer vaccines at home through the program, state officials say.
As of April 6, 107 counties across Texas have participated in that program, the governor’s office said in a release.
To learn more about the COVID-19 response and vaccine efforts in Dallas, call (214) 670-INFO (4636) or visit DallasCityHall.com/COVID19. To register for the vaccine, visit www.dallascountycovid.org or call 1-855-IMMUNE9 (855-466-8639) between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.