Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins says not enough people are registering for the COVID-19 vaccine

DALLAS – Next week, Texas will receive more than 2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, and Dallas County will receive more than 100,000 first doses.

According to officials, there are not enough people registering for the shot.

The state said 30% of Dallas County residents had their first shot, so more than 1 million others needed a shot, and state leaders said not enough people were enrolled to receive the vaccine. not.

Saturday was another busy day at the COVID-19 vaccination site in Fair Park, Dallas.

“We are ready to start seeing more of the family because it was just the household,” said Glenda Spears, who received the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.

Some received either their second dose of Pfizer or the one-vaccine Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

“We are going to take 11,000 shots [Saturday]”We’re going to have a busy week all week, we just need more people to register,” said Dallas judge Clay Jenkins.

Now that every adult is eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine, the country has a waiting list that was more than 1 million people just a few weeks ago.

“We no longer have people signing up for the list. If you sign up today, we’ll get you an appointment this week,” Jenkins said.

The waiting list is so low, Glenda and Sue Spears registered on Saturday and had an appointment the same day.

“We looked everywhere, there was not available, so we said we were going to bite the bullet and come,” Sue said.

While more people are being vaccinated, this week has posed a major problem.

RELATED: 8-year-old vaccinated incorrectly on COVID-19 vaccine in Dallas County

A COVID-19 vaccine was given to an eight-year-old, something Jenkins called disappointing.

“It’s disturbing, human error,” he said. “It has been fixed, it should not happen again. If you somehow get an appointment from someone in the state for a child under 16, we are not doing children under 16 yet.”

The child is registered, and despite an examination process when you get a chance, the child is still given the vaccine.

No vaccine has been approved by the FDA for children under the age of 16, and 16- and 17-year-olds can only get the Pfizer vaccine.

“I’m hopeful that by the summer we’ll be doing kids 12 years and older, and by the fall the rest of them, but for now the research is not yet available,” Jenkins said.

Provincial health officials said the state data of 32% with a first dose is a delayed statistic, but said it shows there are still many people who need to register and be vaccinated.

“Less than a third of our people got one shot, which means two-thirds of Dallas County should come here and get their first shot,” Jenkins said. “If you are 65 years or older, you no longer need to register, we will move you to the front of the queue and we get the chance.”

There are 18% of Dallas and Tarrant residents who are fully vaccinated.