Judge Clay Jenkins, County of Dallas, sues the state for cutting COVID vaccines

Dallas judge Clay Jenkins said Monday the state punishes tens of thousands of people waiting for the COVID-19 vaccine after turning off the number of doses it sent to North Texas.

The Texas Department of Health and Human Services announced last week that it would dramatically reduce the number of shots fired by Dallas and Tarrant counties, as the federal government would open stands here that would vaccinate 126,000 people.

Jenkins said the cuts mean Texans from across the state will have to wait at least three weeks for the chance to be vaccinated in Dallas or Tarrant.

This is because the shots for North Texas from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the next three weeks are reserved for the region’s most vulnerable residents in specific neighborhoods. Meanwhile, state-authorized providers, such as the Dallas County Department of Health, must vaccinate any person who meets the requirements of the state, regardless of where they live.

“North Texas should not be punished,” Jenkins said, blowing the state for its decision during a virtual meeting with The Dallas Morning News reduction. “There is no reason why our effort to get more vaccines that the state does not harm by one vaccine will result in the state effectively shortening our residents.”

A Texas Department of Health spokesman said last week that the new federal resources in Dallas and Tarrant counties allow the state to send vaccinations to other counties that have not received a fair grant.

However, the state did not reduce the number of shots it sent to Harris County this week, which includes Houston, where a third FEMA-run website is expected to open this week. The health department said the largest province in the state did not receive a fair amount of shots based on the population.

The launch of the federal distribution programs this week represents a dramatic increase in vaccines for the state, which has already vaccinated more than 3 million people with at least one of the two doses. Including the shots distributed directly by FEMA, the provinces of Dallas and Tarrant are expected to have a slight increase in the total number of shots. However, this is not the windfall of doses that the leaders of North Texas expected.

The state’s decision to reduce the number of doses is no surprise. Civil servants, in the days following the announcement of the federal program, may have telegraphed a reduction.

The state determines the number of doses each province hub receives each week. And, Jenkins said, the state health department has already shown an openness to restoring the province’s fate. A department spokesman would not confirm any talks between Jenkins and the health department, but said no decisions have yet been made for next week’s doses.

At one point during Jenkins’ meeting with The news’ editorial, he suggested without evidence that Governor Greg Abbott would play a role in reducing shots.

“This governor is very busy with the day-to-day running of things, you know,” Jenkins said. “But I do not have a window that I can share in the discussions that are taking place with the governor and his team about the allocation of vaccines.”

An Abbott spokesman said the health department’s panel for expert vaccines, not the governor’s office, decided the number of shots each provider received. The panel consists of a group of 17 doctors, civil servants and legislators.

Jenkins and Abbott have been struggling since the start of the pandemic.

The battle over vaccines comes as the Dallas County Department of Health runs out of doses. The shipment of the shots was delayed in the state and nationwide after severe winter weather last week. The Dallas County Department of Health fired about 5,000 boosters between Sunday and Monday.

“At the moment we have no vaccines left,” Jenkins said.

All three FEMA sites are expected to open on Wednesday and are by appointment only.

In Dallas, residents in 17 zip codes from all corners of the country are invited to take the plunge. The areas were selected based on a variety of factors, including age and the concentration of chronic diseases.

Neighborhoods in the zip codes selected based on federal government criteria include: Forest Meadow in 75243 on the north side of the city; in the east, the Club Estates and Casa Ridge Heights subdivision in Mesquite’s 75150; in the south, both Joppa and the Dallas College Cedar Valley campus in 75241; and to the west, the neighborhoods of Plymouth Park and Irving Heights in 7501 of Irving.

Dallas County has so far identified about 18,000 people who qualify for the vaccine in those zip codes, Jenkins said. It was unclear on Monday how many people had booked appointments.

The registration of residents of Black and Latino, older or not accessing internet, was difficult for the country. Jenkins would lead a conference Monday night with city council members and faith leaders to discuss ways to enroll residents in those neighborhoods.

If the province cannot fill all appointments with residents in the 17 zip codes, they will expand to other neighborhoods with different criteria, Jenkins said.

Staff Writer Allie Morris contributed by Austin.