Dallas, VNA Partner To Begin In-Home Vaccinations

The city of Dallas and Visiting Nurse Association of Texas (VNA) Wednesday announced they partnered to identify and vaccinate Dallas residents who lack mobility to reach a vaccination site. This program will utilize Dallas Fire Rescue emergency medical services staff and VNA staff to identify, contact and route vaccinations to homebound residents.  

This program utilizes the Johnson & Johnson single-dose COVID-19 vaccine. The outreach will begin with 500 doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine allocated from Dallas County Health and Human Services. 

“Vaccines are the key to ending the terrible COVID-19 pandemic, and we are working hard to ensure everyone in our city has equitable access to these lifesaving triumphs of modern medicine,” said Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson. “I am excited for what this new partnership will mean for Dallas. For our vulnerable homebound residents, this effort can finally bring an end to the fear of the last year. And for our entire city, these vaccinations represent another important step toward achieving community immunity against a deadly and devastating virus.” 

In-home vaccinations will begin on Tuesday, April 13 with six teams of EMS staff vaccinating 12 residents per day as vaccine doses are available. City officials say planning is in process for routes to effectively, efficiently, and equitably vaccinate Dallas residents who otherwise lack transportation to reach community vaccination hubs or pharmacies.  

“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 and 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.” 

“We thank the VNA for their partnership to equitably vaccinate our most vulnerable residents,” said Rocky Vaz, director of the city of Dallas Office of Emergency Management. “This has been a high priority for our department and the city. Working with the VNA allows us to provide vaccines to many who might not have been able to reach vaccine hubs or pharmacies any other way.” 

The city continues to operate a drive-through vaccination hub at The Potter’s House in southern Dallas. The hub, which is operated by contract vendor American Medical Response, is distributing 5,000 first doses of the Moderna vaccine by appointment only this week. 

For more information on the city’s COVID-19 response efforts and vaccines, call 214-670-INFO (4636) or visit the city’s COVID-19 website. To register for a vaccination, go www.dallascountycovid.org or call 1-855-IMMUNE9 (855-466-8639) between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.

In other news:

• Dallas County Wednesday reported 378 more COVID-19 cases — 256 confirmed cases and 122 probable — and 22 deaths. The county also reported Wednesday two deaths of cafeteria and custodial support staff in K-12 school(s). 
• Moderna Wednesday shared the publication of antibody persistence data out to six months following the second dose of the company’s COVID-19 Vaccine in The New England Journal of Medicine. The data is similar to that recently reported by Pfizer.
• The number of Texas residents prescribed mental health medication for issues like stress, anxiety, and depression has gone up 12.9% since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, QuoteWizard reported.