COVID-19 Vaccination Rates Push Back Herd Immunity Forecast

COVID-19 vaccinations progress but Texas has fallen behind on vaccinations, causing herd immunity forecasts to be pushed back. Here is a mix of the COVID-19 related news that happened this week.

• Slow vaccination rates in Dallas push back herd immunity forecast.

• Dallas County reports 268 new positive COVID-19 cases, 194 confirmed cases, 74 probable cases, and a total of four deaths on April 29.

• Mayor Johnson announces a new neighborhood vaccine initiative.

Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation (PCCI) has pushed back the forecast of immunization for Dallas County. The center had forecasted that Dallas would reach herd immunity by mid-June, but that has changed to late June and even mid-July due to slow vaccination rates.

In February, they forecasted that 80% of the Dallas Country’s residents would be immune or have recovered from COVID-19 by June. Today, Dallas County immunity stands at 64% and over 35% of the county’s population, including 73% of residents older than 65 years old.

The county continues to roll out vaccinations and provide them to residents, but vaccination rates have slowed and have hampered the forecast. In March, administered vaccines were averaging over 60,000 per week, but in recent weeks they have only been averaging 45,000 vaccines per week.

The immunity herd could be pushed even further into July if residents don’t get vaccinated. COVID-19 can mutate quickly and create deadlier and more transmissible strains, experts said.

COVID-19 Cases Grow Steadily in Dallas County

Dallas County health officials reported that as of April 29, there have been 257,117 confirmed cases cumulatively.

268 new cases and only four deaths were reported Thursday.

One death reported today was of a person who had received both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine but was on immunosuppressant medication.

There are 58 cases of the B.1.1.7 COVID-19 variant, six cases of B.1.429, and one case of the variant in B.1.526 in Dallas County.  Four have been hospitalized, two of them requiring intensive care.

Mayor Johnson announces new neighborhood vaccine initiative

Mayor Eric Johnson announced the creation of the Mayor’s Neighborhood Vaccine Initiative. The initiative is a partnership with private providers to distribute COVID-19 vaccines at pop-up events.

The Caring Foundation of Texas will co-host three vaccination events through its Care Van program. The first will be Friday, April 30, at Bishop Arts Theatre Center, the second on Saturday, May 1, at LG Pinkston High School in West Dallas, and the third event is scheduled on May 4 at Jubilee Park Community Center in South Dallas.

“I encourage all Dallas residents to get vaccinated as soon as they can. The pandemic is not over yet, but if enough people get these safe and highly effective vaccines, we can achieve community immunity and truly get back to normalcy,” said Mayor Johnson.

To pre-register for The Bishop Arts Theatre event, visit: https://app.blockitnow.com/consumer/carevan/npi/4302021

To pre-register for the LG Pinkston event, visit: https://app.blockitnow.com/consumer/carevan/npi/5012021

To pre-register for The Jubilee Park event, visit https://app.blockitnow.com/consumer/carevan/npi/5042021