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Dallas County switching to drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination process at Fair Park site next week
Dallas County is switching to a plan it hopes will save time and get more people vaccinated.
DALLAS - Ever since Dallas County started administering COVID-19 vaccinations at Fair Park, people would park their vehicles and be taken inside a building to get vaccinated.
It can be a long process, and some people reported waiting at least several hours.
RELATED: Mega COVID-19 vaccine site opens at Fair Park in Dallas
Now, the county is switching to a plan it hopes will save time and get more people vaccinated.
Celeste Hlavenka is a school nurse, and said she’s been cautious since returning back to work.
"You know, once I got in there and started doing my job and everything, the fear went away," she said.
She got her second shot with other frontline workers Friday.
"You know, they said that the next 24-36 hours I might feel, like, some side effects, like fatigue or fever or something. Just to watch out for that, so that’s why I’m having it on a Friday," she said.
She received her shot while remaining inside her car, a process Dallas County is switching to for everyone, starting next week.
"And once you’re doing the in-car, you’ll just stay in your car the whole time," Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins explained.
Judge Jenkins hopes the drive-thru process, accompanied by a personalized QR code for people who are supposed to get a vaccine, will get people in and out in 40 minutes.
"The idea is to do at least 1,000 shots an hour with this system," Jenkins added.
It’s a process that’s been in place at sites like Texas Motor Speedway this week.
"I’ve been out to Texas Motor Speedway, I’ve been out to Arlington, they’ve been here, we’re all working together," Jenkins added.
Dallas County expects to administer 22,000 shots next week.
It’s building a model that can quickly scale up.
Hlavenka said she’ll feel more comfortable at school with her second shot out of the way.
"Had a lot of kids in quarantine, [but not a lot of cases for] the kids themselves," she said.
And once the rest of her family is vaccinated, she’ll be able to visit her 87-year-old mother.
Dallas County leaders said they want everyone to register. For now, they’re only taking people 65 and older, or 16 years and up with a pre-existing condition, but they want people to be in the system and ready to go once more appointments open.
They said they’ll still prioritize some vulnerable groups.