Dallas to close COVID-19 mass vaccination site at The Potter’s House - The Dallas Morning News

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Dallas’ mass COVID-19 vaccination site at The Potter’s House church will close at the end of the day Saturday because not enough people are showing up for shots, according to the city.

The hub in the church’s parking lot opened March 4 and was the only one directly overseen by the city. It replaced a hub that had operated at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center downtown off and on since late December.

After this weekend, people who received their first shot at The Potter’s House will be referred to the county-run Fair Park site in South Dallas for their second dose.

The drive-through site at the southern Dallas church is the latest mass vaccination hub in North Texas to close as, officials say, the number of people coming through has fallen too low to justify keeping them open. Large hubs at AT&T Stadium in Arlington and The Theatre at Grand Prairie closed late last month after being open since February.

The Dallas site was run by the ambulance provider American Medical Response and administered around 1,000 first doses of the Moderna vaccine a day at least three days a week. At its peak, around 2,000 shots a day were given in late March, according to the mayor’s office.

First doses given at the church site have gone from 958 during the week of April 19, to 931 the next week, to 356 last week, the city said. Close to 54,000 first and second doses have been given at the site since March.

In a statement, Mayor Eric Johnson thanked The Potter’s House for providing the space, encouraged residents to get vaccines immediately and assured that the shots are safe.

“While the days of the vaccine mega-hubs are coming to an end, COVID-19 is still a threat as long as the virus continues to spread and mutate,” Johnson said.

The state on March 29 ordered that vaccines be made available to anyone over 16, and on Thursday it lowered the limit to 12. A requirement that people make appointments to get shots at North Texas sites was lifted in April.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Thursday that fully vaccinated people generally don’t need to wear masks indoors or outdoors.

Dallas plans to shift its distribution of doses to an in-home vaccination program run jointly with the Visiting Nurse Association of Texas and temporary vaccination clinics held at various places in the city.

The city has vaccinated 200 people in their homes since the in-home vaccination program began on April 19, said Dallas Emergency Management Director Rocky Vaz.

The program initially was open only to people enrolled in the VNA’s Meals on Wheels program. But Vaz said that restriction has been lifted and anyone who is homebound can email mobilevaccination@dallascityhall.com to get a shot at home.

He said that the program has gone down to one day a week, Fridays, and that 20 people received their first dose last week.

Around 600 people have been vaccinated at the city’s pop-up vaccination sites this month, Vaz said. The sites have included the Galleria Dallas, schools and community centers.

Vaz said vaccination numbers haven’t been high at events held at apartment complexes. He said that around 20 were given to residents at the Valenceo at Midtown apartments in the Vickery Meadow area in northeast Dallas and that numbers at other events have been similar.

“Anybody who wants to get vaccinated has plenty of avenues, and I think we’re seeing that,” Vaz said. “What we’re hearing when we’ve gone to apartments is that people have already gotten shots or they’re not interested in getting one.”

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Dallas to close COVID-19 mass vaccination site at The Potter’s House - The Dallas Morning News
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