Texas Blocks Dallas Efforts to Vaccinate Communities of Color
Texas vaccine policy illustrates racism and health inequity, one doctor writes
One obvious vaccine distribution policy is to prioritize Covid-19 vaccinations in the communities where the virus is most prevalent. In a completely logical approach, Dallas County Health officials shifted their vaccine strategy to focus on the hardest-hit areas. In response, state officials threatened to cut vaccine supply unless Dallas reversed the policy.
Dallas tried to do the right thing with Covid vaccine distribution, but Texas state officials blocked the effort.
Republican Commissioner J.J. Koch proposed prioritizing vaccine distribution in the zip codes with the highest number of Covid cases. The Dallas County Commissioners Court approved the plan until state officials from the Department of State Health Services pushed back. Texas DSHS officials vetoed the plan and threatened to reduce the number of doses delivered to the county.
Dallas County released vaccination data broken down by ZIP code showing the majority of vaccines were going to white, affluent areas. While the new Covid case data did not include racial demographics, it demonstrated 11 local zip codes with high Covid prevalence rates.
