FEMA COVID-19 Vaccine Site Opens At Globe Life Field In Arlington
ARLINGTON, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - The city of Arlington and partners including the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the military officially opened the first federal vaccine clinic at the Globe Life Field.
As part of the White House's initiative of setting up vaccine clinic across the country, this is the third such site in Texas. The other two are set up in Houston and Dallas.
With the help of FEMA, military and the city, the site will be giving out 21,000 doses a week.
"The opening of this site means that thousands more people in the community will be protected from the virus," Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams said.
It is open seven days a week and will provide 21,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine each week. Arlington Fire Chief Don Crowson said they might get other vaccines upon availability. He says they are storing the vaccines at their location and every day the doses will be transported to the pharmacy group here.
FEMA will still use Tarrant County's public health website to schedule appointments, offering doses to people 65 and older or those with certain chronic health conditions. "We are working with the county right now to serve the underserved population. This site is targeted to those individuals," Crowson said.
As more and more Americans desire to get the shots, new sites like these are a welcomed sign. A new study by the Kaiser foundation found 18% of Americans have already received their first does. And the desire to get vaccinated has increased since December to nearly 37% want to get the vaccine as soon as possible.
That's a hopeful sign, Crowson says.
"We are gaining ground on the virus.. not only in the cases but also the hospitalization," he said. The clinic at Globe Life Field will be open for the next four weeks before it moves to AT&T Stadium.
