DALLAS — Dallas County received 6,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine this week. Starting Friday, volunteers will begin to administer the new one-shot vaccine to those who have an appointment at Fair Park.
There are many benefits of the J&J vaccine, according to Director of Dallas County Health and Human Services Dr. Philip Huang. He believes the science behind the vaccine is strong and effective.
"It's a good vaccine, absolutely," he said.
It's also going to help get more people vaccinated faster since it's only one dose, compared to the two-dose Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
"For administration and logistics, it's actually a lot easier. It's one shot and you're done," Huang said.
It's been a learning process of handling the logistics at Fair Park, Huang said. Day by day, it is becoming more efficient. FEMA has been partnering to help distribute thousands of vaccines per day from the mass vaccination site.
Many people on Thursday went through quickly, getting their vaccine in 15 to 20 minutes.
Andrew Adams from Cedar Hill brought his in-laws to get their second dose.
"Got through real fast, real simple. They did a great job," said Adams, "It's extremely important. I think the sooner everyone gets vaccinated, the sooner we can get back to normal."
With the J&J vaccine, the hope is to seamlessly fit it into the process at Fair Park.
Max Mataraso with Americorp NCCC came from Missouri with his team to volunteer with FEMA.
"It's going to speed up this whole rollout process significantly, get people through at a faster pace, because they only have to come in once," he said. "And I really think it is going to help bring this whole pandemic to an ending point."
In one hour, more than 1,100 people can be vaccinated at Fair Park. Some days, Dr. Huang said 9,000 people were vaccinated in one day.
He said it won't be until the summer months until Dallas County likely reaches herd immunity, and encourages the community to continue precautions like wearing a mask and social distancing.