Updated at 6:40 p.m. with update from emergency commissioners court meeting.
Dallas County commissioners decided against a vaccine plan to prioritize residents of certain ZIP codes after the state threatened on Wednesday to stop sending additional doses.
That plan, approved by commissioners Tuesday, was set to go into effect in less than two weeks. It prioritized residents of certain ZIP codes who were in groups 1A and 1B, but the state health department said that plan would exclude other residents since the hub was meant to serve the North Texas area.
On Wednesday afternoon, Dallas County received a letter from the state health department saying that putting this move in place could jeopardize any future vaccine doses from getting to the county. The state said the move to limit distribution was "not acceptable" and that they could remove Dallas County as one of its vaccine hubs.
Shortly after the letter was sent, the Dallas County Commissioners Court scheduled an emergency session for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday where the order was rescinded 4-1.
Commissioner John Wiley Price voted to abstain.
Dr. Phil Huang, director of Dallas County Health and Human Services, said in the meeting that not rescinding the plan would risk 9,000 additional vaccines that were headed to the county next week.
The state's letter put the county leaders on a deadline of 8 a.m. Thursday, since that was when they needed to load vaccine orders, the Texas Department of State Health Services said.
The Fair Park vaccine distribution hub opened last week, but data showed that more residents in wealthier neighborhoods got the vaccine compared to those living in at-risk neighborhoods.
"I think the majority wanted to do the right thing by prioritizing ZIP codes, but not at the expense of vulnerable populations outside of those ZIPs," said Commissioner Elba Garcia.
County Judge Clay Jenkins said the commissioners court could come back to work together with outreach to disadvantaged communities, but that they needed to rescind the order so they could keep their vaccine allocation.
The state said that vaccine allocations are based on compliance with their requirements for all hubs and if Dallas County is unable to meet those expectations, the state will reduce the weekly vaccine allocation to Dallas County Health and Human Services and no longer consider it a hub provider.
“While we ask hub providers to ensure vaccine reaches the hardest-hit areas and populations, solely vaccinating people who live in those areas is not in line with the agreement to be a hub provider,” said the letter from Texas Department of State Health Services Associate Commissioner Imelda Garcia.
On Wednesday, Jenkins wrote a letter to the commissioner of health Dr. John Hellerstedt, notifying him of the order that was voted on.
In the letter, Jenkins said there are already vaccine sign-ups from 26,791 people in the 1B group who are from those ZIP codes.
Even after the vote Tuesday, Jenkins was unsure whether the vote was legal. The vaccine hub was intended to serve surrounding counties as well.
"I’m sure we’ll hear from the state of Texas and every suburban city in Dallas County as well as parts of the city not in those 10 ZIP codes," Jenkins said. "Getting it to the people who are most likely to end up in ICU should be our goal right now."
Reporter David Goins contributed to this report.