DALLAS — With COVID-19 cases moving in the wrong direction and the Delta variant becoming a greater concern, teams of Dallas County workers and volunteers are hitting the streets.
They are going door-to-door, and walking block by block in different neighborhoods, engaging with residents.
“The County is doubling down on efforts to make sure that everyone knows about the vaccine, have access to it. A lot of people do not have information, or enough information, or may have questions on the vaccine,” explained Christian Grisales, a spokesman with Dallas County Health and Human Services.
With block walking, the teams are being strategic in their community outreach efforts. They are relying on data to lead them to areas in Dallas County where vaccination rates are low.
“Most people that have tested positive for COVID or that have been hospitalized, are people who haven’t been vaccinated,” Grisales said.
The workers and volunteers are armed with literature, information about locations offering the free vaccines, and answers to questions.
“In general, the people that have been vaccinated and see us, they are thankful that we are doing this. You know, thank you so much for being out here and providing that information,” said Jheison Romain.
The outreach teams admit there are some challenges engaging with some neighbors about the vaccine.
“There’s still people that are thinking about it. They’re resistant to it. Some, they are not very happy to see us. They essentially kind of slam the door in our faces," Romain explained.
Dallas County workers say the outreach efforts are about education, offering options, and providing opportunities.
The City of Dallas, and the Dallas Chamber are offering incentives for getting the vaccine, including raffles and free tickets to the zoo, sporting events, and airline tickets.
The outreach teams say their efforts are making a difference.
“We have seen some of the people that we knocking on doors show up to the vaccination sites.”
The Dallas County Health Department’s outreach efforts will continue on Friday, July 22. Teams will be block walking across South Dallas community. A vaccine clinic will be available at the MLK Family Clinic.
For more details about COVID-19 vaccine clinics and other resources in Dallas County visit https://www.dallascounty.org/covid-19/covid-19-vaccination.php.