3
The Cavalry Is Coming
As I write this editorial, it is
December 21, and we are
one week into the first Pfizer
COVID-19 vaccines arriving
in Dallas, with Moderna arriving today.
It feels like a Christmas miracle if I
am being completely honest. We knew
intellectually that this day would come.
But after slogging through most of
2020 with a mask, physical distancing,
and handwashing as the only arrows
in our prevention quiver, our front lines
were starting to become vulnerable to
exhaustion, fatigue, and moral injury as
the battle against SARS-CoV-2 waged on.
But finally, the cavalry has arrived, and it
is in the form of multiple vaccines that
have either been approved or are soonto
be approved. Finally, just finally, it feels
like the headwinds might change and we
can begin to contain and eliminate this
dreadful virus.
At Dallas County Medical Society
(DCMS), we have been working hard to
participate in the process for determining
vaccine allocation. Physician leaders and
staff participate in a myriad of local and regional
task forces and work groups to help
shape the priority allocation for vaccines.
Because DCMS members work in a wide
variety of practice settings, we wanted to
ensure that all patient-facing physicians
would be able to access the vaccine as
supply ramped up and priority populations
were established.
Fortunately, physicians working in the
highest-risk settings, such as hospital critical
care and ICU, were some of the first
to receive the vaccine. Hospitals provided
access to these doctors as well as ancillary
and support staff who were caring for
COVID-19-positive patients. DCMS quickly
realized that outpatient physician offices
were going to be more difficult to support
with vaccine access because the Pfizer
vaccine requires ultra-cold storage and was
initially only distributed in lot sizes of 975
doses. For a small community physician,
these requirements were barriers to enrolling
as a vaccination provider.
DCMS initiated conversations with
Kroger Health pharmacies in Dallas to
solicit support for community physicians
to have access to the vaccine. Kroger was
very open to the idea of partnering on a
program that would provide targeted access
to the COVID-19 vaccine for community
physicians. The program would mean
that Kroger needed increase its dose
allotment request to the Texas Department
of State Health Services and coordinate
with DCMS to allocate those vaccines to
pharmacies in its chain of stores where
most DCMS physicians practice.
Many thanks to Kroger for its partnership
and willingness to support our efforts
to protect community physicians and their
staffs. In large part, medicine is a faceto
face profession, whether practiced by a
solo family physician or in a small-group
specialist office. And we know, based on
the the COVID-19 rate that is currently
raging throughout the state, these doctors
are coming into contact with known, or
presumptive positive, COVID-19 patients
daily. Ensuring their safety through a vaccine
access program is critical to ensuring
we keep them safe and healthy.
Looking back at history, the First Texas
Cavalry dates back to the Civil War, for
which Texas contributed two regiments
and two battalions of cavalry to the federal
army. A total of 1,915 men from Texas
served the Union. One source states that
“the strength of the Texas Federal Regiments
consisted primarily of Mexicans,
Germans, and Irishmen.” As we reflect on
today’s “vaccine cavalry” arriving in Dallas
to support our physicians and their medical
teams on the front lines, I think the
modern-day equivalent to the First Texas
Cavalry is still in place, but this time it is
made up of vaccine scientists and pharmacists
partnering to help protect physicians
so they can conquer COVID-19. Be safe,
and be well. DMJ
Jon R. Roth, MS, CAE
DCMS EVP/CEO
January 2021 • DALLAS MEDICAL JOURNAL
D C M S E V P / C E O
Jon R. Roth, MS, CAE