5
D C M S E V P / C E O
As I wrote in my January 2021
editorial, “The Cavalry is Coming,”
DCMS was thrilled to learn
that two major pharmaceutical
companies, Pfizer and Moderna, had
received approval for COVID-19 vaccines
and they had begun rolling into Dallas
and many other communities across the
state. At the time, I explained that DCMS
had initiated a novel program, partnering
with Kroger health pharmacies, to provide
vaccines to Dallas County physicians and
their medical staffs who would not be able
to access vaccines otherwise.
After that writing, the DCMS program
continued to grow and produce amazing
results on behalf of our members. County
medical society counterparts from Tarrant,
Collin-Fannin, Denton, and Grayson
counties all contacted DCMS to inquire
about opportunities to regionalize the
vaccine program. Our Kroger partners were
happy to do so but realized that covering
such a large area would require enlisting
additional pharmacy partners to ensure
sufficient geographic coverage. Enter Tom
Thumb/Albertsons, Brookshire’s, and
Brookshire Bros. pharmacies.
With the regional collaboration between
county medical societies and pharmacies
in place, it was anticipated that 35,000
North Texas physicians and staff would
require the vaccine. This figure was
developed using the approximate number
of non-hospital-based physicians in
the region multiplied by 3.26 staff per
physician, a documented staff-to-physician
ratio figure cited in the literature. Finally,
a vaccine acceptance rate of 70% was
applied to arrive at the final figure of
approximately 35,000.
With the need in hand, the next step
required the pharmacy partners and county
medical societies to petition the Texas
Department of State Health Services
to request approval for the increased
requested vaccine allotment. This was
necessary because the pharmacies had
previously been approved as vaccine
providers with figures that did not
include the North Texas Medical Society
physicians and staff. The state DSHS was
highly complimentary of the coordination
and collaboration of the partners and
committed vaccine allocations to support
the program.
With the coordinated efforts in place
and promise of vaccines in hand, the
pharmacy teams set a plan in motion to
arrange both in-pharmacy appointments
and mass clinics organized with the
medical societies. Within the next
week, the regional pharmacies received
approximately 10,000 first-dose vaccines,
which were allocated throughout the
five-county area at in-pharmacy locations
and for the first mass clinic, which was
scheduled for the DCMS headquarters
office.
On New Year’s Eve, at approximately
8:30 pm, the first communications
from the medical societies with links to
the pharmacy appointments and mass
clinic were sent. Approximately 5,000
appointments were filled within two hours.
Shortly thereafter, the release of additional
appointments and clinics were allotted.
Over the following two weeks, thousands
of North Texas physicians and staff
received their first-dose vaccine. In total,
the pharmacy partners were allocated
approximately 21,000 doses, and every
single dose was administered into the
arms of medical society physicians or staff
within two weeks. It was a remarkable and
proud opportunity to start our members
on a journey to being safe and to show
the value of organized medicine in North
Texas.
Unfortunately, as is the case from
time to time, the political winds of Austin
started to blow, and the state accelerated
its plan to allow Phase 1b individuals to
begin receiving the vaccine. Additionally,
vaccine allocations to our pharmacy
partners ceased as the state shifted
priority to county- and city-based mass
vaccination hubs. Despite our pleas that
up to 15,000 additional physicians and
staff in North Texas still need priority
access, the state’s strategy shift left the
North Texas collaborative program paused.
As of this writing, we are entering the
third week of our pharmacy partners not
receiving any additional first-dose vaccines.
Fortunately, as we round the corner to
begin the second-dose administrations, the
doses are indeed arriving in the pharmacy
and mass clinics. We continue to advocate
for additional Phase 1a-Tier 2 first-dose
allocations for our remaining physicians
and staff who cannot locate a first-dose
elsewhere.
DCMS is proud to have played a role
in helping our physicians and staff get
the COVID vaccine. We appreciate the
collaboration and unifying approach of our
sister county medical societies in Tarrant,
Collin-Fannin, Denton, and Grayson. We
also thank Kroger Health, Tom Thumb/
Albertsons, Brookshire’s, and Brookshire
Bros. pharmacies for their tremendous
efforts to care for our physicians and staff.
As we ramp up for second-dose
administrations beginning this week,
DCMS remains determined to provide more
vaccines to our physicians and staff. Just
like in 2020 when DCMS provided $14
million in personal protective equipment
(PPE) to Dallas County physicians, we
remain at the forefront of making sure
our healthcare heroes receive the vaccine
protection they deserve. Be safe, and be
well. DMJ
Jon R. Roth, MS, CAE
DCMS EVP/CEO
February 2021 • DALLAS MEDICAL JOURNAL
DCMS Delivers
COVID Vaccines
Jon R. Roth, MS, CAE