Uh-Oh: Dallas, Tarrant Counties Are Worlds Apart In Herd Immunity

DALLAS, TX —Local officials set off PR fireworks earlier this week in announcing that Dallas County has officially reached herd immunity from COVID-19. That threshold is the lowest rung on the immunity ladder, at 70 percent of the population having received at least one dose of the Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines now widely available.

There's a problem with that. The announcement by the Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation (PCCI) said Dallas had reached 80 percent immunity, but the numbers are fudged by including people who have contracted the coronavirus and recovered, which provides a natural immunity. Unfortunately, no one knows how long such immunity lasts, and many have contracted the virus again after recovering from a first infection.

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In reality, less than half of Dallas County (46.6 percent) has actually been immunized against COVID-19, and Parkland officials more than doubled that number by including the 48.7 percent of residents who caught the virus and recovered.

Making matters worse is the startling statistic that just a few miles away, the locals of Tarrant County are trying to figure out why some areas of Fort Worth have less than 10 percent of their populations vaccinated. In one zip code, less than 7 percent had received any of the three options for immunization.

According to a recent poll, the leading cause of vaccine hesitancy among Texans is due to fear of side effects, with others adopting a "wait-and-see" position and some saying they still don't have enough information.

And, for those interested in seeing what happens when an unmovable object meets an irresistible force, get ready: The CDC has issued guidelines suggesting that neither teachers nor students need to wear masks during indoor school sessions this fall.

With some areas as low as 10 percent vaccinated and the highest rate of immunity still 30 percent below the lowest threshold of 70, and the "COVID on Steroids" delta variant becoming dominant in North Texas, it's shaping up to be an unpredictable fall.

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