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UP ZIP CODE HITS ‘HERD IMMUNITY,’ BUT WHAT ABOUT DALLAS COUNTY?
Demographics such as age, education, employment influence vaccination rates
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By Rachel Snyder
rachel.snyder@peoplenewspapers.com
While “herd immunity” remains elusive in the U.S. and North Texas as a whole, 12 Dallas County ZIP codes have reached the 80% threshold, including 75225 in University Park.
“The parts of town that have higher rates of college-educated graduates, they are parts of town that have higher vaccination rates to date,” said Dr. George “Holt” Oliver of the Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation (PCCI).
PCCI reports that more than 35% of the county were vaccinated, including more than 73% of residents over 65 years old, heading into May.
The World Health Organization defines herd immunity as “the indirect protection from an infectious disease that happens when a population is immune either through vaccination or immunity developed through previous infection.”
According to PCCI, Dallas County was about 64% of the way toward the 80% target heading into May. Still, a slowing vaccination rate may delay reaching herd immunity countywide until late June or July, instead of mid-June as once projected.
Herd immunity calculations are based on rates of vaccinations and recoveries from the virus.
(PHOTO: UNSPLASH)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended the expanded use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for those 12 and older on May 12. However, it remained unclear how that might affect the herd immunity forecast.
PCCI reports that more than 35% of the county has been vaccinated, including more than 73% of residents over 65 years old.
But Oliver, vice president of clinical informatics at PCCI, said the vaccination rate remains “much lower” in the young adult population both in North Texas and nationwide.
“Young adults maybe just don’t feel they have as much skin in the game,” he said. “They don’t feel as at risk if they catch the virus in the wild, and so they’re not rushing out to get the vaccine even if they may not necessarily oppose it.”
PCCI added that ZIP codes with higher static vulnerability (or long-term risks that do not change quickly, such as age, medical comorbidities, and social/economic factors) were slower at vaccine uptake. A potential reason for this is social determinants of health – people who live in these ZIP codes may be in jobs that are not conducive to taking time off from work and traveling to vaccine sites.
What Happens After HPISD’s School Board Election?
By Rachel Snyder
rachel.snyder@peoplenewspapers.com
After a hotly-contested Highland Park ISD Place 1 trustee race, one thing everyone seems to agree on is that the election raised important issues.
Doug Woodward replaced board president Jim Hitzelberger after winning 58% of ballots (4,845 votes) to Kelli Macatee’s 42% (3,509). About 10% of registered voters cast ballots in the May 1 elections.
“It was certainly a difficult path,” Woodward acknowledged of the election, which generated national headlines about fliers from political action committees with negative messaging supporting his opponent. “We’ve got to find a way to figure out what are the valid (concerns) we need to address.”
Woodward added that he believes the fliers led to an increase in support for him. He received 50% or more of the vote in each precinct.
“The fliers were offensive not only to the vast majority in our community but also to many beyond our town borders as well,” a post on his campaign Facebook page reads. “When the story of the opposition’s fliers hit Dallas radio and national news, I received numerous donations from individuals outside our community – people that I have never met nor spoken to.”
Though losing at the ballot boxes, Macatee sees a victory in drawing attention to issues.
“We raised awareness and asked many, many important questions worth asking,” she said. “Incredibly gifted people came together who are hungry for that which is good and right and just. We have only just begun our efforts to engage locally.
“I wish my opponent all the best as he moves forward in this important role,” she added.
Eric Swanson, who supported Macatee, said he expects the increased interest in school board elections and scrutiny of board members seen this year to continue.
“I expect that scrutiny of and interest in both current board members and future candidates will increase substantially — the days of the board member who rubber-stamps the decisions of district employees with little public scrutiny are gone forever,” Swanson said. “Ultimately, this should serve our children well and hopefully cause board members to remember better that they represent the community that elected them. Going forward, I hope that I hear more responsive conversation about and see direct action on constituent demands. I will certainly be demanding it.”
This year’s race also likely raised the most of any previous HPISD trustee election. Macatee received
A total of 8,354 votes were cast in the Highland Park ISD Place 1 race to
replace board president Jim Hitzelberger. (PHOTO: RACHEL SNYDER)
$90,726.70 in total political contributions between March 23 and April 21, the largest of which was a $25,000 contribution from Harlan R. Crow. Woodward received $25,067.07 in contributions between March 31 and April 23, the largest of which were five separate contributions of $970.70 each.
Woodward donated nearly $17,282 in leftover campaign funds to the Park Cities Learning Differences Association, his final campaign finance report shows.
Macatee hadn’t filed a final campaign finance report by press time but said she planned to take time to decide what to do with her excess campaign funds.
