Mayor Johnson proclaims 'COVID-19 Victims and Survivors Memorial Day' as vaccinations continue
DALLAS — Mayor Eric Johnson has proclaimed Monday "COVID-19 Victims and Survivors Memorial Day" in the city.
Across the country, 152 mayors in 36 states are supporting the proclamation, which was sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Mayors and Marked by COVID. Mayor Johnson, through Downtown Dallas, Inc., also asked downtown property owners to turn their exterior LED lights amber, as they did on Jan. 19 to honor those who have died of COVID-19. (The mayor does not have control over the downtown buildings' lighting decisions, but has made requests from time to time).
March 2020 was the month that the COVID-19 pandemic officially spread to Dallas. Mayor Johnson on March 11, 2020, announced the cancellation of the 2020 St. Patrick's Day Parade. And on March 12, 2021, Mayor Johnson declared a local state of disaster after evidence of community spread had emerged in Dallas County.
As of Monday, more than 513,000 people had died of COVID-19 across the country, according to the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine. Nearly 3,000 of those deaths have been in Dallas County.
"We have had more Americans die of this virus in a year than the number of American soldiers who died in combat during all of World War II," Mayor Johnson said. "We should take today to look back at what this country and this city have lost since last March, and we must commit ourselves to doing what it takes to end the COVID-19 pandemic's carnage."
Vaccines
To help end the pandemic, Mayor Johnson has strongly encouraged people to get vaccinated without hesitation when they're eligible.
The City of Dallas is continuing its COVID-19 vaccine distributions this week. In addition to inoculations by FEMA, Dallas County, and private health providers, the City has given out more than 20,000 COVID-19 vaccines. Click here to see the City's vaccine data dashboard.
On Thursday, the City will begin to administer this week's allocation of 3,000 first doses of the Moderna vaccine at The Potter's House in southern Dallas.
"I want to thank The Potter's House, a southern Dallas institution, for providing us with space to continue our efforts to vaccinate as many people as we can, as quickly as we can," Mayor Johnson said. "We also must continue to strive for as much equity as possible and encourage people to get the vaccine when it's their turn."
Mayor Johnson and The Potter's House have teamed up on other initiatives in the past.
“Service to the community has long been a hallmark of our work here at The Potter’s House,” said Frank Dyer, chief operating officer of T.D. Jakes Ministries. “We’ve been particularly active in serving the community since the onset of the pandemic, including through our food pantry and free virtual STEAM summer camps. The novel coronavirus has killed many of our members and devastated many African-American communities. The use of our facility to distribute the vaccination is yet another contribution by The Potter’s House to help combat the pandemic.”
Second-dose distributions will continue at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center and Methodist Dallas Medical Center in Oak Cliff.
All doses will continue to be distributed on an invitation-only, appointment-only basis. Only people who are registered on Dallas County’s wait list or who previously received their first dose from the city’s allotment will be invited, and people are asked to not show up at any city vaccine distribution site unless they have a direct invitation.
To register for the wait list, visit DallasCountyCovid.org or call 1–855-IMMUNE9 (855–466–8639) between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., seven days a week.
For more information on COVID-19 and the City's vaccination efforts, visit dallascityhall.com/coronavirus.
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