Disclaimer :: This content was paid for by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Fort Worth Moms and City Mom Collective partnered with HHS to provide local parents a guide to vaccination sites in North Texas.
If you are looking for a COVID-19 vaccine for you and/or your child, this resource will make securing an appointment a whole lot easier!
Also, if you are interested in learning more about the pediatric COVID vaccine, be sure to read the article, “How We Are Doing Our Part to Keep Our Family Safe During the Pandemic.” Thanks to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) — for its help in providing up-to-date information. Its We Can Do This campaign is a national initiative to provide public health messaging so that the public — that’s you — can make informed decisions.
Where to Find a Vaccine
It goes without saying, but we are saying it any way: Check with your doctor. First and foremost, check with your doctor or child’s doctor. Some offices, especially pediatric offices, are providing the COVID vaccines. However, if you are in the same situation as me and cannot get a vaccine from your personal physician, Tarrant County has LOTS of options.
- Visit vaccine.gov to find locations that carry COVID-19 vaccines. What I like about this website is the ease of use. You enter your ZIP code and can set a search radius as small as five miles or up to 100 miles. You can also select which vaccine brand you are interested in, the age range needed, and only allow the search to show locations that have appointments available. The search provides a thorough list of locations, addresses, and contact information. You simply visit your preferred location’s website and/or call for an appointment.
- Tarrant County Public Health hosts multiple vaccination clinics throughout the county. Visit the COVID-19 Vaccination Finder to determine what sites — both drive-thru and walk-in — are open on your available date. Many of these sites do not require an appointment.
- If internet access is a concern to find a vaccine near you, call 1-800-232-0233. Call the Texas Vaccine Support Center at 833-832-7067. You can also check with the Tarrant County Public Health COVID-19 Hotline at 817-248-6299.
- You can even TEXT! How easy is that? To receive info about nearby available vaccination locations, simply text your ZIP code to 438829 (GETVAX) in English or 822862 (VACUNA) in Spanish.
- Most retail pharmacies have the COVID-19 vaccine for all ages. (In fact, this was where my kiddos received both their doses.) National brands, like Walgreens, CVS, Kroger, Walmart, etc., administer the COVID vaccine in their pharmacies. However, several local pharmacies also now carry these in stock. For example, Compass Pharmacy, Daniel Drug, Northstar Pharmacy, Perrone Pharmacy, Tower Medic (to name a few) all provide COVID vaccines. You can find a complete listing of participating local pharmacies at vaccines.gov.
- In addition to the vaccination sites, you can also simply visit your local public health center, like Southeast Public Health Center in Arlington.
- Texas Center for Infectious Disease Associates, while this may not be your personal doctor, its clinic does offer COVID-19 vaccines for the general public.
- The Colleyville fire department has COVID vaccines for Colleyville residents. However, they are not giving boosters at the time of publication. You do need an appointment.
- Yes, I know these qualify as retail pharmacies, but I’m included them in their own separate line because it never occurred to me to think about Sam’s Club and Costco. Grab a pizza for dinner and get your vaccine. Win.
- The City of Fort Worth also has a vaccination clinic running Monday through Friday at the Bob Bolen Safety Complex. Pre-registration is suggested.
What to Expect
Vaccines against COVID-19 are free of charge, whether you have health insurance or not. You may be asked to provide medical insurance, but you will not be charged any co-pay or fee.
For many of these locations especially the larger county-run sites, it is important that you have identification for both you and your child. If you have a vaccination card, bring it with you as well to every vaccination appointment.
When you arrive, there is often a check-in and registration process. For the actual administration of the dose, they have it down to a science (pun intended). Before you can count to three, it is over!
Be prepared to wait a few minutes after a vaccine. This is out of an abundance of caution in case you’re a delayed fainter (like me) or have any other issues post-vaccination. The wait time is typically around 15 minutes. If you have kiddos, it is a good idea to bring a book or something to occupy the time. In some instances, you may have to wait longer as my daughter did because she has food allergies. (She did perfect with the vaccine, by the way.)
It is important to remember that some of these locations not only provide the COVID vaccine, but they also provide COVID testing. You might consider that when scheduling your appointment, especially during surges of new cases and variants.
