A parking lot at The Potter's House Church in Dallas will be used as a COVID-19 vaccination site starting this week, the church confirmed Sunday.
"Helping the city with this as we’ve done with other initiatives in the past is part of how we continue to meet the needs of the communities we’re in," a church spokesperson said via email.
The megachurch, located at 6777 W. Kiest Blvd at the southwest part of the city, will be the replacement for the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, as first reported by NBC 5's media partner The Dallas Morning News.
The Potters House Church is no stranger to stepping in when needed. Frank Dyer, Chief Operating Officer for The Potter’s House, said this next move simply makes sense.
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“We’ve done everything from food distribution to PPE distribution, to feeding first responders,” said Dyer. “We have a motto within our organization. It’s not what we say, it’s what we do.”
Dyer said the partnership was born of an already strong relationship with the city, as well as the church’s ability to host upwards of 7,000 people on any given day. Beyond just being a logistics move, Dyer said it’s a faith move.
“It is our overflow parking lot. It is available right now since we are virtual, so it just makes sense to step up and do what we have to do as an organization,” said Dyer. “You’ve got to understand that faith and science traditionally have to come together in this case to solve an issue that’s impacting the world.”
NBC 5 reached out to the city for more details, but no one was available on Sunday.
According to The Dallas Morning News, the city's emergency management director, Rocky Vaz, said the new location would help ease congestion downtown and allow firefighters, who are currently administering shots, to return to their normal duties.
Vaz added that the city is in the process of hiring an outside vendor to take over the vaccination process.
For now, people who received notifications from the city of Dallas to arrive at the convention center for their second dose, will continue to do so through Tuesday.
