“This is a test for us,” Weslaco Fire Chief Antonio Lopez said Thursday morning as a line of cars snaked smoothly through the Bobby Lackey Stadium parking lot during Hidalgo County’s first drive-thru vaccination event.
“So far, we’re scoring pretty good,” he added.
Overnight wait times, jammed registration websites, traffic-congested streets, and long walking distances have frustrated residents attempting to register and receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Hidalgo County. Public officials saw Thursday’s drive-thru event as an attempt to iron out some of those wrinkles using a plan hatched during the Ebola scare of 2016.
A thousand people pre-registered the day before. This helped prevent long waiting periods seen in the first vaccination event on Jan. 8, when many older and medically vulnerable adults slept in their cars to save their spot in line.
Three groups of about 330 scheduled to show up at the stadium during specific time slots drove into the southern part of the parking lot. Fifty nurses stationed under tents injected braceleted arms.
Drivers then streamed into the northern part of the parking lot where they parked for 15 minutes to wait for any side effects to develop as 10 paramedics, Weslaco Fire Department’s ambulance bus, or AMBUS, and another ambulance stood by.
Healthcare workers, people age 65 and older or those who are 18 and older with chronic medical conditions were eligible to receive the vaccine.
To address the demographic’s specific needs the event was designed as a drive-thru.
“It allows people who have disability issues,” Hidalgo County Precinct 1 Commissioner David Fuentes said, speaking of residents who, for instance, may use wheelchairs to benefit from the layout. “The drive-thru component makes it much more accessible.”
“A lot of times in disasters you have to zig-zag to get to point B,” Chief Lopez said. The unused medical counter-measures plan was dusted off when COVID-19 breached borders at a pace like the Ebola virus was expected but failed to do.
The plan was drafted in coordination with the Strategic National Stockpile to prepare for smaller events like hurricanes which require an infrastructure to move equipment, vaccines, or medical supplies quickly and effectively to affected areas.
Two years ago, the county entered into an interlocal agreement with the school district. When the pandemic set in, the plan to move and distribute vaccines was mostly formed.
“We tested it in 2016,” Chief Lopez said, referring to the drive-thru plan.
Emergency management divisions are sharing this plan and others among each other, tailoring it as necessary.
“We had to come up with something that fit our demographic,” Lopez said.
More vaccination clinics are necessary and will likely be scheduled into the summer, officials said during the news conference. Thursday’s event will help shape them.
“I learned something at 6 this morning when I got here and I’m probably going to learn something when I walk back,” Lopez said, admitting that weather can greatly affect outdoor vaccination events.
As a fine mist and fog continued to cover the cars in the horizon, Lopez considered the efficiency of the rollout. “By seeing where the 1,000 takes us,” he said referring to the vaccine allocation the county received for the event, “what time of the day, then we can see how many more we can add.”
It took six hours for 1,000 people to receive the vaccine. Lopez is hoping the state takes note of their efficiency.
“We’ve shown that we can push it out,” he said.
In a time where the state is considering infrastructure and need before sending out vaccines with a short shelf-life, events like Thursday’s could send a positive message.
“We have a good team, not just in the city of Weslaco, not just for this drive,” López said. “We have a good team in the whole Rio Grande Valley. Please look at us to give us more.”
