Cameron County officials on Wednesday announced publicly that they will once again hand out COVID-19 vaccine vouchers to individuals living in their precincts for a Friday drive-thru vaccination clinic.
The vouchers will be distributed beginning at 8 a.m. at some county precinct warehouses and cities.
The drive-thru vaccination clinic will take place at the Los Fresnos Fire Department located at 100 Rodeo Drive in Los Fresnos.
Although they handed out roughly 3,000 vouchers at their precincts last week for vaccine distributions that took place also at the Los Fresnos Fire Department, there was no public announcement or nothing posted on the county’s social media pages that mentioned the vouchers were available at the county warehouses or that commissioners had the vouchers.
Last week, each Cameron County commissioner received 750 vaccine vouchers to distribute in the community wherever they would see fit for eligible recipients.
They got the word out by word of mouth to individuals living in their precincts that the vouchers were available to them.
County Judge Eddie Treviño Jr. said in an interview on Wednesday that they are still looking for ways to make the vaccination process more efficient.
“We are looking for different ways to try to make the system better and more efficient,” he said. “Some of the concerns that we’ve been made aware of, and we’ve seen, it’s that we don’t want our elderly, we don’t want anybody, but especially our elderly, waiting for hours and hours before they get to the clinic.”
Treviño said by handing the commissioners vouchers to distribute in their precincts, it gives those eligible in the county an opportunity to get that voucher instead of just focusing on one area. When asked if they will use the same voucher distribution process for the upcoming clinic, Treviño said they are still finalizing the details on how they will address the distribution.
“The commissioners wanted to also try to spread the voucher on a county-wide basis and give everybody in the county an opportunity to try and get that particular voucher,” he said.
Treviño said the actual running of the clinic has worked smoothly and those who have been there have given positive and supportive feedback, but the only concern has been the waiting period, especially for the elderly.
“The concerns have been because of the waiting period, so we are trying to figure out different ways so that we can avoid as much of the waiting period as possible,” he said.
Precinct 2 Commissioner Joey Lopez distributed his vouchers at several local churches in his precinct and said he had 24 hours to distribute them.
“This last time, last week, he gave them to us and we had 24 hours to get rid of 750 vouchers. So, I picked the churches in my area and I gave them the instructions of what they had to do,” Lopez said.
“They had to be over 65 years and they had to write the name of the person in the voucher and the date of birth before they gave it to the individual.”
When asked if this process will continue to be used for future vaccination clinics in the county, Lopez said it depends on Treviño.
“The judge is the one who makes the call. If we have enough staff to hand them out at the actual place or if it’s smoother with us giving them out,” he said.
Commissioner Sofia Benavides said she distributed hers at the Precinct 1 Public Warehouse because it is a place where she usually distributes other needed items for the elderly such as food. She said if she receives vouchers again she will distribute them there, too.
“When I’ve gotten food for 65 years and older they go there and we process them there,” she said. “They already know how to get there.”
Benavides said for the vouchers those who received it had to show their ID and be 65 years or older. She said there were people who left the warehouse upset because they did not meet the qualifications to receive a voucher for the vaccine.
“One lady was kind of upset because she was in line since the night before and she was not 65 and so, you know, she got kind of upset,” she said. “I mean, it is first come first served but she did not qualify and then she got mad at us.”
The commissioner said she does not know if she’ll receive more vouchers soon but if she does, she will give them all out at the warehouse.
“If I get more vouchers people know that they can go there and we’ll have them there,” she said. “They run out and I can’t guarantee every single person will get one but I’ll give them out.”
Commissioner David Garza said he distributed the vouchers given to him right outside of San Benito and will also distribute some of the ones he gets next time there and at other communities.
“I will be distributing some to Port Isabel, Laguna Vista, Rio Hondo, Indian Lake, Bayview and Los Fresnos,” he said. “Since the precinct is so big and so large, I need to make sure that some of the folks over there [get them].”
“We are just looking forward to getting them out and getting people vaccinated,” he said.
“Our focus for this Friday, and for one of the clinics last week, was for our individuals that are 65 and older,” he said.
“They are most at risk and that’s why we are kind of putting more attention as far as they go. Obviously, for many of these elderly it is very, very difficult for them to be in their car for hours and hours, so we keep trying to come up with different ways so that we can help them get the vaccine while at the same time minimizing the wait time.”
Health Director Esmeralda Guajardo and Commissioner Gus Ruiz were not available for comment Tuesday or Wednesday.
