HARLINGEN — Area leaders Friday marked a milestone in the nearly year-long battle against the coronavirus, the disease that’s contributed to 1,366 Cameron County deaths so far.
During a vaccination clinic targeting those 65 and older or suffering underlying medical conditions, Ana Carrazco and about 2,000 other people waited in long lines of cars for about five hours before becoming some the first county residents to take the second and final COVID-19 vaccine dose.
“I’m relieved,” Carrazco, 45, who suffers hypertension, said at the Casa del Sol community center in Harlingen.
“I don’t have to be so panicky about getting it,” she said, referring to the virus. “I feel more secure.”
‘Milestone’ in battle
During a press conference, Mayor Chris Boswell described the mass vaccinations at the county’s first clinic administering the vaccine’s second and final dose as historic.
“We’re celebrating a milestone,” Boswell said during a press conference held at the vaccination site. “There is light at the end of the tunnel. We have a long way to go.”
Inside the clinic’s observation center, Sylvia de Leon said she’s been staying home since the pandemic’s outbreak last March.
“I’m more relieved, hoping it will prevent me from getting sick,” said de Leon, 53, a retired human resources officer from Brownsville who suffers from diabetes and epilepsy.
“I go to the groceries but other than that I stay at home,” she said. “I’m still going to be cautious and not go out much. I worry about getting the virus and passing it on. I’m worried about getting my loved ones sick.”
Standing outside the clinic’s observation center, Rene Perez, South Texas Emergency Care Foundation’s transport director, said his research shows the Moderna vaccine, which boasts a 94-percent effectiveness rate, offers protection for about a 12- to 18-month period.
“Because this is a new vaccine, I’m not sure we have that answer yet,” Perez, who’s a volunteer at Moderna’s clinical trials in McAllen, said of the protection’s duration. “The time length is something we’re studying.”
More second-dose clinics planned
After the vaccination clinic, health officials had administered the vaccine’s second dose to 4,500 people after giving 21,500 their first dose in this county with a population of about 450,000, Esmeralda Guajardo, administrator of the county’s public heath department, said.
Next week, officials are planning to vaccinate 4,700 people during vaccination clinics planned Wednesday in Los Fresnos and Friday in Brownsville, she said.
“It’s been almost a year that we’ve been dealing with this pandemic,” County Judge Eddie Treviño Jr. said during the press conference. “We have a light at the end of the tunnel but we’re not there and we’ve got a lot of work left to do.”
Super Bowl warning
During the press conference, officials pleaded residents’ avoid Super Bowl parties this weekend.
“We’re headed into Super Bowl Sunday,” Treviño told reporters. “The best advice is to avoid crowds — no gatherings with people outside your household. Let’s not make this Sunday a super-spreader event. Watch the Super Bowl at home.”
Across the county, hospitalizations are dropping after holiday gatherings spiked new COVID-19 cases, pushing hospitals to capacity, Treviño said.
“First it’s the gatherings, then the positive cases, then the hospitalizations then the deaths,” he said.
In the last two weeks, the county’s reported about 3,000 new COVID-19 cases along with 129 deaths, Treviño said.
“That is very, very disconcerting,” he said.
Since the pandemic’s outbreak, the county has reported 35,625 cases along with 1,357 deaths, according to Treviño’s office.
At Valley Baptist Health System, COVID-19 patients make up 25 to 35 percent of hospitalizations, Chief Executive Officer Manny Vela said.
“The number of cases is coming down but we’re still having people in the hospital,” Treviño said.
