SAN BENITO — After weeks of pushing for vaccine dosages, city officials today are planning to administer about 300 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine during San Benito’s first community vaccination clinic.
The clinic targeting people 65 years and older opens at 6 a.m. at the Cameron County Fairgrounds at 551 Cesar Gonzalez Parkway.
Officials will administer the Moderna vaccine on a first-come, first-served basis.
By about 11 a.m. Monday, motorists were lining up their cars to become among the first to get their vaccine doses today.
At City Hall, officials are requesting people present their government-issued identification cards along with completed registration and consent forms available on the city website.
Pushing for hometown clinics
For weeks, city officials have been pushing Cameron County leaders to allocate vaccine doses to allow the city to hold a clinic in town, Mayor Rick Guerra said.
“We’ve been pushing for this,” he said. “It means a lot. We’ve been trying to get it here for our citizens. We want to see if we can help out our elder people. The citizens won’t have to go out-of-town. There are some who are 80 or 90 years old. This should make it easier for them.”
Monday at City Hall, officials were fielding telephone calls.
“It’s been very busy,” David Favila, the city’s spokesman, said. “People have been calling for information. It’s not just open to San Benito residents. It’s open to anyone 65 and over who qualifies.”
County officials are trying to help the area’s smaller cities hold vaccination clinics in their hometowns.
“Small cities want to have their own clinics,” Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño Jr. said during a press conference Friday. “We’re trying do help them do that.”
County sets second-dose clinics
This week, county health officials plan to hold two vaccination clinics during which they will administer the Moderna vaccine’s second and final dose.
On Wednesday, officials will open a vaccination clinic at 6 a.m. at the Los Fresnos fire department to administer the vaccine to people who received their first dose on Jan. 13 at that site.
Then on Friday, they’ll open a clinic at 6 a.m. at the Brownsville Sports Park to administer the vaccine to people who received their first dose Jan. 15 at that site.
Officials have been planning to administer a total of 4,700 doses at the clinics, Esmeralda Guajardo, administrator of the county’s health department, said after last Friday’s press conference.
Officials are requesting people present their vaccination record cards to receive the vaccine.
Health officials to step up distribution
During the last four weeks, state health officials have shipped the county 6,000 doses a week, up from about 2,000 a week, Melissa Elizardi, the county’s spokeswoman, said.
Now, county officials are counting on the state to boost its distribution.
“Production and distribution is increasing,” Josh Ramirez, Harlingen’s public health director, said. “The state has mentioned they’re going to be increasing the amount of doses. That’s what they heard on the national level. We will be receiving more frequent and larger amounts of vaccine.”
Meanwhile, state health officials are planning to expand the vaccine’s distribution network, Ramirez said.
Within about two weeks, officials plan to begin distributing the vaccine to national pharmacy chain stores, he said.
Last week, Treviño announced the state’s decision to begin distributing the vaccine to authorized doctors’ offices.
Officials have said they plan to begin administering the vaccine to the general population around March or April.
Now, the vaccination program continues to target people 65 and older as well as those suffering underlying medical conditions.
“We’re still focusing on our elderly population — the most vulnerable — and folks with immune compromised (systems) that need the protection,” Ramirez said.
