The City of Harlingen hosted a wristband pick up for local county residents 65 years or older yesterday at the Harlingen Convention Center for today’s vaccination clinic. (Maricela Rodriguez/Valley Morning Star)

HARLINGEN — Hundreds lined up at the Harlingen Convention Center on Thursday to register for the city’s second COVID-19 community vaccination clinic targeting people 65 and older.

Today, health officials are planning to administer 1,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine under the convention center’s sprawling covered entryway, which will turn into a two-lane drive-thru vaccination station.

As part of the registration program Thursday, people picked up wristbands carrying identification information they’ll show today to receive the vaccine.

The wristbands will also assign them to two groups as part of a plan to cut waiting time.

While the first group is set to receive their vaccinations between 6 a.m. and 11 a.m., nurses will administer the vaccine to the second group from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Targeting vulnerable age group

As part of the state’s vaccination program, health officials will be targeting people 65 and older, an age group which has marked high rates of COVID-19-related deaths.

“Right now, we’re still focusing on 65 and over,” Josh Ramirez, the city’s public health director, said Thursday. “Most of the county’s COVID death records show people 65 and over so we want to offer protection to the group.”

The City of Harlingen hosted a wristband pick up for local county residents 65 years or older yesterday at the Harlingen Convention Center for today’s vaccination clinic. (Maricela Rodriguez/Valley Morning Star)

Convention center layout streamlines traffic flow

For the second time, officials picked the convention center as the site for their vaccination clinic.

With its series of parking lots and surrounding roadways, officials streamlined traffic flow during their first vaccination clinic Feb. 12.

“It worked out very well,” Ramirez said. “The flow of traffic was consistent. Citizens told us they were very happy with the quick flow of traffic.”

Under the convention center’s wide entryway, a team of six nurses ran a two-lane vaccination station, administering the vaccine to people sitting in six cars at a time.

The City of Harlingen hosted a wristband pick up for local county residents 65 years or older yesterday at the Harlingen Convention Center for today’s vaccination clinic. (Maricela Rodriguez/Valley Morning Star)

More hometown clinics

Like city officials across much of Cameron County, Harlingen leaders had been requesting county and state officials set aside vaccine doses to allow the city to hold its first vaccination clinic Feb. 12.

The smaller hometown clinics, they argued, would help cut waiting time and travel for people in the 65-and-older age group.

In response, county officials began earmarking part of their weekly state shipments of 6,000 doses to help area cities hold their own clinics.

Now, city officials are counting on holding vaccination clinics about twice a month, Ramirez said.


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