SAN BENITO — Cameron County’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution network is expanding.

This week, the cities of San Benito, Port Isabel, La Feria, Santa Rosa and Combes will hold vaccination clinics targeting people 65 and older.

For weeks, city leaders had pushed state and county officials for vaccine doses to allow them to hold their own hometown vaccination clinics.

Since last month, county officials began setting aside doses, allowing area cities to open smaller vaccination clinics aimed at cutting waiting periods and travel for people in the 65 and older age group.

“The whole point in doing this with the municipalities is to decentralize the vaccination process,” said Jared Hockoma, the city manager for Port Isabel and Santa Rosa who is also working with Combes officials.

For Port Isabel and Santa Rosa, the clinics mark their second in about two weeks.

“Obviously, we have fewer people in smaller spaces,” Hockema said. “It’s more manageable groups of people. Obviously, it reduces traffic and waiting time.”

‘Geographic equity’

Across the Laguna Madre area, people have been pre-registering for the Port Isabel clinic, setting up their vaccination appointments.

“You register and then you get called to pick up your voucher that gives you your time slot,” Hockema said.

In Port Isabel, Friday’s clinic, which aims at offering “geographic equity” to area residents, has set aside 125 doses of the Moderna vaccine for Port Isabel residents, 57 for South Padre Island residents, 63 for Laguna Vista residents, 32 for Laguna Heights residents and 23 for residents in surrounding unincorporated areas.

In Combes, officials are pre-registering people through 10 a.m. Friday for the community’s first clinic which will administer 200 doses beginning at 8 a.m. Saturday, City Secretary Aida Gutierrez said.

San Benito aims to cut wait time

In San Benito, the clinic which will administer 500 doses of the Moderna vaccine opens at 7 a.m. Friday at the Cameron County Fairgrounds.

For San Benito, the clinic will mark the city’s second in three weeks.

“I feel great. It’s for all the older people in San Benito and the Valley,” Mayor Rick Guerra said. “We’ve been working in conjunction with the county judge and the county.”

Last month, the city’s clinic sparked long lines of cars, with many people waiting hours to receive their vaccinations.

“This time, the city ran a phone bank aimed at pre-registering people while setting up their vaccination appointments aimed at cutting waiting periods.

“I was trying to help out to alleviate some of the traffic,” Guerra said. “There’s no way people can stay all night in their vehicles. A lot of them have medical problems. ‘How do you sleep? In the back seat.’ It’s torture for them.”

La Feria’s ‘trial run’

In La Feria, officials plan to administer 250 doses during their clinic Saturday, Mayor Olga Maldonado said, adding the clinic’s opening time hasn’t been set.

“It’s a trial run,” she said.

“We’re hoping it runs smoothly so we can do it again because the state is opening and we want to get as many people vaccinated as we can,” she said, referring to Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to quash his order mandating facial coverings effective next Wednesday.


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