Saturday’s drive-thru Moderna vaccine booster clinic proved a waiting game for Cameron County Public Health staff at Los Fresnos Volunteer Fire Department.
While the staff of 75 were ready to help up to 2,000 Cameron County residents get their Moderna booster shot, attendance came in small stops and starts. By 9 a.m., the clinic’s original set-up of 10 stations was condensed to four as initial demand stayed low.
However, for Margie Smith, a nurse practitioner with the department, low attendance isn’t necessarily a bad omen but merely a sign of the first stirrings toward the next phase of vaccination.
It was only just on Oct. 21 that the CDC officially added all three vaccines to their booster shot recommendations for specific sections of at-risk populations who received the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
“Today isn’t as busy, but now that people know that they need to get their boosters — people are going to start showing up,” Smith said.
The current booster recommendation is targeted at individuals who have received the vaccine 18 years and older with underlying conditions and those who live in long-term care settings or are in a high-risk setting, such as occupations in the medical or long-term care professions. It is also recommended for those who are 65 and older.
As of Oct. 28, Cameron County Public Health has reported that in the county 82.88% of the population 12 years and older are fully vaccinated and 95.74% have at least received one dose. Among seniors 65 and older, 86.86% are fully vaccinated and 94.87% have received at least one dose.
Recipients who have already gotten two vaccine doses may be wondering, why is a booster necessary?
According to Smith, the CDC’s research has shown that after six months immunity with the COVID-19 vaccine-produced antibodies decreases, so in order to maintain protection against new variants, a booster is needed to keep up your body’s immunity.
However, the booster isn’t to be confused with the third vaccine dose currently recommended for the immunocompromised. For example, the Moderna booster is a half dose of the vaccine taken six months following the second dose, whereas the immunocompromised’s third dose is a full-size dose 28 days following their second dose.
Moderna was widely used in the previous mass vaccine clinics by the Cameron County Public Health, and since it received its booster recommendation later than Pfizer, it made sense to Esmeralda Guajardo, the county’s health administrator, to use it for this event as those that were wanting a Pfizer booster had probably already sought it out before the clinic.
“Ultimately the goal here is to alleviate the workload on doctor’s offices being bombarded by people who want the vaccine, who are generally healthy for the most part, so they can tend to the people who are really truly sick,” she said.
“We have a responsibility in Public Health and that is to make sure that the public is protected and if the vaccine is the way to do it, then we are going to provide it.”
The next vaccine booster clinic was scheduled for Sunday from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. at La Pulga in Brownsville. However, residents not able to attend can also visit the San Benito Public Health Clinic, Harlingen Public Heath Clinic and Mary P. Lucio Health Clinic Monday through Friday starting at 8 a.m. or the Father Joseph O’ Brien Health Clinic on Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. to receive their booster.
For more information, you can call Cameron County Public Health at (956) 247-3650.
