The city of McAllen will be hosting a free COVID-19 vaccine clinic next week in partnership with Hidalgo County Health and Human Services.
People of various age groups, including children and adolescents will be eligible to receive a COVID vaccine dose manufactured by Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech during the vaccine clinic, which will be held Thursday, July 14 at the McAllen Convention Center.
Vaccine doses will be administered on a first come, first served basis from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. to anyone eligible.
Pediatric and adult vaccines will be available for those at least 6 months old or older.
First booster shots of the Pfizer vaccine are authorized for adults and children as young as 5 years old and are recommended to be taken at least 5 months after the final dose in the primary series, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
For the Moderna vaccine, first booster shots are available only for adults 18 years or older and at least 5 months after the final dose in the primary series.
A second booster of the Pfizer vaccine is currently only authorized for adults 50 years or older or for people 12 years and older who are immunocompromised, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Those who are eligible for the second booster can take it at least four months after their first booster.
For a second booster of the Moderna vaccine, people 50 years or older or those who are at least 18 years old or older and immunocompromised are eligible to receive it. The second Moderna booster is also to be taken at least four months since the first booster.
In Hidalgo County, nearly 83% of the population 6 months or older has been fully vaccinated, according to data reported to the Texas Department of State Health Services, or DSHS.
For the McAllen clinic next week, no pre-registration, identification or appointments are required. Registration will be done on-site and parents must accompany their children who are minors to complete the registration forms.
The convention center is located at 700 Convention Center Blvd. in McAllen.
