PLEASANTON – During the second week of the vaccine rollout in Texas, shipments are headed to pharmacies in smaller communities throughout the San Antonio area.
That includes Atascosa County, which is getting 1,200 doses for four facilities.
The H-E-B Pharmacy 19 on McDonald St in Lytle will get 100 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. H-E-B Pharmacy on W. Oaklawn Road in Pleasanton will also get 100 doses. Kings Medicine, on N. Bryant Street in Pleasanton will get 500 doses of the vaccine.
And 500 doses of Moderna’s vaccine were allotted for Quality Urgent Care in Pleasanton. The vaccines haven’t even arrived at the family-owned clinic yet, but medical director Dr. Nimesh Patel is already feeling the excitement, and a weight lifted of his team’s shoulders.
“We just feel it’s an honor to be there for the community and our country really,” Patel said.
Patel is looking forward to first immunizing the health care workers and support staff at his clinic and throughout the area who sacrificed so much during the pandemic.
“We’ve been here from the front desk to the nursing staff, to the providers, even to the janitorial services.” Patel said, adding he’s also hoping to administer vaccines to the general public when they’re rolled out in coming months.
Pleasanton native Rebecca Casanova has felt COVID-19′s devastating impact.
“I lost a dear friend of mine from my church community. It was a terrible loss. My immediate family members right now have it,” Casanova said.
But the mother, who says her beliefs are rooted in religious faith, has reservations about taking the vaccine.
“I am apprehensive of what’s in the vaccine,” Casanova said.
While Patel understands concerns around the quickly manufactured-and-released immunizations, he is hoping that when the vaccine is rolled out to the general public, folks in this close-knit community will roll up their sleeves.
“We really feel that this is the next phase in the pandemic. This is, I think, our way of hoping things get back to more of a normal environment for us,” Patel said.
Patel said he’s expecting his first shipment sometime this week or early next week.