SAN ANTONIO – Bexar County Precinct 3 Commissioner Trish DeBerry and three San Antonio city council members who represent areas on the North Side are calling on the Metropolitan Health District and the Bexar County Hospital District to co-manage a COVID-19 vaccination site in the northern part of the county.
Within the next week, Texas is expected to receive 200,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, which recently received emergency authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
DeBerry says the shipment gives the city and county an opportunity to create a new vaccination site.
“The Johnson & Johnson FDA approval and shipment creates a unique opportunity for the City and County to work together by expanding vaccine distribution sites,” DeBerry said in a written statement.
District 8, 9 and 10 council members Manny Pelaez, John Courage and Clayton Perry, joined Deberry to request a new vaccination site in north Bexar County.
Pelaez said the site would make it easier to access vaccines.
“Convenience is key to success,” Pelaez said. “By placing another location where constituents live and work, the more likely we are to slow the spread of the virus.”
County officials said more than 200,000 people have received a vaccine through the city site at the Alamodome and the county site at the Wonderland of the Americas mall.
Courage said the current vaccination sites fall short of their goals to vaccinate underserved populations.
“The current vaccination clinics are failing in their intended goal of vaccinating the most underserved populations. The data shows that a higher number of northside residents are being vaccinated at these clinics. Why not make it more convenient for our constituents? We are not saying do away with those clinics, only add more,” Courage said in a written statement.
- The local leaders are proposing the following locations as potential vaccination sites in north Bexar County since they are on easily accessible major roadways:
- Toyota Field on Wurzbach Parkway
- VIA Park and Ride on Highway 281
- Alzafar Temple on Loop 1604
- Fiesta Texas on Interstate 10
“If the plan is to continue mass vaccination clinics in our community, we need a COVID vaccination site north of Loop 410 established now. We have been told that the issue is not about a lack of available locations, but instead it is about a lack of supply. With more vaccines coming online, it is imperative that we provide closer access to vaccines for our vulnerable populations all across the community,” Perry said in a written statement.