SAN ANTONIO – Precinct 1 Bexar County Commissioner Rebecca Clay-Flores spent Cinco De Mayo and her own birthday trying to set an example for vaccination.
At University Health’s Zarzamora clinic, Clay-Flores got her Johnson & Johnson vaccination on Wednesday morning. Following the occasion up with decorations, tamales and mariachi music, Clay-Flores hopes to help decrease hesitancy around getting vaccinated.
“And that’s one reason why I did it publicly, specifically with Johnson & Johnson, to let people know that it’s time to get vaccinated,” Clay-Flores said, “If you haven’t done so yet, then we need to get our community back to work. We need to be able to hug our loved ones again and travel.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had briefly recommended a pause in the use of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine in response to reports of rare occurrences of blood clots.
The agencies have since lifted that recommendation.
As vaccine supply has increased in San Antonio and elsewhere—to the point that some providers now allow walk-in patients—officials have also seen a slowdown in people seeking them out.
Mayor Ron Nirenberg reported during Monday night’s briefing that 58% of Bexar County had received at least one dose of vaccine and 40% were fully vaccinated.