EL PASO, Texas – El Paso was selected by the state of Texas to be a megavaccine site, city health officials said.
The city will receive 5,000 additional vaccines from Covid-19 next week and the county will receive another 5,000.
While 10,000 doses are en route to Borderland, demand remains much greater than supply, as more than 80,000 El Pasoans have registered for the Covid-19 vaccine.
“It depends on the supply and as vaccines arrive, we will focus on those that are already pre-registered. When pre-registering, they need to understand that we are focusing on classifications 1A and 1B, ”said fire chief Mario D’Agostino.
The vaccines will be used by rescuers and health professionals considered essential. They will also be used for people aged 65 and over and people aged 16 and over with at least a chronic medical condition.
Vaccination efforts continue for people who received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. City officials in El Paso told ABC-7 that booster doses are scheduled to be administered.
“We don’t reach 100% of individuals, but we are calling them. We started calling them yesterday to make an appointment for the second dose. This is happening as we speak, ”said Director of Public Health Angela Mora.
The city will take the same approach to the vaccination effort it did when it came to Covid-19 tests. They will not ask questions about legal status, so as not to dissuade anyone from getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
“If you have someone without documents and belonging to one of the priority groups, they will receive immunization and will be free of charge. They will be afraid just as they were afraid to get tested and thought we were going to disclose any information about them, which we don’t have, ”said city / county health authority, Dr. Hector Ocaranza.