One city in Texas found a solution that brought relief to many family members – and has become a model across the state.
“The program emerged as a need to vaccinate our most vulnerable population – elderly people who did not live at home,” Corpus Christi mayor Paulette Guajardo told CNN. “We need to vaccinate as many people as possible and in the fastest way.”
For Jo Ann Garza, vaccinating her 95-year-old mother was a priority – but she struggled to get an appointment.
Garza said he called a doctor’s office and tried to apply online, but was unable to make an appointment for the vaccine. Then his phone rang.
“I usually don’t answer the phone with numbers I don’t know, but I did,” she told CNN on Wednesday. “The lady said: ‘We would like to register your mother and we will send a fireman to her house to vaccinate her'”.
Garza said he breathed a sigh of relief and asked when they could get there.
Mayor Guajardo, with only three weeks in office, said she was inspired by her parents, who are in their 80s. To date, more than 2,000 residents have been vaccinated.
“It is about finding the populations that are most difficult to reach for many reasons,” she said. “I believe that every mayor of the state and the country should vaccinate directly for the elderly and those who live at home”.
At first, the program used the database of Meals on Wheels participants to reach residents and schedule appointments. That’s how Garza said he got the call.
“Many say that our children are our most valuable asset, I believe they are our elderly,” said Corpus Christi fire chief Robert Rocha during a news conference last week. “Those who make up the largest generation in our country who deserve the vaccine to be delivered at home”.
Now, as the list has run out according to the mayor, each week a hotline is opened with a certain number of inquiries for residents who are dead-end. Includes elderly and disabled people.
Firefighters visit the citizen at home and administer the vaccine, as well as the second injection a few weeks later, necessary for the Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.
“They are very nice and friendly,” said Garza of when the firefighters visited his mother. “They sat down with her 15 minutes later to make sure there were no side effects.”
Garza said the program helped to ease his fear of what would happen if his mother contracted the virus.
As for the mother, the first thing she asked for after she was fully vaccinated was to go shopping and get a haircut. “She is very hardworking and has a very strong will and mentality,” said Garza. “She will live to be 100 years old. Now she can have the vaccine.”
A model for the state
The program has been so successful that Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced last week that he will become a model for the state.
“By implementing a similar model across the state, and with support from the Texas National Guard, we will reach out to more elderly people living at home in communities across Texas and provide them with these life-saving vaccines.”
The state mobilized more than 1,100 National Guards to assist efforts and dedicated 8,000 vaccines for the program to distribute.
“The city of Corpus Christi is extremely proud to have a model that has been launched across the state and, I hope, across the country,” said Mayor Guajardo. “We owe a debt of gratitude to Governor Abbott for making this happen. We are always open to help other cities help to implement the program in their communities.”
This week, Abbott announced that, due in part to the program, all elderly people should be vaccinated by the end of March.
CNN’s Nicole Williams contributed to this report.