Folks began lining up early in the morning, but the mega vaccination effort, which was set to begin around noon, was delayed for nearly three hours.
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Many of your neighbors took advantage of the Nueces County Health District’s COVID-19 vaccination drive thru on Monday. It’s going on this week at the Richard Borchard Fairgrounds.
Folks began lining up early in the morning, but the mega vaccination effort, which was set to begin around noon, was delayed for nearly three hours.
At one point, cars were backed up as far back as Highway 77.
“This is obviously a high demand we are seeing here in Nueces County and regionally,” said Nueces County Judge Barbara Canales.
The event got underway later than expected after a delay in the latest shipment of the Moderna version of the vaccine.
The county came up with a plan B.
They asked HALO Flight which happened to have a helicopter crew in San Antonio to pick up the vaccine there. The team at HALO was more than willing to help, but the county ended up changing their minds.
Instead, Canales said they would wait for the ground shipment of the vaccine and in the meantime, they petitioned the state for an emergency transfer of vaccine from the Amistad Community Health Clinic.
They received 200 doses which were administered in the first 15 minutes.
The expected shipment of 4,000 doses arrived shortly after and staff started giving those out.
“This operation here is one of a kind in the country. Nobody is aware of anyone who can vaccinate as quickly as we can here today,” said Corpus Christi City Manager Peter Zanoni.
Among those who received the vaccine were folks not only from Nueces but also surrounding counties who qualify. People who are part of phase 1A and 1B.
For people who couldn’t pre-register online, many others did so in-person.
“If you can’t register at home, we have staff here. As they drive here, they check them in, and drive forward and get the vaccine,” said Zanoni.
The line so long, officials ended up having to cut off new vehicles from showing up just after 4 pm.
Zanoni said they had planned to administer 500 doses of the vaccine. At the end of the night, the number more than tripled to 1,645.
Registration has been filled for people who pre-registered to receive the Moderna COVID-19 vaccinations on Tuesday, January 12, the city announced Monday evening.
A vaccination drive-thru for Wednesday, Jan. 13, is questionable at this time. City leaders said distribution of the vaccine has been happening faster than anticipated.
Tomorrow’s drive-thru will open at 8 a.m.
4,000 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Corpus Christi about an hour late, health officials said. The vaccines were expected to be ready to give to those who registered at noon, but that time was pushed back.
Nueces County Judge Barbara Canales said that comfort stations were set up for those who have been waiting since before sunrise.
The shipment came from San Antonio.
A mega vaccination clinic took place at the Richard Borchard Fairgrounds for groups Phase 1A and Phase 1B.
A registration website opened yesterday to fill 250 appointment slots for the clinic today. Those slots filled up very quickly, but you can still go and register on-site at the Richard Borchard Fairgrounds at 1213 Terry Shamsie Blvd. in Robstown.
- If you are unable to register, that means the registration quota has been filled.
- Onsite registration is available at Richard M. Borchard Regional Fairgrounds, 1213 Terry Shamsie Boulevard in Robstown, Texas.
- Nueces County is expected to receive more vaccines next week and every week thereafter for months to come, so you will have many more opportunities to register.
For more information, contact the Health District’s Coronavirus Hotline at 361-826-7200, option 2.
The clinic is open to all surrounding counties.
For the latest updates on coronavirus in the Coastal Bend, click here.
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