Bexar County and San Antonio leaders call for COVID-19 vaccination site on North Side

SAINT ANTHONY – Bexar County District 3 Commissioner Trish DeBerry and three San Antonio City Council members who represent the North Side regions are asking the Metropolitan Health District and Bexar County Hospital District to co-manage a vaccination site against COVID-19 in the northern part of the county.

In the next week, Texas is expected to receive 200,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, which recently received emergency clearance from the United States Food and Drug Administration.

DeBerry says the shipment gives the city and county the opportunity to create a new vaccination site.

“The FDA approval and shipment of Johnson & Johnson creates a unique opportunity for the city and county to work together in 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 in requesting a new vaccination site in northern Bexar County.

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Pelaez said the site will make it easier to access vaccines.

“Convenience is the key to success,” Pelaez said. “By putting it somewhere else where voters live and work, the more chance we have of slowing the spread of the virus.”

County officials said more than 200,000 people had received a vaccine at the city site at the Alamodome and at the county site at the Wonderland of the Americas shopping center.

Courage said current vaccination sites fall short of their targets for immunizing underserved populations.

“Current immunization clinics are failing to meet their goal of immunizing the most underserved populations. Data shows that more residents on the north side are vaccinated at these clinics. Why not make it more convenient for our constituents? We’re not saying take those clinics out, we’re just adding more, ”Courage said in a written statement.

• Local leaders are proposing the following locations as potential vaccination sites in northern Bexar County, as they are on easily accessible main roads:

• Toyota Field on Wurzbach Parkway

• VIA Park and Ride on Highway 281

• Temple of Alzafar on the 1604 loop

• 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 were told that the problem was not a lack of available locations, but rather a lack of supply. With more vaccines coming online, it is imperative that we provide tighter access to vaccines for our vulnerable populations across the community, ”Perry said in a written statement.