SAN ANTONIO – After leading the county’s fight against the spread of COVID-19, Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff rolled up his sleeve to get his first dose of the vaccine on Wednesday.
Wolff, who is in Phase 1B due to his age, took the dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine at University Health alongside his wife. He will get his second shot on Jan. 20.
Wolff previously said he planned on getting the shot as soon as he was allowed to get one.
Shortly after the injection, Wolff said he wanted to take the shot in part to demonstrate to the community that it is safe and effective.
“There’s a lot of disinformation over the Internet saying ridiculous things, like that it can change your DNA,” Wolff said. “So I wanted to demonstrate that this is a safe vaccine, and it’s something all of us will be doing.”
The Texas Department of State Health Services recently expanded into Phase 1B, which includes people 65 and older or people 16 and older with specific medical conditions. Previously, only frontline health care workers were eligible to get the vaccine.
How to track down a COVID-19 vaccine for people in Phase 1B in Texas
In San Antonio, there are a few local clinics that are now offering the Moderna vaccine to patients who fit the criteria for Phase 1B. That vaccine has been approved for people older than 18.
But other providers, like H-E-B, which has received thousands of doses, are holding off on vaccinating people eligible in Phase 1B until “the need is met” for people who fall in Phase 1A, which includes frontline health care workers.
Wolff expects more vaccine providers to being offering doses to people who qualify with Phase 1B, he said. Still, it’s important to continue the efforts to mitigate the spread of the virus.
“It’s going to be difficult for the next two weeks, three weeks, four weeks,” Wolff said.