SAN ANTONIO – The city of San Antonio is pushing for everyone to get their COVID-19 vaccine and making it easier for travelers at the airport to get a shot - whether they’re residents or visiting from abroad.
The seventh pop-up clinic at San Antonio International Airport was held on Friday, and the city plans to have daily clinics there, run by a partner agency, through at least Saturday, July 17, offering both the two-dose Pfizer vaccine and the one-shot Johnson & Johnson.
“On an average, we’re seeing about 100 individuals being vaccinated at these events, which is far more than what we are seeing at the public clinics out of the community,” Dr. Anita Kurian, assistant director of Metro Health’s Communicable Disease Division, told KSAT on Thursday.
Kurian said anyone traveling through San Antonio has the opportunity to get vaccinated as they come through the baggage claim area. No appointment is necessary, and the travelers aren’t asked about their residency or legal status.
This weekend, top Mexican soccer teams will be playing in the Alamodome, and that means people traveling from out of town for the big games will have the opportunity to get vaccinated.
“We want to ensure that everybody visiting our community or living in our community is vaccinated,” Kurian said.
Travelers from Mexico at Friday’s clinic told KSAT they had come to San Antonio specifically to get vaccinated.
Eric Kimura had flown in from Mexico City with his 13-year-old son, Emilio, because he said the boy was still too young to be eligible for a vaccine back home.
It was Emilio’s second dose of the Pfizer vaccine, having already traveled to get his first dose three weeks earlier. Kimura himself had traveled several months ago to get vaccinated.
All the trips may a hassle, but Kimura says it’s worth it.
“So I’m a health worker, so I needed to get the vaccination before. That’s the reason I did the flight. And then my kids are getting back to school. So I think it’s a good idea,” Kimura said.
Similarly, Laura Fabiola and her mother had flown in to get their Johnson & Johnson shots, though they planned to make a vacation out of the trip, too.
“Cuz Mexico, there has been like, - well, it’s not time for the ones for my age to get vaccinated,” Fabiola said. And if we are going to get vaccinated in August or September, but classes are going to start. So it’s better to start vaccinated than without the vaccine.”
Kurian said concerns are surrounding the Delta variant.
“Of the six variants that are circulating nationally, Delta variant is fast becoming the predominant strain and the one of most concern, especially because it is known to spread more easily and quickly than other variants,” Kurian said.
Click here for a list of COVID-19 vaccine pop-up clinics.
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