Traders Village was the place to be on Sunday and for some it was the place to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
Despite the sweltering heat, many people came for shopping, live music, rides, and ice cold drinks. Many still wore cloth masks or plastic face shields.
Raul Ortega, 71, was shot dead at the Johnson & Johnson pop-up clinic sponsored by the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District while visiting the open air flea market in the southwest of the city with his wife Mary.
Ortega, a San Antonio nurse and Vietnam veteran, kept a close eye on the side effects of the three emergency vaccines approved in the US during the coronavirus pandemic and ultimately decided that Johnson & Johnson’s single dose was the way to go should go. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines both require two doses.
“I’ve been a nurse too long and I’ve seen it all,” he said. “The spread of the new Delta variant is one of the reasons why I decided to get it.”
Health officials are targeting parts of the city with low vaccination rates for their pop-up vaccine clinics. The idea is to go where the people are. This week the health department plans to offer admissions at the San Antonio Zoo, Madison, LEE and Churchill high schools and several churches.
Public health officials say the Delta variant is spreading more easily than previous versions of the coronavirus and are warning those who haven’t got the sting not to wait any longer.
Mary Ortega, 68, was vaccinated at Pfizer in March when her son signed her up for an appointment. She said she was relieved when her husband decided to get vaccinated.
“I’m happy now the whole family is protected,” she said, adding that even her 14- and 16-year-old granddaughters are now fully vaccinated.
Raul Ortega has joined the 62 percent of Bexar County’s residents who have been fully vaccinated against the virus.
Roberto Fajardo of the UIW School of Osteopathic Medicine holds a sign for a Metro Health pop-up COVID vaccine clinic in Traders Village on Sunday.
Robin Jerstad / Robin Jerstad
This weekend, Texas’s positivity rate is over 10 percent – a level Governor Greg Abbott identified as a red flag at the start of the pandemic, according to a report by the Texas Tribune.
The positivity rate refers to the percentage of COVID-19 tests that are positive for the virus. The seven-day average for new confirmed cases in the state was 2,119, almost three times the July 1 figure.
New cases confirmed daily and hospital admissions are increasing rapidly but are still below winter peaks.
According to Dr. Bryan Alsip, Chief Medical Officer of University Health, more than 230 people – either unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated – have been hospitalized with COVID-19 in San Antonio.
After two hours at the Traders Village vaccination clinic, only seven vaccinations had been given.
Rosa Rojas, a health programs specialist for Metro Health’s immunization division, said they were there not only to distribute vaccinations but also to answer questions about COVID-19.
“It was busy today,” she said. “A lot of people have questions and want to have a chat about the different vaccines.”
A man visited the Metro Health booth several times during the day to ask questions. He was not sure if he was ready and decided to ask his doctor about it, said Rojas.
Rojas, who spoke to people in both English and Spanish, said several people who had already been vaccinated asked if they needed a booster or another vaccination.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stated that a booster vaccination is not yet required.
COVID-19 vaccines have been shown to be highly effective in preventing infection from humans, even with the more transmissible variants like Delta. For those who are still infected with the virus, vaccination means that its effects will most likely be mild.
“We tell them the vaccines prevent deaths and protect the population,” said Rojas.
Sometimes employees have to fight myths, like people being hospitalized after receiving the vaccine, Rojas said.
The likelihood of a severe reaction to the vaccine is between 2.5 and 11 cases per 1 million doses, according to the CDC. To protect against side effects, the CDC requires vaccination sites to observe patients for 15 minutes after vaccination. Those with a history of reactions are asked to wait 30 minutes before leaving.
“So it’s good that we have a nurse here who speaks to you and shares the truth,” said Rojas. “It can be daunting, but we are here to let those who hesitate and provide them with accurate information.”
Traders Village buyer Rebecca Padilla, 41, said that with the new variant and the rise in cases, she had finally convinced her husband to get a vaccine.
“We were hit with COVID last year,” said Padilla, explaining that she went for tests before breast cancer surgery and found she was positive. Likewise her husband and one of her two small children. They hadn’t had any noticeable symptoms.
After realizing that only Johnson & Johnson was available, they decided to wait and visit the vaccine clinic on the Robert B. Green campus, she said, which accepts walk-ins. Her husband was going to get Pfizer, she said.
laura.garcia @
express-news.net
source https://thedailytradingnews.com/bargains-aplenty-covid-vaccine-clinic-found-at-flea-market-but-few-get-shots/
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