LA JOYA, Texas (KVEO) — Hidalgo County vaccine distribution reached capacity almost as soon as it was announced, and many asked how that could happen?
“There’s been personnel from the county in our site a day prior, setting up bringing everything that needs, doing walkthroughs, so people see commotion people probably see already,” said Blanca Cantu, Public Relations and Communications Coordinator, La Joya ISD.
This was the third vaccine distribution by La Joya ISD, school officials say people got in line early for safety reasons.
“So as soon as people start showing up and we have a confirmation of the clinic we have to execute our plan. Which is we have to take the people in, because if we turn them around they will probably end up lingering around our buildings or lingering around streets, and they are probably going to cause some sort of disruption, or some sort of traffic safety,” said Cantu.
We asked Hidalgo County leaders if they thought this was fair, or how they might be able to keep this from happening. The county issued us this statement:
“This month, Hidalgo County commissioners court approved the hiring of a vendor to provide an online registration system for future vaccinations. That is expected to be operational by early February. This should help to better organize future vaccine clinics.” – Carlos Sanchez, Public Affairs Director, Hidalgo County
While La Joya ISD said their focus is on vaccinations.
“We cannot blame Hidalgo County or La Joya ISD for this effort. At the end of the day we are giving 1,000 vaccines today, and that’s 1,000 vaccinations that are going out in our community, and at the end of the day that’s our main goal,” said Cantu.