CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Officials from Corpus Christi and Nueces County will hold a joint news conference today at 11:30 a.m. to brief the public on the 4,000 doses of Moderna vaccine that will arrive on Monday.
The health director of the city / county, Annette Rodriguez, and other city leaders will appear at the press conference.
“This is an exciting day for Corpus Christi,” said Mayor Joe McComb. “But we will advise people to have a high dose of patience.”
Officials said vaccinations should begin at noon Monday at the Richard Borchard Center in Fairgrounds. 1213 Terry Shamsie Boulevard. in Robstown.
Registration will start online starting at 17:00 on Sunday at the coronarivus web link here. Recording will continue until the number of records allocated for the next day is reached.
When a person does this through the registration process, they will be issued a QR code that will be displayed to officials at the time of vaccination. You are asked to take a photo of that code to bring with you to the vaccination site. It is a unique code and cannot be distributed to others.
The vaccination process will be aimed at two groups: those over 65 and others over the age of 18 with chronic diseases such as cancer, COPD, diabetes, heart disease, sickle cell disease and pregnancy.
Nueces County Judge Barbara Canales borrowed some references from “Field of Dreams,” a film she said was one of her favorites to describe the county’s plans to distribute the vaccine.
“If you build it, they will come,” Canales said. “And the reason we built the infrastructure is the same answer he gave (to Field of Dreams star) Kevin Costner. To ease his pain. That’s what we’re doing to ease our pain with COVID-19.”
Officials hope to be able to distribute 4,000 doses in the first step of the vaccine next week. This would pave the way for additional doses from the state when they are depleted.
Canales said the Corpus Christi area has been designated a “megazite,” meaning it is intended to serve those interested in receiving the vaccine outside the county.
“The sad truth is that our population is more at risk than others in the state,” Canales said. “We have 50 percent more of our population 65 years and older than the rest of the state. It’s very compelling. We also have more uninsured people and more with a lower average income than the rest of the state.”
Only 500 doses of the vaccine will be available through online registration, Canales said.
The site will close with the accounting of all 500 doses.
Another 500 doses will be reserved for those who do not have access to a computer.