CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Many healthcare workers spent their Labor Day administering COVID-19 vaccinations.
On this Labor Day, while many families enjoyed the three day weekend, there was no day off for healthcare workers during the pandemic. That was especially true for those individuals who are making sure the community is protected against the virus.
The COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic at the La Palmera mall proved to be a popular place on Monday. The shot clinic remained open on the holiday for the team of healthcare workers and the National Guard members who run it.
The clinic was seeing a constant stream of people who wanted to get the vaccine including individuals like John Torres, who said a break from work was an opportunity to roll up his sleeve for the second time.
"Especially since I work Monday through Friday eight to five, having the day off today and them being available to give the vaccine is pretty awesome," Torres said.
He wasn't the only person who was doing their part to protect themselves. Jalen Newman made it a family effort.
"They actually should have been due on Friday, but we had school and work, which made it easy for today," Newman said. .
Others are stepping up for the first-time including area students. The City County Health District has said on average, they are administering a little more than 1000 shots a week.
According to Dr. Kim Onufrak, there are always concerns about what a holiday weekend could mean for our local case count.
"We're still not at that magic number of herd immunity," said Onufrak.
To date, Nueces County is at 53 percent of those who qualify who are now fully vaccinated.
"If you are unvaccinated and went out of town and you were around other people not wearing a mask and were unvaccinated, and you are going to go back to work or school, just be considerate and wear a mask," said Dr. Onufrak.
Meantime individuals at the clinic said they are just thankful to the staff for working on Labor Day.
"They are doing an excellent job. We thank all of them for their services," said Newman.
According to Onufrak, there were about 300 people who got their COVID-19 vaccination today. The clinic is open seven days a week.