CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Parents rushed to La Palmera Mall to get their children vaccinated for the upcoming holidays.
With school districts across South Texas on Thanksgiving break, the City-County Vaccine Clinic at La Palmera Mall is seeing an influx of parents trying to vaccinate their children.
According to Clinical Director Dr. Kim Onufrak, the recent influx is due to parents having the time to take their child to get vaccinated.
"What we are seeing that's coming in, a lot of it is for boosters," Onufrak said. "We are also seeing a lot of pediatrics coming. It's the holiday, so they may have the time to come in without interfering with the school schedule."
Onufrak said a majority of those coming in for their boosters were vaccinated six months ago in March or April, and are looking for extra protection going into the holidays.
"At least for Christmas it does take at least two weeks for the antibodies to increase," Onufrak said. "Just give it a couple weeks so you can get that full protection from the booster dose."
Amistad Community Health Center Dr. Eric Baggerman said they're currently doing everything they can to get boosters out and encourages the community to take advantage of getting their booster shots ahead of the winter surge if they're available.
"With the holidays coming this becomes even more important," Baggerman said. "Because there is a few things the booster does, one permitting the individuals likelihood of getting sick goes down. The antibodies go up significantly after the booster shot."
According to Onufrak, there is a 15 minute wait to receive a shot with minimal down time.
"It's a very convenient location, they can shop and get their shots at the same time," Onufrak said.
For a full list of vaccination sites click here.
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