City Promotes July 10 as SA Vaccine Day
July 1, 2021 - San Antonio
Vaccination nation. “Life has truly improved for the better. Restaurants and other businesses have reopened, families are planning summer vacations, and people are going to stores and malls to shop again, but we’re still not off the hook,” said San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg on Wednesday. (pictured). Photo: Jade Esteban Estrada.
By Jade Esteban Estrada, Staff Writer | San Antonio Sentinel
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
- Mayor Nirenberg announced July 10 as SA Vaccine Day to encourage those who have not yet received their vaccine to make a commitment to get one
- Covid-19 vaccine pop-up clinics will be hosted on July 10 at AT&T Center and July 17 at Toyota Field
City officials provided a report on the current status of the pandemic in Bexar County during a press conference Wednesday at the AT&T Center while also reminding residents that being fully vaccinated is the best protection against the coronavirus.
Mayor Ron Nirenberg also announced a partnership between the City of San Antonio and Spurs Sports & Entertainment (SS&E) to host a Covid-19 vaccine pop-up clinic on July 10 at AT&T Center and July 17 at Toyota Field. In addition, Nirenberg announced July 10 as SA Vaccine Day to encourage those who have not yet received their vaccine to make a commitment to get one.
Currently, Bexar County’s positivity rate is 3.8%. As of this week, 1,207,058 residents (72.6%) have received a first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. Another 959,040 (57.7%) people, 12 years and older, are now fully vaccinated. The seven-day rolling average of new cases was reported at 94 with 227,135 total cases to date.
“We have made much progress in our fight against Covid-19 since this same time last year,” Nirenberg said in a press release. “Life has truly improved for the better. Restaurants and other businesses have reopened, families are planning summer vacations, and people are going to stores and malls to shop again, but we’re still not off the hook.”
During the press conference, Assistant City Manager Dr. Colleen Bridger addressed concerns about the Delta variant. She reminded residents they must be fully vaccinated – meaning they have received both doses of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine – to be protected against Covid-19 and the Delta variant.
“We can now confirm that like the rest of the United States, the Covid-19 Delta is approaching 20% of our cases,” Dr. Bridger said. “Studies show full vaccination is protective against this variant. This is why it’s important to make sure you are fully vaccinated.”
Bridger also urged those who have not received a Covid-19 vaccine to visit any number of no-cost, pop-up clinics set up each week throughout the city. Residents can visit covid19.sanantonio.gov for a list of locations or call 311.
Meanwhile, the partnership between the City of San Antonio and Spurs Sports & Entertainment includes two vaccine mobile clinic events. The first one is from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. July 10 at the AT&T Center. The Spurs food truck will be on site and SS&E will provide merchandise giveaways, prizes and vaccination stickers in addition to vouchers for SAFC soccer games.
The July 17 mobile clinic event from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Toyota Field will offer free tickets to SAFC soccer games to anyone who attends the clinic to receive their Covid-19 vaccine.
Also, SS&E will offer two 10-game season ticket packages to be given away on both days as incentives to encourage people to get vaccinated.
Jade Esteban Estrada is a staff writer for the San Antonio Sentinel, where he covers public health and other citywide issues. jade@sasentinel.com | Twitter: @getjaded