SAN ANTONIO — In a final push to meet President Joe Biden’s goal of vaccinating 70% of Americans by July 4th, Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas made a stop in San Antonio on Tuesday.
Mayorkas toured University Health’s vaccination clinic at Wonderland of Americas Mall, where he was joined by Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff for a tour.
Mayorkas said Bexar County has exceeded the president's goal, especially when it comes to finding creative solutions for vaccinating people in hard-to-reach places.
“San Antonio, under the mayor’s leadership, is a model of partnership in the delivery of vaccines,” Mayorkas said. “Through communication with their residents, through creative solutions. Not just in the center they built here, but also through mobile services and other mechanisms to reach people who otherwise would have been disenfranchised.”
According to San Antonio Metro Health, 78% of people in Bexar County have gotten at least one dose of the shot, and 58% of residents are fully vaccinated.
“What San Antonio has achieved is a model for those who have not achieved it, because what San Antonio will be able to deliver is normalcy more quickly to its residents," Mayorkas said. "I hope that other cities see what San Antonio has done and can do. The results of a vaccinated public and what that means for their day-to-day lives, the day-to-day lives for their children—it will be a model to be replicated."
Mayorkas also planned visits to vaccination clinics in New Orleans on Tuesday.