SAN ANTONIO — Bexar County reached a milestone of sorts as it continues to vaccinate its way out of the coronavirus pandemic, when Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff gave their last virtual briefing on the community's COVID-19 response Thursday.
The duo began their evening addresses in March of 2020 as the crisis began to more forcefully pierce the fabric of normalcy, speaking directly to the community every other day on the latest figures and trends while answering questions from local news media. Soon after, the briefings became a more consistent affair, taking place every evening Monday through Friday.
Now, with more and more residents getting immunized and a sense of pre-pandemic routines slowly returning, Nirenberg said recovery efforts would "shift to a more targeted approach" as vaccine initiatives continue.
"We have to make sure everyone gets vaccinated as quickly as possible," Nirenberg said Thursday evening. "We've demonstrated that these vaccinations work, period."
Both he and Wolff acknowledged that the end of their updates doesn't mean the community is entirely out of the woods, but Bexar County did reach a major threshold with more than 50% of eligible residents fully vaccinated.
"We're past the worst, but the future still has some uncertainty," Wolff said.
The county judge also put the onus on the federal government to be better prepared for future health crises, adding local leaders need to do the same to empower Metro Health.
Also joining Nirenberg and Wolff was Metro Health Interim Director Dr. Colleen Bridger, who has stopped by the briefings on a regular basis as well over the last 14 months. She reiterated the pandemic continues and hesitated to give a definitive scenario or vaccination threshold which would signal the end of the COVID-19 threat.
"The work continues," she said. "We've just gotten into a different cadence of information going out to the community."
Metro Health will continue to release online updates regarding case numbers and vaccination progress, now on a weekly basis, for the foreseeable future.
The mayor also took the opportunity to thank local first responders, doctors, vaccine distributors and city staff for their efforts in promoting health and safety over the last 15 months—as well as the community at large for uniting during a crisis.
“Beyond the pain and suffering many of us have endured, I hope we can vividly remember how we came together as a community," he said. "If we can carry that sense of togetherness into the years ahead, I’m confident San Antonio can be the envy of the world.”
As of Thursday evening, more than 224,000 total COVID-19 cases have been reported in Bexar County, and 3,486 residents have passed away from virus complications, including four additional deaths over the last two weeks.