SAN ANTONIO – On Saturday, several San Antonio residents on the South Side stood outside the Cortez Library, waiting for a pop-up clinic meant to raise measles vaccination rates in the community.
Attendees Maria Elena and Lillianna Rodriguez said they think it was a good choice to get the vaccination.
“We figured, let’s be a little bit early, let’s be a little proactive,” they said.
>> TIMELINE: Measles outbreak in West Texas, potential exposure in Bexar County
The Rodriguez family said they’re not used to seeing these types of pop-up vaccine clinics on the South Side, but they want to make sure they can stay safe for friends and family.
Areas like the South Side and West Side are often uninsured and underinsured, according to officials with the city’s Metropolitan Health District.
Maria Elena said it’s nice having a pop-up so close to home.
“The South Side gets left out on some things, unfortunately, and as you can see, it’s very widely needed on our side of town … I feel like us here in Bexar County and San Antonio are taking it seriously. This is something we can’t ignore,” she said.
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Sarah Stain and her 6-year-old daughter, Lilah, said they came to the pop-up clinic to get up to date on their MMR vaccines for their family members.
“I’ve heard about it everywhere, and my dad, he’s a senior citizen, so we have to make sure that we can protect him as well,” Stain said. “[Lilah] knows it’s for her health and to make her brave and strong. She knows that it helps everybody around her, too.”
Health officials have been raising awareness of the virus after a Gaines County resident, who later tested positive for measles, visited San Antonio and surrounding areas during Valentine’s Day weekend.
The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) reported 146 confirmed cases as of Friday. On Saturday, Austin Public Health reported an infant in Travis County had tested positive for measles but said that the case appears to be unrelated to the West Texas outbreak.
An unvaccinated child died on Tuesday in Lubbock, and 20 people have been hospitalized so far, according to DSHS.
In a Community Health Committee briefing on Friday, Anita Kurian, the assistant director of Metro Health, reiterated that Bexar County has no reported measles cases.
For a full list of pop-up vaccine clinics scheduled by Metro Health officials, click here.
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