Friday, March 9, 2018
  Announcements, Alumni

By News and Internal Communications

EDINBURG, TEXAS – Hidalgo County Health and Human Services and The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley’s Office of Emergency Preparedness on Friday partnered to offer 500 free flu vaccines to all first responders, UTRGV faculty, staff, their families and the public.

The three-station setup was located at the UTRGV CESS Building parking lot, and offered a glimpse into what an emergency immunization procedure would look like.

Patients drove through the first station, where they filled out brief paperwork, and moved on to a second station, where nurses waited to administer the vaccine.

At the third and final station, nurses briefly observed the patients for any immediate reactions to the shot, and gave out light refreshments.
And at no point did patients have to leave their vehicle.

“The purpose of this clinic is to take advantage of an opportunity to partner with the university, provide free flu vaccinations to the community, and to demonstrate to the public that we can handle a mass vaccination clinic,” said Eddie Olivarez, chief administrative officer of Hidalgo County Health and Human Services.

On Friday, 62 people received vaccines, with the average time to process the patient and administer the vaccine at about five minutes per individual.

Nelda Mendez, program coordinator at Hidalgo County Health and Human Services, said getting flu shots annually is important, especially for people who are at risk.

“We start with people with respiratory problems, the elderly, the very young, maternities — we want them to be the first to come out and get vaccinated. But of course, we want to encourage everyone to get their flu shot annually,” Mendez said.

Amanda Taylor, a member of the UTRGV News and Internal Communications staff, had never received a flu vaccination before and was hesitant to do so, at first. After speaking with Mendez about the risks of contracting the flu, she decided to go through with it.

“I’ve never been vaccinated for the flu before, but I thought it would be a good idea to take advantage of the opportunity,” she said. “There have been so many cases of people contracting the flu, lately, that I figured this was the best way to protect myself from getting the virus.”

ABOUT UTRGV

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) was created by the Texas Legislature in 2013 as the first major public university of the 21st century in Texas. This transformative initiative provided the opportunity to expand educational opportunities in the Rio Grande Valley, including a new School of Medicine, and made it possible for residents of the region to benefit from the Permanent University Fund – a public endowment contributing support to the University of Texas System and other institutions.

UTRGV has campuses and off-campus research and teaching sites throughout the Rio Grande Valley including in Boca Chica Beach, Brownsville (formerly The University of Texas at Brownsville campus), Edinburg (formerly The University of Texas-Pan American campus), Harlingen, McAllen, Port Isabel, Rio Grande City, and South Padre Island. UTRGV, a comprehensive academic institution, enrolled its first class in the fall of 2015, and the School of Medicine welcomed its first class in the summer of 2016.