By News and Internal Communications

RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – To continue with its commitment of vaccinating the Rio Grande Valley, UT Health RGV began the administration of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at its fourth site in Brownsville ­on Wednesday.

The distribution of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine by UT Health RGV, the clinical practice of the UTRGV School of Medicine, began on Tuesday at the UT Health RGV/Knapp Family Health Center in Mercedes and the UTRGV Clinical Education Building in Harlingen.

David Pike, UTRGV senior photojournalist for University Marketing and Communications, receives the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine Wednesday, Dec. 30, at the Interdisciplinary Academic Building on the UTRGV Brownsville Campus. (UTRGV Photo)

One person who waited patiently to get the vaccine at the Interdisciplinary Academic Building on the UTRGV Brownsville Campus was Alheli Alvarado, a UTRGV senior majoring in criminal justice.

“I feel safer now because I have some health issues, and I was so worried about the virus,” she said.

Also receiving the vaccine in Brownsville was David Pike, UTRGV senior photojournalist for University Marketing and Communications, who has been documenting the action at the UT Health RGV COVID-19 testing and vaccine distribution sites for the university since the beginning of the pandemic.

“Once I qualified for the vaccination I jumped at the chance,” Pike said. “I made a joke when I was getting my vaccination by saying that I was joining the UTRGV Vaqueros herd immunity.”

Pike encourages others to take the vaccine when it is their time to do so. He said that is the only way we will get back to some sense of normalcy.

“When it’s available to you – get it,” Pike said. “This is how we fight back. This is how we win our lives back.”

The vaccine distribution also continued at the UT Health RGV/Knapp Family Health Center in Mercedes today.

UT Health RGV received a total of 900 doses, of which 500 went to Harlingen and Brownsville, and 400 to Mercedes. According to UT Health RGV, once the vaccines run out, the waiting game begins for another shipment to arrive. Patience is requested from the community as the vaccine rollout is in the early stages of the nationwide vaccination process when doses are limited.

The UTRGV School of Medicine and its care team, UT Health RGV, continue to safely and efficiently administer the COVID-19 vaccine based on group prioritization and vaccine availability.

Healthcare employees at the UT Health RGV/Knapp Family Health Center in Mercedes, prepare for day two of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine inoculations on Wednesday, Dec. 30. (UTRGV Photo by Paul Chouy)

To learn more about the COVID-19 vaccination phases, visit the UT Health RGV COVID-19 Vaccine webpage.

The Moderna vaccinations, by appointment only from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., will continue Thursday, Dec. 31, at the UT Health RGV/Knapp Family Health Center in Mercedes and the Clinical Education Building in Harlingen.

For more information or to fill out the registration form, visit the COVID-19 Vaccine webpage. For the latest in UTRGV operational updates, protocols and guidelines regarding COVID-19, visit the Commitment to Safety and Success webpage.