Several Texas border cities stopped their vaccination efforts due to the sub-freezing temperatures, the lack of electricity, and in some cases the lack of running water.
On Tuesday morning, Hidalgo County’s health department announced the closing and re-scheduling of several vaccination clinics. Those clinics were part of the effort to inoculate individuals with certain medical conditions as well as those who are older than 65-years-of-age.
A statement provided to Breitbart Texas by the county’s Public Information Director, Carlos Sanchez, revealed that the closings are tied to the lack of electricity and water in connection with the deep freeze that has affected the region since Monday.
Three clinics in the Texas cities of Edinburg, Elsa, and Pharr will reschedule their appointments to a later date, while a clinic in the city of Weslaco sent their patients to another county building.
In Edinburg, city officials issued a water boil notice claiming that it was due to the cold temperatures. Other cities in the Rio Grande Valley did not issue similar notices about water despite numerous rolling electrical blackouts. City officials have not expanded as to what caused the city’s water system to fail.
The lack of power and water also affected Doctor’s Hospital at Renaissance which hosted one of the region’s largest vaccination centers. The hospital held a series of vaccination events on Sunday and Monday. However, on Tuesday morning they issued a series of notices alerting the public that all appointments for the coronavirus vaccine had been postponed until the end of the week.
“The city’s water systems have been depleted, forcing DHR Health to activate the emergency operations plans related to water,” the statement revealed. “This includes reserving water for inpatient care, dialysis, and emergencies.”
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.