Near the border with the United States, hundreds of adults, teenagers, and children lined up in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, for hours to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
According to Dr. Victor Treveo, “This line is present virtually every day.”
Treveo is in charge of a bi-national initiative to deliver donated immunizations here even though he works on the opposite side, in Laredo, Texas.
Both of our areas are 150 miles from large cities, so we have to take care of our local requirements. “And the reason for that is we’re one community and whatever affects them affects us and vice versa,” he added.
In order to move individuals to a safe location near the port of entry, the team came up with a plan that was approved by US Customs and Border Protection. The location was picked because the United States does not want to export vaccinations that were purchased with tax payer money.
However, despite having no takers, several of the vaccinations being offered were about to expire. Doctors from the United States transported them to a location with plenty of takers as a result. Parents of children under 5 who aren’t yet eligible for the vaccination in Mexico are especially keen to receive them.
With her two grandkids, Josefina Guerra was in line. They came there, she said CBS News, to seek a second chance.
Once the bus was parked, Treveo joined the other physicians and nurses inside, where the injections—and the crying—began. Adults who received the shots as well, like Guerra, expressed thanks afterward.
Guerra said that because of her diabetes and hypertension, the vaccination is crucial for her.
Some of the children displayed their shot-related arms on the way back. One young person said that since he plays baseball, he doesn’t weep and is resilient.
As the first region in all of Mexico to vaccinate children between the ages of 6 months and 12 years, Nuevo Laredo Mayor Carmen Lilia Canturosas stated the children’s vaccines had given her community a milestone.
In little over a year, the bilingual program has immunized 250,000 individuals.
Treveo added, “I enjoy it; it’s quite gratifying. We take action because there is a need, we have a need, and we fill it.