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Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (TX-16) sent a letter to President Joe Biden’s administration requesting that the El Paso region be considered for a coronavirus (COVID-19) community vaccination site.

The letter, which was sent yesterday to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Acting Administrator Robert J. Fenton Jr., highlights that El Paso has achieved an 87% efficiency rate for COVID-19 vaccinations – the highest efficiency rate in Texas by county –  and it could soon be the first urban Texas county to have at least 10% of the population over the age of 16 vaccinated with at least the initial dose of the vaccine. 

“As vaccine supplies increase, a community vaccination site in El Paso would not only be able to serve El Pasoans, but also individuals living throughout the borderland region from southern New Mexico to other parts of Far West Texas. El Paso acts as a central hub for borderland residents and installing a central community vaccination site to supplement the vaccine administration programs of surrounding counties will help bring cases down across the region,” Congresswoman Escobar wrote.

Congresswoman Escobar continued, “Additionally, this vaccination site can act as the staging ground for mobile vaccination clinics that can be deployed to colonias, which are unincorporated residential areas along the U.S.-Mexico border that continue to lack access to basic necessities like paved roads, broadband access, potable water, and wastewater treatment systems. My district has over 300 of these communities alone with even more scattered across the southern border states. Colonia residents are routinely underserved and it would be beneficial to bring the vaccine to these neighborhoods to ensure they have the opportunity to receive it.”

Congresswoman Escobar concluded the letter by calling for the creation of a binational COVID-19 plan in collaboration with Mexico and referencing to her Binational Health Strategies Act as an important legislative response to protect border communities like El Paso against COVID-19.

The full letter can be read here.