Blanca Alvarado administers the COVID-19 vaccine to a patient in Laredo on Feb. 1, 2021. After communities along the border saw some of the highest COVID-19 rates in the nation last summer, health officials say these communities have enthusiastically responded to vaccination efforts. Credit: Jessica Rodriguez for The Texas Tribune
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When Rio Grande Valley retiree Robert Chapa finally got his COVID-19 vaccine in March after months of trying to secure an appointment, it was a nearby school district that came through for him.
From El Paso to Brownsville, every county along the border is outpacing the state average for the percentage of residents fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
When Rio Grande Valley retiree Robert Chapa finally got his COVID-19 vaccine in March after months of trying to secure an appointment, it was a nearby school district that came through for him.
After a year of liv
Karen Brooks Harper and Carla Astudillo
Texas Tribune
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When Rio Grande Valley retiree Robert Chapa finally got his COVID-19 vaccine in March after months of trying to secure an appointment, it was a nearby school district that came through for him.
After a year of living in a national hot spot for the virus, where death rates at one point were among the highest in the nation, Chapa, 59, was anxious to get the shot.
“I was at high risk, with one kidney,” said Chapa, who lost the organ in a car accident decades ago. “I stood in line for three hours, I think. But if you gotta get it, you gotta get it.”