One hundred sixty-eight Puerto Peñasco youth between 12-17 received a first Covid vaccination shot during the most recent cross-border campaign held at the Lukeville-Sonoyta border entry. The Puerto Peñasco Convention and Visitors Bureau (OCV) once again helped with pre-registration as well as transportation for the vaccination effort, opened up to the younger age group for the first time.
Through joint efforts of the Mexican Consulate in Tucson, Pima Country, and the Sonora Secretary of Health, as well as direct collaboration from the Puerto Peñasco OCV, the September 28th-29th vaccination campaign at the Lukeville-Sonoyta crossing was one of the first border regions in the country to achieve binational support. Two hundred thirty-nine Puerto Peñasco residents took part in the recent campaign, including 168 between 12-17 years old.
This was the fourth time the local OCV has taken part in pre-registration and logistical support for the cross-border vaccination campaign. The effort has directly benefitted children, youth, and adults from Puerto Peñasco, as well as from Sonoyta, with the goal of expanding vaccinations across the region.
The cross-border vaccination campaign has focused efforts on strategic areas including Puerto Peñasco, Sonoyta, and San Luis Río Colorado. The goal is to strengthen communities along the border in order to provide greater mobility for national and international tourism, as well as workers in the region.
Puerto Peñasco OCV president Héctor Vázquez del Mercado stressed the importance of being one of the first border municipalities to launch vaccination campaigns for younger age groups, while striving toward a level of herd immunity to allow for reopening of borders beyond essential travel at the U.S.-Mexico border. Most importantly, however, is to lower the spread of Covid while strengthening both regions overall.