The Mexican consulate in downtown San Diego on Tuesday became the latest COVID-19 vaccination site to open.
The facility will deliver vaccines three days a week.
The consulate will follow San Diego county’s eligibility guidelines, meaning people will also need to schedule an appointment to get a shot.
“We are proud of this partnership because it helps reinforce the message that our community can access public health services,” said Carlos González Gutiérrez, Consul General of Mexico in San Diego.
Mexican and San Diego County officials say it is important to reach out to everyone living in the county.
“The vaccine is free, regardless of immigration status or nationality,” González Gutiérrez said.
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The county and Mexican officials are building on the success of a COVID-19 testing program they began at the consulate last September.
That partnership offered no-cost testing for the coronavirus.
The effort was heralded as a safe and accessible testing location for San Diego’s Mexican and Latino Communities.
County Supervisor Nora Vargas said the effort is a way to reach to the entire region and that is critical in the battle against the coronavirus.
“We are a binational region, and as a binational region we are interdependent,” Vargas said. “There’s over 200,000 Americans, US citizens, living in Tijuana for many reasons, and so they’re also part of the bigger equation for us as we’re moving forward. And so we’re continuing to advocate and to make sure that everyone gets a vaccination.”
County officials said they want people to see the new vaccination site as a safe haven.
“The consulate is not just a place,” said Nick Macchione, Agency Director for the San Diego County Health & Human Services Agency. “It’s an impact that is had for the entire region and it opens up another avenue to protect our community.”
