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The Robert A. “Bob” Bowers Civic Center will be the local hub for a mass COVID-19 vaccination clinic beginning today (Feb. 9).

Any citizen who registered and received an appointment will be administered a vaccine at the appointed time at the Civic Center.

Judith Smith, Port Arthur director health services, said the move from the downtown health department to the civic center allows for the accommodation of more people.

And with the increase in the number of individuals receiving the vaccine comes an increase in individuals assisting with the event.

Smith said they are using nursing staff as well as volunteers.

“The main thing is we have a site for registration (check-in), a site for administering the vaccines and a site for monitoring where the individual will sit for 15 minutes,” Smith said.

Smith reiterated the vaccination clinic is for those who have already registered and are arriving for an appointment.

From Jan. 18 to Jan. 26, the city of Port Arthur had an online registration through the city’s website. Those are the individuals who will be seen first. Then, after the 26^th, the county went online with registration and Port Arthur’s site was taken down.

Health department officials said they have not had any confrontations regarding individuals trying to get the vaccine and are not expecting any walk-ups.

Smith said getting the vaccines to the city was a bit slow in the beginning but that has changed. As long as the health department can maintain the mass vaccination clinic, it will continue to receive the vaccine. The goal is to vaccinate 500 individuals per day.

Last week, Jefferson County received 11,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccines and distributed those to partners with the Southeast Texas Regional Emergency Operations Center.

According to an update given late last week, Beaumont and Port Arthur received 2,500 doses.

Jefferson County Pct. 3 Michael Shane Sinegal said it is important the Port Arthur area receives the doses because the city and surrounding cities have a lot of senior citizens and disadvantaged individuals who can’t go to Beaumont for the vaccine.

Sinegal said he receives calls from people looking for the vaccines and not just from Port Arthur; from Groves, Port Neches and Nederland residents saying they want the shot.

Fatal updates

The news of four COVID deaths of Port Arthur and Mid-County residents was reported by health officials Monday morning.

According to the City of Port Arthur Health Department, the individuals from Port Arthur included a Hispanic female between 65 and 70 years old and an African American female between 55 and 60 years old.

Local health officials also said two residents from Nederland — White males, both between 70 and 75 years old — died as a result of coronavirus.

It has been determined the four individuals had underlying health conditions.

The Health Department has reported 62 COVID-19 related deaths for Port Arthur and 23 for Nederland since the beginning of this pandemic.

Details

To register for the vaccine and get an appointment, go to vaccine.beaumonttexas.gov.

If you are unable to access the website, call centers have been established at 409-550-2536 for further assistance Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Officials stress residents are not to show up to the vaccination site until receiving a confirmed appointment time from the Public Health Department. No one will be served without an appointment.