Students in the Houston area roll up their sleeves for Super Saturday COVID-19 vaccination event
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Students got an easy way to remove a COVID-19 vaccine from their back-to-school checklist with an event held across the Houston area this weekend.
Estrellita Hernandez thought what she signed up for Saturday was going to be more painful than one of her tests. The high school student took part in the Super Saturday COVID-19 vaccine day event.
She said the decision meant a lot to her.
"I want to protect my family because my mom has a really weak immune system," Estrellita said. "She's already had both vaccines, but that doesn't mean you're not going to get it."
Estrellita brought her sister, too, who had her own reasons to get the shot.
"Mostly because I'm going to go to school, and I want to be safer," Rocio Hernandez said.
To get more students and parents vaccinated, Mayor Sylvester Turner and the Houston Health Department created the event. More than 11 districts partnered with them and offered the shots.
SEE RELATED STORY: City launches new 'super' push to get kids vaccinated before going back to school
"I think it's just amazing and necessary," said Louise Praylor, a parent. "Extremely necessary."
This is why Praylor was happy to hear her daughter, Marian Rutherford, wanted the shot.
"A lot of people haven't gotten their vaccine," Rutherford said. "I know I have my vaccine, so now I know I can be free when taking my mask off and putting it back on."
State data shows a lot more people are getting vaccinated. Across the state, around 80,000 more people got vaccinated than the week before.
But, there's still a long road ahead for kids. In Harris County, only two percent of the vaccinated individuals are kids ages 12 to 15. While the focus was on students today, officials said it's important for parents, too.
WATCH: Medical experts beg Houstonians to get vaccine: 'We are in a crisis'
"You want to be there for graduation," U.S. Rep. Al Green said. "You want to be there when they go to college. You want to be there for the wedding."
These students have big plans as they added a COVID-19 vaccine to their school supplies this year.
"It's OK. It was way less painful than I thought, and I mean you won't lose anything," Estrellita said.
If anything, experts said you'll gain a lot more protection against a virus when the school year begins.
SEE RELATED: More Texas schools release COVID-19 protocols ahead of 2021-2022 school year
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