Thousands of maquiladora workers from the Mexican state of Nuevo León will roll up their sleeves and get their first dose of a COVID-19 shot in the Valley.

Valley leaders and representatives from Nuevo León arrived at the McAllen-Hidalgo International Bridge Wednesday to announce the initiative to vaccinate 10,000 maquiladora workers.

"There's a lot of maquilas and we're trying to vaccinate the essential workers that help to promote commerce here to the United States and back, so this is something that's very important to us," McAllen Mayor Javier Villalobos said. 

Villalobos hopes their efforts will also help the federal government decide to open up the bridges again.

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"Nuevo León wasn't as advanced as other states in Mexico and vaccine distribution among the age groups was also very disproportionate and the majority of people who work in maquiladoras were from areas where their age group still wasn't eligible for a vaccine," Nuevo León Index Director Cecilia Carrillo Lopez said.

According to Nuevo León officials, more than 100,000 people have signed up to get a shot through this initiative. So far, only 10,000 vaccines are available -- but officials are working to possibly increase that number in the future. 

"This is exactly the example we should set for the rest of Mexico and the entire U.S.,” Nuevo León Governor-elect Samuel Garcia said. "The reactivation of our economy, takes place by helping one another mutually."

Officials have the capacity to vaccinate at least 1,000 maquiladora workers every day. After receiving the first dose, they'll head back to Nuevo León and where they'll get their second dose a month later.