On Monday, Mayor Sylvester Turner, along with medical health experts, held a press conference to update the city’s response to the virus and the vaccine’s release.
According to Turner, the city’s health department has received 41,950 first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and has so far administered 33,839 first doses. When it comes to second doses, the Houston Department of Health received 18,600 doses and administered 2,300. He added that the health department has 971 appointments scheduled this week for people to receive the second dose of the vaccine.
The briefing comes days after a partnership with Houston’s HOPE Clinic helped vaccinate high-risk, low-income residents. Over the weekend, the clinic planned to deliver 500 doses of the vaccine on Saturday, according to Turner. At noon, 250 of these doses were distributed.
SEE ALSO: Houston’s HOPE Clinic vaccinates those who need them most
Thousands of doses were given across the city, despite some shortcomings in recent reservations. Hundreds of people were sent home disappointed earlier this month after the Houston Department of Health announced that doses of the COVID-19 vaccine ended on the public mega site in Minute Maid Park.
During Monday’s briefing, Turner said his strategy would be to continue moving forward with a focus on bringing vaccines to high-risk, low-income communities.
As demand continues to exceed supply, Houston Department of Health Director Stephen L. Williams said he expected things to improve as more doses of the vaccine were on the way.
“This week, our health department is distributing more than 9.00 first doses to the most vulnerable. We are prioritizing approximately 5,300 doses for our aging area agency, 2,400 for providers in vulnerable communities and 1,300 for previously scheduled appointments, ”he said.
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Williams added that the health department will suspend additions to the waiting list until further notice. The reason for this is that they are working on creating a link for people to start scheduling their own appointments for the second doses, which can be announced as early as Tuesday.
As more and more people got the vaccine, Turner reminded the public to help stop the virus from spreading.
“The focus on the vaccine does not mean that we can stop focusing on prevention and testing,” said Turner. “I want to remind people that the virus is still present in our community.”
Turner announced on Monday that the Houston Department of Health reported 1,089 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total case count for the city of Houston to 158,751.
According to Dr. David Persse, from the Houston city health department, data from Texas Medical Center showed that hospitalizations have stabilized and are decreasing slightly. He believes the city may be at the beginning of the negative side of the second wave, but he also asked people not to let their guard down.
“This is not the time to take the foot off the brake, we need to continue wearing our masks at social distance, wash our hands and get tested frequently,” said Persse.
Persse is also encouraging people who received the dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to get tested for the virus, as studies have not shown whether vaccinated people have still fallen ill.
“The reason for this is that we know that studies that were done to evaluate the effectiveness of the vaccine, look for people who had a clinical illness who went to their doctors and ended up being diagnosed with COVID-19 because they were symptomatic and sick,” Persse said. “The studies did not seek to see if the vaccinated people still had the virus and, therefore, could transmit it, but they did not show symptoms. So, we still don’t know. These studies are currently underway. you should go ahead and continue to do the test periodically, even if you have no symptoms. “
The latest mask order, in which the CDC stated that travelers should wear masks on all forms of public transport, was also addressed during Monday’s conference. According to Turner, offenders can face civil penalties if they refuse to follow the mandate.
SEE ALSO: The CDC says travelers should wear masks on all forms of public transport to slow the spread of COVID-19
“The order is being enforced by the Houston Airport System. Everyone at our airports over the age of two must wear a facial covering that covers their nose and mouth,” said Turner. “The federal mandate is necessary to delay the spread of COVID-19. Anyone who refuses to comply with this federal mandate can face civil penalties, including being immediately escorted out of the airport ”.
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