Lee said he flew from Houston to Washington DC just for Saturday’s event and wanted to make sure children and families who needed it had gifts to put under the Christmas tree.
“Our first priority, of course, was to protect our children,” Jackson Lee said. “COVID-19 has cost the lives of more than 300,000 Americans. We’ve lost thousands in Texas and we’ve lost thousands in Houston and Harris County. We wanted him to be happy, but we wanted him to be safe and the kids to be We didn’t want to snatch these parties. “
The event was an event that took place and Houston leaders Mayor Sylvester Turner, HPD chief Art Acevedo, and HFD chief Samuel Pena helped load the toys for to families waiting in line.
Pablo Vasquez, nurse manager of the highly infectious unit at Houston Methodist Continuing Care Hospital, was one of the health workers who received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine on Tuesday.
“We’re not there at all,” Vasquez said. “But it’s the beginning of the end and that’s what gives me hope.”
He said he saw an increase in COVID-19 patients admitted to local hospitals.
“I think this is the direct result of coming out of the Thanksgiving holidays and people can probably relax the rules of social distancing they have become accustomed to or try to make exceptions because it’s familiar,” Vasquez said. “But clearly, that’s what we’re seeing as the highest risk. You know, small group meetings, small family reunions where the infection is spreading.”
Vasquez, along with city and county leaders in Harris, are pushing for people to be tested before the holidays, to protect you and your family.
“One important thing to know is that if the test is done, it is clear that you need to be isolated or quarantined until these results are returned,” Vasquez said. “Know the type of test and make sure you get a test from a reputable source so you can trust the result you’re getting.”
The CDC advisory committee met Saturday to discuss the distribution of the Modern vaccine, which is the second COVID-19 vaccine approved in the U.S.
“It’s great news because it’s increasing our supply of vaccines,” said Dr. Catherine Troisi, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the UTHealth School of Public Health. “The Modern Vaccine has the advantage that it can be stored at a normal freezer temperature, leaving it in the fridge for 30 days, so it will really help more rural areas that didn’t have the capacity for something that needed to be stored. at -80C. “
Healthcare workers and nursing homes remain a priority at this time for vaccines, and eventually the general public will have access to the vaccine.
Mayor Sylvester Turner said the Houston Department of Health will receive a shipment of COVID-19 vaccines from Modern as part of the Texas State Department of Health Services’ second week assignment.
“We have been notified that the state is providing 3,000 doses to the City of Houston to the Department of Health,” Mayor Turner said. “We will follow top-level protocols, which means that health care workers, employees of the Houston Department of Health will, of course, be eligible for vaccines, and then we will work with hospitals and our facilities for the elderly as residences for the elderly, to make sure they use what is being given to us. I think this is the first distribution of many more to come. “
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