[Press Conference: “Monkeypox Outbreak in the Region”]
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I KNOW THAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN DEALING WITH A LOT THE PAST FEW YEARS WITH COVID.IT'S BEEN DIFFICULT FOR OUR HEALTH, THE HEALTH OF THE COMMUNITY.
IT'S BEEN DIFFICULT FOR THE HEALTH OF THE ECONOMY.
IT'S BEEN DIFFICULT FOR SO MANY FRONTLINE WORKERS AND ALL KINDS OF PROFESSIONS.
IT'S BEEN DIFFICULT FOR PEOPLE'S MENTAL HEALTH.
AND NOW, UH, WE HAVE THIS OTHER VIRUS, UM, THAT SEEMS TO BE SPREADING ELSEWHERE.
AND, UM, I WANT TO BE VERY CLEAR ABOUT WHAT MONKEYPOX IS, WHAT IT ISN'T, ESPECIALLY GIVEN THE WHO DESIGNATION AND WHAT WE ARE DOING BECAUSE WE'RE WORKING VERY HARD, MAYOR TURNER AND I, WITH ALL OF OUR PARTNERS IN OUR COMMUNITY TO MAKE SURE WE STAY IN FRONT OF THIS.
SO, I'M GONNA GIVE MAYOR TURNER AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK FIRST.
THEN I WILL SHARE MY REMARKS AND WE'LL HAVE OTHER FOLKS SHARE SHARE REMARKS AS WELL.
AND IT'S GOOD TO BE, UM, AGAIN, BE, TO BE WITH YOU AND, AND STANDING WITH YOU.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE STOOD TOGETHER ON DEALING WITH COVID AND WE'RE STILL FACING C AND NOW HERE WE ARE DEALING WITH, WITH MARK PARK.
SO LEMME JUST SAY, UM, THE CITY OF HOUSTON AND HARRIS COUNTY WILL CONTINUE COLLABORATING ON A STRATEGY TO ADDRESS MONKEYPOX VACCINES AND TESTING FOR AT-RISK POPULATIONS.
IT WAS A POSITIVE STEP BY THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION TO DECLARE MONKEYPOX A GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.
AND I WANT TO ASSURE YOU THAT THE CITY OF HOUSTON AND HARRIS COUNTY ARE TAKING THIS MATTER EXTREMELY SERIOUSLY.
UH, RECOGNIZING THAT THIS IS A PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.
UM, WE ANNOUNCED LAST FRIDAY THAT THE HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT RECEIVED SLIGHTLY OVER 5,000 DOSES OF THE MONKEYPOX VACCINE.
THE DELIVERY OF THE DOSES ALLOCATED BY THE CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROLLED AND PREVENTION IN THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF STATE HEALTH SERVICES WILL ALLOW MORE VACCINES TO BECOME AVAILABLE FOR HOUSTON AND HARRIS COUNTY RESIDENTS AT THE HIGHEST RISK OF THE DISEASE.
THE DEPARTMENT, THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON, KEPT ABOUT 3,500 DOSES AND PROVIDED MORE THAN 1500 DOSES TO HARRIS COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH.
IT IS A TWO DOSE SERIES FOUR WEEKS APART FOR PREVENTION.
IF SOMEONE HAS BEEN EXPOSED, IT'S BEST TO START THE SERIES OF VACCINES WITHIN FOUR DAYS OF EXPOSURE.
AS MONKEYPOX CASES CONTINUE TO INCREASE, IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT THAT HOUSTONIANS KNOW THAT THE COMMUNITY THREAT LEVEL TO THE GENERAL POPULATION CONTINUES TO REMAIN LOW.
BUT THE NUMBER OF CASES IN THE HOUSTON AREA IS RISING, AND BECAUSE OF THE LIMITED SUPPLY OF THE VACCINES, IT IS STILL VERY CONCERNING.
IF YOU THINK YOU HAVE MONKEYPOX SYMPTOMS, PLEASE SPEAK FIRST WITH YOUR DOCTOR AND GET TESTED.
THE HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCED THE CITY'S FIRST CONFIRMED CASE OF MONKEYPOX ON JUNE 18TH.
THE CASE COUNT ROSE GRADUALLY OVER THE FOLLOWING WEEKS, AND NONE OF HOUSTON'S MONKEY P CASES, WELL, I WOULD SAY AT LEAST ONE HAS REQUIRED HOSPITALIZATION, AND THAT WAS PRIMARILY FOR PAIN MANAGEMENT.
HOUSTON CURRENTLY HAS 47 CONFIRMED CASES.
AT LEAST ONE HAS REQUIRED HOSPITALIZATION.
AND THESE, UH, PERSONS ARE NOT SEVERELY ILL JUST ISOLATING TO AVOID SPREADING THE INFECTION.
HOWEVER, THIS CA CASE COUNT IS LIKELY TO INCREASE BASED ON WHAT WE KNOW HAS HAPPENED IN OTHER CITIES.
MONKEYPOX IS A RARE V RARE VIRUS AND DOES NOT SPREAD EASILY BETWEEN PEOPLE WITHOUT CLOSE PERSONAL SKIN TO SKIN CONTACT.
THERE IS A LIMITED SUPPLY FROM THE CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION.
THE CDC AND WIDESPREAD VACCINATION IS NOT RECOMMENDED AT THIS TIME.
DUE TO THE LIMITED NATIONAL SUPPLY, THE VACCINE IS NOT YET WIDELY AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE.
THE FOCUS OF VACCINE AVAILABILITY IS PEOPLE WITH A LIKELY EXPOSURE TO A CONFIRMED MONKEYPOX CASE.
I WILL CLOSE BY SAYING THAT THE HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT IS DOING EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO INCREASE THE SUPPLY OF VACCINE.
AS JUDGE HIDALGO WAS MENTIONED SHORTLY, WE ARE SENDING A JOINT LETTER TO THE WHITE HOUSE AND CDC ASKING FOR MORE VACCINES TO MEET THE ANTICIPATED NEED OF, OF THE HOUSTON HARRIS COUNTY REGION.
AND WE NEED THEM TO PLEASE SEND US MORE VACCINES BEFORE THE NUMBERS EXPONENTIALLY INCREASE.
WE ARE THE FOURTH LARGEST AND THE MOST DIVERSE CITY IN THE COUNTRY,
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AND WE NEED MORE VACCINES.WE ALL CAN LEARN FROM WHAT HAPPENED IN CID.
IF YOU WAIT TOO LONG, THEN YOU ARE CHASING AFTER A PANDEMIC.
AND IN THIS CASE, WE DON'T WANT TO WAIT UNTIL THE CASES BECOME SO MANY THAT WE FIND OURSELVES BEHIND THE EIGHT BALL.
SO WE ARE ASKING THE CDC AND THE WHITE HOUSE TO SEND US MORE VACCINES.
LAST WEEK WE RECEIVED OVER 5,000.
HOPEFULLY IN THE NEXT WEEK OR TWO, WE'LL RECEIVE, UH, AT LEAST THAT AMOUNT.
I CERTAINLY WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR Y HARRIS WITH CONGRESSMAN SHEILA JACKSON LEE'S OFFICE.
I KNOW I'VE BEEN IN COMMUNICATION WITH HER AND SHE'S DOING EVERYTHING SHE CAN TO ASSIST US AS WELL.
BUT JUDGE, THANK YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP.
LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU, WITH YOU AND WITH ALL OF OUR HEALTH PROVIDERS, UH, IN MAKING THIS HAPPEN.
I KNOW IN ADDITION TO THE CITY OF HOUSTON AND SHARING WITH HARRIS COUNTY, I KNOW WE'RE ALSO MAKING VACCINES AVAILABLE, UH, TO SOME OF OUR PARTNERS AS WELL.
UH, I HAD THAT LIST BEFORE ME, BUT I'M SURE DIRECT, UH, STEVEN WILLIAMS WOULD MENTION THIS SHORTLY.
SO, AS FOLKS KNOW, IT'S, IT'S BEEN A LONG ROAD WITH COVID AND WE'RE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION TODAY NOT TO, NOT TO TRY TO BURDEN PEOPLE, UM, NOT TO MAKE PEOPLE SCARED, BUT TO GET TO WORK, TO PROACTIVELY WORK ON MAKING SURE THAT THIS TAKES A DIFFERENT TRAJECTORY TO INFORM FOLKS OF WHAT, OF WHAT WE NEED TO BE DOING.
SATURDAY, THE WORLD, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION DECLARED THE MONKEYPOX VIRUS A GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.
AS OF LAST FRIDAY, THE UNITED STATES HAD APPROXIMATELY 2,900 CONFIRMED CASES.
OF THOSE, TEXAS HAS ABOUT 183, AND HARRIS COUNTY HAS 57 CONFIRMED, INCLUDING THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
AS OF TODAY, HARRIS COUNTY HAS 10 CASES IN UNINCORPORATED HARRIS COUNTY, OUTSIDE THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
ALL HAVE BEEN MEN BETWEEN THE AGES 20 TO 58.
I WANT TO BE VERY CLEAR ABOUT THIS.
THE RISK IN HARRIS COUNTY RIGHT NOW REMAINS SLOW, EVEN THOUGH IT HAS BEEN SPREADING IN OTHER COUNTRIES, UM, IN OTHER CITIES.
IF WE LOOK AT THE RATE OF INFECTION IN HARRIS COUNTY AND IN TEXAS, FOR THAT MATTER, IT'S SLOWER THAN IT IS IN OTHER STATES.
SO WE'RE IN A PERFECT TIME TO LEAN FORWARD, TO PREPARE TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO TRY TO STOP THIS.
MINIMIZE THE IMPACT THAT THIS HAVE TO BE CLEAR ABOUT WHAT MONKEY POX IS.
IT CAN LOOK LIKE A PIMPLE OR A BLISTER OR A RASH, AN A LESION.
SOME FOLKS EXPERIENCE FEVERS HEADACHES BEFORE THEY BEGIN SEEING THE LESIONS.
AND SO, EVEN, ESPECIALLY NOW THAT WE HAVE SUCH HIGH CASE COUNTS OF COVID, FOLKS MIGHT THINK THAT THEY HAVE COVID.
FOLKS MIGHT THINK THEY HAVE A COLD, AND THEN THEY'LL BEGIN SEEING THOSE LESIONS.
WHY IS MONKEYPOX CONCERNING THEN? MONKEYPOX HAS SPREAD OUT OF AFRICA WHERE IT'S ENDEMIC AND HAS COME TO THE UNITED STATES BEFORE, BUT NEVER TO THIS KIND OF EXTENT.
WE'RE SEEING A LOT OF TRANSMISSION.
WE'RE SEEING THAT NOT JUST IN THE UNITED STATES, BUT IN OTHER COUNTRIES.
AND THAT'S NEW, EVEN THOUGH THIS DISEASE HAS BEEN AROUND FOR MANY DECADES, THIS VIRUS.
NOW, THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THIS IS A VIRUS THAT ALREADY EXISTED.
THE SMALLPOX VACCINE, WHICH WAS DEVELOPED MANY DECADES AGO, HAS BEEN SHOWN TO WORK AGAINST MONKEY POX.
IT HAS A TECHNOLOGY THAT WAS DEVELOPED A VERY LONG TIME AGO.
THERE ARE TREATMENT OPTIONS ALREADY AVAILABLE.
THE CHALLENGING NEWS IS THAT IT CAN CAUSE CERTAIN AREAS OF CONCERN, PARTICULARLY FOR THE IMMUNOCOMPROMISED, PARTICULARLY FOR CHILDREN.
UM, AND THERE'S SOME THINGS WE STILL DON'T KNOW ABOUT WHAT THE IMPACT OF THIS VIRUS COULD BE IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND FROM THE EXPERIENCE WITH COVID, THOSE UNKNOWNS, RIGHT, ARE THE CONCERN.
SO THERE ARE CERTAIN GROUPS RIGHT NOW THAT ARE AT HIGHER RISK.
WE KNOW NATIONWIDE, AND EVEN HERE IN HARRIS COUNTY, FROM WHAT WE'VE SEEN, MEN, PARTICULARLY MEN WHO HAVE SEX WITH MEN ARE, ARE AT HIGHER RISK.
SECOND, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, ANYONE CAN GET MONKEYPOX THAT IS NOT LIMITED TO ANY ONE POPULATION.
JUST THIS FRIDAY, WE LEARNED OF THE FIRST TWO CHILDREN THAT WERE DIAGNOSED
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WITH MONKEYPOX, HIV AIDS WAS UNDERESTIMATED BY THE PUBLIC AND STIGMATIZED BY THE COMMUNITY AND BY THE MEDIA TO SOME EXTENT BECAUSE INITIALLY IT IMPACTED JUST A CERTAIN POPULATION BECAUSE IT WAS IGNORED, BECAUSE IT WAS STIGMATIZED, IT QUICKLY SPREAD THROUGH THE, THE, THE OTHER GROUPS ULTIMATELY CAUSING A CRISIS.WE UNDERSTAND HOW DISEASE SPREADS, AND WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT THIS VIRUS IS NOT JUST LIMITED TO ONE COMMUNITY, AND WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T FALL INTO THAT SAME TRAP.
WE'RE DOING OUR DUE DILIGENCE TO LEARN AS MUCH AS WE CAN ABOUT THE VIRUS AND TO LEARN ABOUT WHAT OTHER JURISDICTIONS ARE DOING.
JUST THIS AFTERNOON BEFORE THE PRESS CONFERENCE, I WAS ON THE PHONE WITH OFFICIALS FROM COOK, COOK COUNTY, FROM CHICAGO.
THEY'VE BEEN SEEING CASES A LITTLE LONGER THAN WE HAVE.
THEY HAVE MORE EXPERIENCE AS TO WHAT'S HAPPENED, WHAT TO DO, WHAT, WHAT ARE SOME LESSONS LEARNED.
WE'RE WORKING TOGETHER, THE CITY, THE COUNTY, OUR OFFICIALS ARE HOSPITAL SYSTEMS. AND WE HOPE TO BRING THE COMMUNITY ALONG IN THOSE EFFORTS AS WELL.
I SPOKE WITH SHERIFF GONZALEZ THIS AFTERNOON AS WELL, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE INCREASING SCREENING, UM, AND THAT FOLKS THAT, THAT ARE LOOKING AFTER THAT POPULATION ARE AWARE AND LEANING PROACTIVELY.
WE'RE GETTING TESTING AND VACCINATION READY.
WE ALREADY HAVE CITY AND COUNTY CONTACT TRACING, TESTING AND VACCINATION CAPACITY, BUT WE'RE WORKING TO CREATE A PROCESS FOR MORE OF EACH OF THOSE AS MORE BECOMES AVAILABLE AND AS DEMAND INCREASES, HERE'S WHAT WE NEED THE COMMUNITY TO DO.
IF YOU HAVE A NEW OR UNKNOWN LESION, ASSUME IT'S MONKEYPOX AND GO AND GET IT TESTED.
LIMIT INTIMATE AND SEXUAL CONTACT WITH ANONYMOUS PARTNERS.
IF YOU BELIEVE YOU NEED THE VACCINE, CONTACT HARRIS COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH OR CONTACT THE HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
THE PHONE NUMBERS ARE (832) 927-0707 AND 8 3 2 3 9 3 42 20.
REDDY HARRIS.ORG WILL ALWAYS HAVE THE LATEST INFORMATION.
FOLKS WHO'VE TESTED POSITIVE FOR MONKEY POXY TO ISOLATE UNTIL ALL LESIONS HAVE COMPLETELY HEALED AND A NEW LAYER OF SKIN HAS FORMED OVER.
WHERE CAN PEOPLE GET TESTED? THIS IS DIFFERENT FROM COVID IN THE SENSE THAT YOU CAN GET TESTED WITH ANY PROVIDER.
YOUR PROVIDER SHOULD HAVE A CONTRACT WITH THE LABORATORY, AND THEY CAN TAKE THAT SWAB OF THE LESION.
THAT'S HOW THE TESTING WORKS, AND SEND THAT SAMPLE OVER TO A LABORATORY PROVIDER.
SO RIGHT NOW, WE'RE NOT SEEING THAT LIMITED CAPACITY WHEN IT COMES TO TESTING.
IF YOU DON'T HAVE INSURANCE, IF YOU DON'T HAVE A PROVIDER, YOU CAN CONTACT OUR PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENTS AND WE CAN HELP GET YOU TESTED, WHETHER IT IS VIA OUR DEPARTMENTS OR WHETHER IT IS HELPING YOU PAIR, PAIR YOU WITH A PROVIDER, UM, THAT WILL NOT CHARGE A FEE AND THAT DOESN'T REQUIRE INSURANCE.
SO AGAIN, THOSE ARE THE SAME PHONE NUMBERS ON VACCINES, A BIT OF GOOD NEWS AND A BIT OF BAD NEWS.
THE GOOD NEWS, AS I MENTIONED, THERE IS A VACCINE ALREADY AVAILABLE.
IT'S A VACCINE THAT'S TRIED AND TRUE THAT'S SMALLPOX VACCINE.
AND, AND IT'S IS, IS VERY, VERY WELL DEVELOPED.
THE CHALLENGING NEWS IS WE JUST DON'T HAVE ENOUGH, JUST AS THE MAYOR SAID.
SO RIGHT NOW WHERE WE'VE SEEN, UH, JUST A FEW DOZEN CASES, THE VACCINES WE HAVE AVAILABLE MAY BE ENOUGH, BUT AS THIS SPREADS IN A COMMUNITY AS LARGE AS OURS, WE DON'T WANT THOSE VACCINES TO BE A LIMITING FACTOR.
AND SO THE PEOPLE WHO QUALIFY RIGHT NOW, INDIVIDUALS WHO'VE HAD A CONTACT WITH A PRESUMED OR CONFIRMED MONKEY PX CASE, AS SOON AS A PROVIDER TELLS US THAT SOMEONE HAS MONKEY PX, WE CONTACT THOSE THAT THEY'VE HAD THAT INTIMATE CONTACT WITH AND WE GET THEM VACCINATED.
SO THAT'S ONE GROUP INDIVIDUALS WHO HAD A PRESUMED EXPOSURE BECAUSE THEY KNOW THAT A SEXUAL PARTNER IN THE LAST 14 DAYS WAS, UH, DIAGNOSED WITH MONKEYPOX.
THOSE FOLKS CAN GET THE VACCINE AS WELL.
OR SOMEONE WHO HAS HAD MULTIPLE SEXUAL PARTNERS IN THE LAST 14 DAYS.
THOSE FOLKS ARE ELIGIBLE FOR THE VACCINE.
THE CONCERN IS, OF COURSE, THE MAYOR MENTIONED THESE, UM, 3000 DOSES EACH VACCINE ROUND EACH, UH, FULL VACCINATION IS TWO DOSES.
SO REALLY THAT LEAVES US WITH, UM, JUST OVER A THOUSAND VACCINES FOR FOR THE ENTIRE POPULATION.
AND THAT IS WHY WE'RE SAYING WE NEED MORE, MORE SUPPLY OF VACCINES BEFORE WE END UP IN A SITUATION WHERE THOSE VACCINES ARE THE LIMITING FACTOR.
SO MAYOR TURNER AND I ARE ASKING THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT QUICKLY PROCURE AND ALLOCATE MORE VACCINES TO OUR REGION.
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THAT THE REGIONS THAT ARE SEEING HIGHER CASE COUNTS RIGHT NOW ARE GETTING, UM, THE BULK OF THE VACCINES.WHAT WE WANT TO APPRECIATE IS THAT WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEAPFROG AHEAD OF THIS VIRUS TO TRY TO MITIGATE IT IN A WAY THAT WE COULDN'T DO WITH COVID BECAUSE WE DIDN'T HAVE VACCINATIONS AT THAT TIME.
OUR MISSION, MY MISSION WILL BE TO FIGHT THIS VIRUS WITH INFORMATION TO FIGHT THIS VIRUS WITH TRANSPARENCY TO FIGHT THIS VIRUS WITH THE BEST, UM, HEALTH INFORMATION AND TOOLS THAT WE HAVE.
AND WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE DOING THAT ALONGSIDE THE COMMUNITY.
I WILL KEEP THE COMMUNITY INFORMED AS WE HAVE ANY DEVELOPMENTS, AND WE WILL BE PUSHING FOR MORE RESOURCES FOR HARRIS COUNTY AND FOR HOUSTON.
WE ARE IN TOUCH WITH OUR CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION.
I KNOW THEY ONLY WANT WHAT'S BEST FOR OUR REGION AS WELL, BUT RIGHT NOW WE CAN MAKE MORE OF A DIFFERENCE AND MITIGATE THIS BEFORE IT BECOMES A, A SERIOUS THREAT TO THE COMMUNITY.
BY EACH OF US DOING OUR PART, MAKING SURE THAT YOU GET TESTED IF YOU, IF YOU THINK AT ALL THAT YOU MAY HAVE MON MONKEY POX, AND THAT COULD BE ANY SORT OF UNKNOWN OR NEW LESION, MAKING SURE THAT YOU CALL US IF YOU BELIEVE YOU QUALIFY OR NEED THE VACCINE AND TO LIMIT THAT INTIMATE CONTACT.
AND TO BE VERY CLEAR, NOT JUST SEXUAL CONTACT, JUST TOUCHING THE SKIN, KISSING THAT CAN TRANSMIT THE DISEASE.
SO LIMITING THAT INTIMATE SEXUAL CONTACT WITH ANONYMOUS PARTNERS OR ANYONE THAT YOU THINK MAY HAVE MONKEYPOX.
UM, SO WITH THAT, LET ME REPEAT IN SPANISH AND THEN I'LL PASS IT ON, UH, TO OUR COLLEAGUES HERE AND, AND WE'LL ALL TAKE QUESTIONS.
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GON I'M GONNA INTRODUCE LEGACY COMMUNITY HEALTH, INFECTIOUS DISEASE SPECIALIST, DR.AND THEN WE HAVE, UM, HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR STEVEN WILLIAMS HERE.
THANK YOU DR. WILLIAMS FOR JOINING US AS WELL AS HARRIS COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR BARBIE ROBINSON, AND OUR LOCAL HEALTH AUTHORITY FOR HARRIS COUNTY.
ERICA BROWN, UH, WHO WILL BE READY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS? YES.
YES, BECAUSE I FORGOT TO, I FORGOT TO MENTION TWO THINGS.
WELL, THE CITY OF HOUSTON'S, UH, HEALTH DEPARTMENT, UH, WE ARE PRIORITIZING TWO GROUPS FOR THE VACCINE.
ONE IS A GROUP THAT, UH, JUDGE, UH, JUST SPOKE ABOUT, UH, UH, UH, INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE HIGH OR INTERMEDIATE RISK EXPOSURE WITH SOMEONE WITH MONKEYPOX OR PEOPLE WHO ATTENDED AN EVENT OR VENUE WITH HIGH RISK EXPOSURE.
AND THE SECOND GROUP ARE ADULTS, ADULTS DIAGNOSED WITH SPECIFIC SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASE.
SO THAT FIRST GROUP IS THE NUMBER ONE PRIORITY.
AND THEN THE SECOND GROUP OF THOSE ADULTS DIAGNOSED WITH SPECIFIC SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES.
OF THAT 5,000 VACCINES THAT WE RECEIVE, IN ADDITION TO PROVIDING DOSAGE TO HARRIS COUNTY, WE PROVIDED DOSES TO BE BUSY TO LEGACY AND TO DR. JOSEPH GAT.
AND THEN LASTLY, UH, FOR MORE INFORMATION, UH, YOU CAN REACH US AT THE CITY OF HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT AT 8 3 2 3 9 3 4 2 2 0.
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I'M DR.I'M THE INFECTIOUS DISEASE SPECIALIST AT LEGACY COMMUNITY HEALTH.
AND I WANT TO YOU TO REITERATE WHAT, UM, UH, JUDGE ALGO AND MAYOR TURNER HAS TOLD US NOW THAT, UM, THIS MONKEYPOX VIRUS IS NOT A NEW VIRUS.
WE'VE KNOWN THIS, IT'S, IT'S BEEN CAUSING INFECTIONS AND, UH, AND, UH, IT'S ENDEMIC IN THE, IN THE AFRICA.
BUT, UH, WHAT WE NEED TO DO NOW, UH, THE TAKEAWAY MESSAGE NOW FROM, FROM THIS MEETING IS THAT DO NOT PANIC, RIGHT? THIS IS NOT THE TIME FOR US TO BE ALARMED, BUT THIS IS TIME FOR US TO BE INFORMED.
AND ANOTHER THING, VERY IMPORTANT THING IS SINCE WE'RE SEEING MOST OF THE CASES IN, IN A CERTAIN COMMUNITY, IN MEN WHO ARE HAVING SEX WITH MEN, AND THEN PEOPLE WHO IDENTIFY THE AS BISEXUAL, PLEASE DO NOT, UM, LET US NOT STIGMATIZE THIS POPULATION AND LET US NOT DISCRIMINATE AGAINST THIS GROUP OF PEOPLE.
SO THAT, THAT IS AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE THAT I WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU ALL HERE TODAY.
IT'S NOT AN STD, IT'S NOT A SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASE, BUT IT IS TRANSMITTED THROUGH CLOSE, UH, PHYSICAL CONTACT THROUGH CONTACT SKIN TO SKIN CONTACT, OR DIRECT FACE-TO-FACE CONTACT.
AND THIS CAN OCCUR DURING A SEXUAL ACTIVITY.
SO THAT IS WHY YOU MIGHT SEE THIS AFTER A PERSON IS ENGAGED IN ENCLOSED, UH, ACTIVITY SUCH AS A SEXUAL ACTIVITY.
AND THIS, ANOTHER IMPORTANT THING IS THIS IS NOT AN AIRBORNE DISEASE.
SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? THIS DOES NOT TRAVEL LONG DISTANCES, AND IT IS NOT AS TRANSMISSIBLE AS COVID-19 VIRUS.
WHAT WE NEED TO BE IS GAIN AS MUCH KNOWLEDGE AS POSSIBLE, RIGHT? AND EDUCATE OURSELVES, EDUCATE OUR POPULATION AROUND US.
AND WHAT ARE THE IMPORTANT, UH, STEPS TO PREVENT GETTING THIS MONKEYPOX VIRUS? AVOID CLOSE SKIN TO SKIN CONTACT WITH PEOPLE.
HAVE A RASH THAT LOOKS LIKE MONKEY PX.
SO DO NOT TOUCH THE RASH OR SCABS OF A PERSON WITH MONKEY PX.
DO NOT KISS, HUG, CUDDLE, OR HAVE SEX WITH SOMEONE WITH MONKEY PARKS.
DO NOT SHARE UTENSILS OR CUPS WITH A PERSON WITH MONKEY PS.
DO NOT HANDLE OR TOUCH BEDDING, TOWELS OR CLOTHING OF A PERSON WITH MONKEY PARKS.
BUT BECAUSE THIS IS, UH, THROUGH CLOSE CONTACT AND DROPLET INFECTION, DO NOT, DO NOT PANIC ABOUT SHARING THE ELEVATOR WITH SOMEONE WHO MIGHT HAVE A LESION.
OR DO NOT BE AFRAID TO STAND IN THE GROCERY LINE THINKING SOMEONE WITH A LESION THAT MIGHT LOOK LIKE A MONKEY POX.
AND YOU'RE GONNA BE INFECTED WITH THAT.
WASH YOUR HANDS AS OFTEN WITH SOAP AND WATER, OR USE AN ALCOHOL BASED SANITIZER.
SO NOW, UM, WE'VE ALREADY HEARD OF SOME OF THE SYMPTOMS OF MONKEY POX, RIGHT? SO THIS IS JUST TO REITERATE WHAT WE'VE ALREADY HEARD.
SO THE INITIAL PHASE MIGHT BE LIKE A FEW, LIKE ILLNESS PATIENTS MIGHT PRESENT WITH FEVER, EXHAUSTION, HEADACHE, BODY ACHES, OR SWOLLEN LYMPH NODES.
AND THIS IS CALLED THE PRODOME PHASE.
AND THEN THEY MIGHT START DEVELOPING THE RASH, THE, THE CHARACTERISTIC RASH OF MONKEY POX WITHIN 24 HOURS OF DEVELOPING THESE SYMPTOMS. SO THE RASH MIGHT LOOK LIKE PIMPLES INITIALLY, AND THEY MIGHT GO THROUGH DIFFERENT STAGES LIKE AN INITIAL PIMPLE, THEN IT MIGHT LOOK LIKE A BOIL, A SAL BOIL, LIKE A PUSTULE.
AND THEN IT MIGHT START TO S SCAB LIKE FORM A CRUST.
SO DURING ALL THESE STAGES, THE RASH MIGHT LOOK LIKE A PIMPLE, A BOIL, LIKE, WHICH COULD BE A, LIKE A STAPH INFECTION, OR IT COULD APPEAR LIKE HERPES.
AND SOME OF THESE LESIONS CAN EVEN LOOK LIKE SYPHILIS.
AND MOST OF THIS, UH, THE RASH MIGHT APPEAR ON THE FACE, ON THE EXTREMITIES, SUCH AS YOUR PALMS AND SOS.
AND ALSO IN, IN THE GENTLE AREA AND THE A**L AREA.
THE RASH GOES TO THIS DIFFERENT STAGES, AND IT MIGHT TAKE UP TO TWO TO FOUR WEEKS FOR ALL THE STAGES TO BE CO COMPLETED IN A PERSON.
AND THE PERSON IS CONSIDERED TO BE INFECTIVE TO OTHERS AS LONG AS ALL THE LESIONS CAB OFF THE, THE SCAPS FALL OFF AND THERE'S A NEW SKIN FORMED IN ITS PLACE.
SOMETIMES PATIENTS MIGHT NOT DEVELOP, UH, THE PRODROME AND THERE MIGHT COME UP WITH JUST A RASH.
THE RASH MIGHT BE FEW, JUST A FEW.
AND PATIENT MIGHT PRESENT IS LIKE IT STARTED OFF AS A PIMPLE AND NOW IT LOOKS LIKE A COLD, SO COLD SORE, THAT MIGHT BE THE PRESENTATION.
SO WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU SEE YOUR RASH? PLEASE CONTACT YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER WHILE YOU'RE WAITING TO SEE YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER.
AVOID CONTACT WITH EVEN CLOSE PEOPLE AND MAKE SURE YOUR, YOUR RASH IS COVERED ONCE YOU GET YOUR APPOINTMENT.
AND, AND WHILE YOUR PROVIDER IS TESTING.
AVOID PEOPLE AGAIN AND WAIT PATIENTLY UNTIL YOU GET YOUR RESULTS.
IF YOU TEST POSITIVE FOR THE MONKEY POX, THEN YOU'LL HAVE TO BE ISOLATED UNTIL ALL YOUR LESIONS FALL OFF.
AND SO THAT IS VERY IMPORTANT.
SO ONE IS ONCE YOU HAVE THE LESIONS, CONTACT YOUR PROVIDER AND BE HONEST WITH YOUR PROVIDER THAT WHAT, WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN,
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WHAT HAVE YOUR, UH, HIGH RISK ACTIVITIES BEEN THAT YOU THINK THIS COULD BE MONKEY PARKS, RIGHT? YOUR PROVIDER MIGHT NOT KNOW, UM, WHAT YOU'VE BEEN DOING IN THE LAST TWO WEEKS, RIGHT? SO BE HONEST WITH YOUR PROVIDER.UH, REACH OUT TO YOUR PROVIDER AND GET TESTING DONE.
AND, UM, UH, LIKE, LIKE WE'VE ALREADY KNOW THERE'S SOME VACCINES AVAILABLE AND UM, THIS IS WHAT WE REALLY WANT NOW AT THIS POINT.
UM, KNOWLEDGE, BE INFORMED, GET TESTED AND ISOLATE IF YOU'RE POSITIVE.
WE'LL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS? YES.
HOW MANY VACCINES DO YOU HAVE ON HAND RIGHT NOW? CURRENTLY IN HARRIS COUNTY WE HAVE, UM, 799 TOTAL VACCINES.
IF YOU COUNT, YOU KNOW, YOU NEED TWO DOSES TO GET THE FULL COURSE.
THAT'S FOR UNINCORPORATED HARRIS COUNTY.
THE CITY OF HOUSTON HAS MORE BECAUSE THEY'VE HAD THE BULK OF THE CASES.
THE VACCINES HAVE GONE FROM THE STATE TO THE CITY OF HOUSTON, FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF THE STATE.
THE CITY OF HOUSTON HAS DISTRIBUTED SOME OF US TO HARRIS COUNTY.
AND WE REACHED THE AGREEMENT TO LET YOU KNOW, HAVE THE BULK OF THEM GO TO THE CITY AND UH, A CHUNK OF THEM TO HARRIS COUNTY AS WE RECEIVE MORE SHIPMENTS.
WE'LL, WE'LL REALLOCATE, I'LL LET THE MAYOR ANSWER THE, THE CITY NUMBERS.
THE CITY OF HOUSTON HAS ABOUT 3,500.
AND AGAIN, YOU KNOW, TWO DOSES.
THE HOPE IS THAT THE CDC WILL BE SENDING US MORE.
AND THAT'S FOR THE REASON FOR THE JOINT LETTER.
AND WHEN YOU SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING IN NEW YORK, DC SAN FRANCISCO, CHICAGO, THIS IS THE FOURTH LARGEST CITY, THE MOST DIVERSE.
AND WE'VE GONE FROM ONE TO 20 TO 35.
SO OUR NUMBERS, THOSE SMALL ARE, ARE INCREASING.
WE WANT TO GET AHEAD OF IT AND WE WANNA BE ABLE TO PROVIDE VACCINES JUST BEYOND THAT TOP PRIORITY GROUP.
OKAY? SO WE ARE ENCOURAGING THE CDC TO SEND US MORE, UH, SORRY, JUST A LITTLE BACK.
SO, UH, ABOUT 800 FOR HARRIS COUNTY, 3,500 FOR YOU GUYS.
SO THERE'S ANOTHER 700 OUT THERE.
WHERE DID THOSE GO? AND ARE THOSE ALREADY DISTRIBUTED OR, AND THEN WE DISTRIBUTED SOME TO BE BUSY TO LEGACY AND TO DR. JOSEPH GAT.
OKAY, SO THESE, AND HOW MANY OF THOSE HAVE BEEN ADMINISTERED OF THE 5,000? UH, REPEAT THAT QUESTION ONE MORE TIME.
HOW MANY OF THE 5,000 VACCINES HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN ADMINISTERED TO PATIENTS? UNDER 200? SAY AGAIN? UNDER 200.
AND, AND I'LL LET, UH, DIRECTOR ROBINSON OR DR. BROWN CLARIFY IF I'M MISTAKEN HERE, BUT THE NUMBER, SO MAYOR AND I GAVE NUMBERS AND, AND YOU KNOW, COME FROM, COME FROM DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS.
SO HE MENTIONED THE NUMBER OF DOSES AND I MENTIONED THE NUMBER OF FULL COURSES.
SO FROM, FOR HARRIS COUNTY IS 709 TIMES TWO.
AND SO THAT'S WHY THE NUMBERS, THAT'S THE DIFFERENCE.
OH, SO 799 IS TOTAL COURSES? EXACTLY.
SO YOU MULTIPLY THAT BY TWO ON THE NUMBER OF DOSES.
YES, BECAUSE I JUST DON'T WANT, I WANT FOLKS TO KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, THE NUMBER MIGHT SEEM A LITTLE BIT BIGGER THAN IT REALLY IS BECAUSE WE HAVE TO SAVE HALF OF THEM FOR THE SECOND DOSE.
AND IT'S FOUR WEEKS BETWEEN THE FIRST DOSE AND THE SECOND DOSE.
AND, AND THAT'S THE THING IS AS PEOPLE COME FOR, COME FORWARD, UM, THAT MAY HAVE THOSE CLOSE CONTACTS WITH PEOPLE WHO WHO HAVE BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH MONKEYPOX, WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO VACCINATE THEM.
AND, UM, AND THAT'S WHAT WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO GET, TO GET AHEAD WITH.
BUT WE DON'T WANNA HAVE THAT LIMITING FACTOR OF NOT HAVING ENOUGH VACCINES.
AND I'LL TELL YOU GUYS, FROM SPEAKING TO MY COLLEAGUES AROUND THE COUNTRY, THAT IS WHAT THEY'RE BUMPING UP AGAINST.
SO IT'S NOT A MATTER OF IF, IT'S A MATTER OF WHEN AND, AND WE WANNA BE ABLE TO GET AHEAD, WHICH IS WHY WE'RE CALLING ATTENTION TO THIS NOW AND SENDING THE LETTER TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT NOW.
AND AT THE SAME TIME, AS I JUST SAID, AT THE SAME TIME, WE DON'T WANT VACCINES JUST TO REMAIN ON THE SHELF.
SO WE ARE GOING TO BE MONITORING THINGS VERY, VERY CLOSELY.
UH, SO WE HAVE THOSE PRIORITY GROUPS, OKAY, THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO HIGH RISK EXPOSURE, UH, THOSE WHO, UH, MAY BE DEALING WITH SEXUAL ORIENTED, UH, DISEASES ALREADY, BUT WE DON'T WANT VACCINES TO REMAIN ON THE SHELF.
SO WE'LL BE MONITORING THINGS CLOSELY, BUT WHERE WE CAN GET THEM OUT TO TRY TO GET A IN FRONT TO KEEP THE NUMBERS FROM EXPONENTIALLY INCREASING, UH, THAT'S WHAT WE WILL DO.
AND THAT'S WHY I AM REALLY PUSHING HARD FOR THE CDC TO SEND TO HOUSTON, HARRIS COUNTY MORE VACCINES.
LET'S NOT WAIT UNTIL THE NUMBERS REALLY START TO GROW AND THEN SEND US VACCINES TO TRY TO GET BACK IN FRONT OF THIS TRAIN.
SO A COUPLE OF OTHER QUESTIONS, IF I MAY.
AND THESE ARE FROM SOME OTHER REPORTERS AT OUR SHOP, SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF A HODGEPODGE HERE, BUT, UM, SO WE'VE HAD REPORTERS WHO HAVE
[00:35:01]
GOTTEN COMPLAINTS FROM MEDICAL PROVIDERS WHO FEEL LIKE THAT THEY AREN'T GETTING DIRECTION, UH, FROM THE HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT, UM, LITTLE TO NO GUIDANCE, FILLING OUT FIVE PAGE LONG FORMS, BUT NOT GETTING ANSWERS.SO THE QUESTION IS, WHAT SPECIFIC COMMUNICATION HAVE YOU HAD WITH AREA MEDICAL PROVIDERS? DO YOU HAVE ANY PROOF TO THAT, THAT YOU PROVIDED THAT INFORMATION? THE SHORT ANSWER TO THAT IS YES.
UH, AS A HEALTH DEPARTMENT, ONE OF OUR RESPONSIBILITIES IS TO PROVIDE CONSULTATION TO PROVIDERS WITHIN OUR, OUR JURISDICTION.
OUR STAFF HAVE ACTUALLY HAD SESSIONS, UH, WITH MEDICAL PROVIDERS.
UH, WE'VE ALSO ELICITED, UH, A A NUMBER OF PROVIDERS TO, UH, TAKE FOLKS IN THAT DO NOT HAVE MEDICAL HOMES.
WE'VE ALSO HAD ROUND TABLES WITH, UH, COMMU COMMUNITY GROUPS, UH, JUST TO PROVIDE OUTREACH AND, AND EDUCATION.
AND YOU CAN GO TO OUR WEBSITE, UH, WHERE WE DO HAVE A DOCUMENT, UH, THAT SPEAKS TO ALL OF US.
CAN YOU, I, I THINK WHAT THEY'RE ASKING FOR IS CAN YOU GIVE, YOU KNOW, NAME, NAMES, GIVE US AN IDEAS, WHICH ORGANIZATIONS, THAT KIND OF THING THAT YOU'VE SPOKEN TO.
UM, AND ACTUALLY I CAN GIVE YOU A HANDOUT IF YOU WANT.
AND ONE OF THE CONCERNS HAS BEEN, FOR EXAMPLE, ONE OF OUR REPORTERS INTERVIEWED SOMEBODY WHO TICKED ALL THE BOXES IN TERMS OF EXPOSURE AND ALL THESE SORTS OF THINGS, BUT COULD NOT GET THE VACCINE SHOT.
A GENTLEMAN NAMED DANIEL, MAYBE YOU SAW THAT, THAT THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT, WHAT WE'RE DEALING WITH AND, AND, AND CREATING THAT CATEGORY BE BECAUSE INITIALLY BECAUSE WE LOOKED AT THE SCARCITY OF A VACCINE, OUR CRITERIA WAS NARROW.
IT WAS ACTUALLY FOLLOWING THE CDCS INITIAL GUIDELINES.
AND AS WE BEGAN TO LOOK AT THAT, WE ACTUALLY EXPANDED IT.
WE JUST, BY THE EXPERIENCE WE WERE HAVING, WE REALLY HAD TO EXPAND IT, UH, JUST BECAUSE OF, UH, UH, CONTACTS THAT WERE NOT NECESSARILY IDENTIFIABLE.
AND SO WE WENT TO A SPECIFIC VENUE TO, TO HOLD A, A VACCINATION EVENT BECAUSE WE KNEW THAT, UH, PEOPLE WHO WERE AT HIGH RISK HAD ACTUALLY VISITED THAT VENUE.
OH, SO YOU WENT TO THE VENUE WHERE THERE WAS EXPOSURE? YES, WE DID.
UM, DIRECTOR, I HAVE A QUESTION HERE IN THE BACK.
UM, COULD YOU TALK ABOUT THE, UM, FINE LINE OF PUTTING OUT AWARE, TRYING TO GET AWARENESS WITHOUT STIGMATIZING A SPECIFIC COMMUNITY? I KNOW GLOBALLY THE MEMBERS THAT SEEING BISEXUAL MEN, MEN HAVE SEX WITH MEN SEEM TO BE, UM, MOST DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTED BY MONKEY PRODUCTS.
COULD YOU TALK ABOUT THAT? YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT IN FACT IS A CHALLENGE.
UH, JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE AN MSM, UH, DOESN'T NECESSARILY PUT YOU AT HIGH RISK.
IT IS ABOUT THE, THE BEHAVIOR THAT YOU ENGAGE IN.
UH, I I THINK THAT THE SPEAKERS EARLIER REFERRED TO THAT IT IS ABOUT THE SPECIFIC BEHAVIOR JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE AN MSM OR, OR WHATEVER DOESN'T NECESSARILY PUT YOU AT HIGH RISK.
AND THAT'S REALLY WHAT SHE WAS, THE QUESTION WAS SPEAKING TO EARLIER, OUR, OUR EPIDEMIOLOGIST ACTUALLY WENT THROUGH AN ALGORITHM TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT THAT INDIVIDUAL WAS AT HIGH RISK.
I THINK WE HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT BECAUSE THERE IS A LEVEL OF FEAR WITHIN THE COMMUNITY WHEN WE START TALKING ABOUT JUST GENERALLY THAT PEOPLE BECOME FEARFUL WHEN IN FACT THEY MIGHT NOT BE AT IN A HIGH RISK CATEGORY.
CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WASTEWATER AND HOW THAT KNOW COVID TESTED THE WASTEWATER? UM, SOMETHING SIMILAR WOULD BE HAVING, OR IS IT ALREADY WE'RE NOT DOING THAT CURRENTLY.
IS IT POSSIBLE BECAUSE THERE, THERE ARE, THERE ARE JURISDICTIONS THAT HAVE LOOKED AT THIS IS DR. WHITE.
THERE ARE JURISDICTIONS THAT LOOK AT DIFFERENT VIRUSES AND WASTEWATER.
SO OUR DEPARTMENT IS LOOKING AT DIFFERENT OPTIONS, BUT TO SAY AT THIS TIME THAT WE'VE GOT A NUMBER TO TELL YOU IN WASTEWATER, WE'RE NOT DOING THAT RIGHT NOW.
IS THERE LIKE LETTING YOU MAY START? OH YES.
CER CERTAINLY AS A HEALTH DEPARTMENT, WE WOULD HAVE AN INTEREST IN DOING THAT.
UH, BUT UH, IF WE HAD THE RESOURCES TO DO IT AND IT WAS POSSIBLE, I LAB HAD THE CAPACITY, WE WOULD PROBABLY DO IT.
UH, ON A LONG TERM BASIS, WE ARE ACTUALLY LOOKING AT WASTEWATER AS A BROADER SURVEILLANCE ACTIVITY BECAUSE, UH, IT HAS, UH, REALLY BEEN HELPFUL, UH, DURING, DURING COVID.
I, I, I CAN'T GO IN ANY ENVIRONMENT AND OR CONVENTION WITHOUT SOMEONE MENTIONING IT.
AND SO WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT WHAT THE BROADER UNIVERSE WOULD LOOK LIKE IN TERMS OF USING WASTEWATER WATER AS A, A GLO, A, A, A MORE GENERAL SURVEILLANCE, UH, TOOL, UH, WITH THE WHO DESIGNATION OF THE GLOBAL HEALTH, UH, EMERGENCY.
ANY, DOES THAT IMPACT ANY KIND OF CHANGE EITHER AT THE COUNTY OR THE CITY LEVEL IN TERMS OF RESPONSE? PART OF OF, OF WHAT IT WAS IS, UM, SENDING A MESSAGE TO HEALTH DEPARTMENTS ALL THROUGHOUT THE WORLD TO, TO, TO REALLY, UM, TAKE THIS ON.
[00:40:01]
OF COURSE, ALL OF US HAD BEEN PREPARING.WE'D BEEN WORKING JUST THIS PAST WEEK AT COMMISSIONER'S COURT.
WE TOOK UNANIMOUS ACTION RELATED TO CORONAVIRUS, UM, AND, AND MONKEYPOX.
UM, WE JUST HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH OUR EMERGENCY OPERATIONS TEAM AS WELL.
THEY'VE BEEN RUNNING SCENARIOS.
THE COORDINATION HAS BEEN HAPPENING ON MONKEYPOX.
UM, BUT I THINK THAT, THAT, THAT SIGNAL IT'S IMPORTANT TO, TO REALLY HEAR IT NOT JUST AS DEPARTMENTS AND GOVERNMENT, BUT AS A COMMUNITY.
AND THAT'S WHY WE WANT TO HAVE THIS PRESS CONFERENCE TODAY, IS TO COMMUNICATE TO THE COMMUNITY, LOOK, WE'RE GONNA ADVOCATE FOR HOUSTON, HARRIS COUNTY TO GET THOSE VACCINES.
WE'RE GONNA WORK WITH OUR PARTNERS TO MAKE SURE THAT TESTING IS ACCESSIBLE AND IT ALREADY IS OUT THERE, BUT THAT IT'S MORE ACCESSIBLE, THAT VACCINES ARE MORE ACCESSIBLE, THAT TREATMENTS ARE MORE ACCESSIBLE.
BUT TO THE EXTENT THAT THE COMMUNITY CAN FOLLOW THOSE SIMPLE STEPS NOW, IT'LL HELP BUY US SOME TIME, MAKE SURE THAT WHEN WE CAN OBSERVE WHAT'S HAPPENING IN OTHER JURISDICTIONS, WE CAN GET MORE VACCINES OVER HERE.
AND THEN, UM, THIS IS, IT IS ABOUT ACTIONS.
IT'S NOT ABOUT FEAR, IT'S ABOUT GETTING THINGS DONE, WORKING TOGETHER, GETTING AHEAD OF THIS, UM, AND, AND, AND, AND, AND JUST GETTING IT DONE.
AND THAT'S THE POINT WE'RE IN NOW.
UM, OF THE NUMBERS THAT YOU GAVE FOR THE, YOU KNOW, INFECT THOSE INFECTED IN HU IN HOUSTON AND HARRIS COUNTY, UH, ARE THOSE ALL CURRENT INFECTIONS OR SINCE THE OUTBREAK? HAVE YOU, I GUESS THE QUESTION IS ANY RECOVERIES IN THAT NUMBER? I'LL GIVE, UH, DR. BROWN, GO AHEAD.
YES, GOOD AFTERNOON, DR. BROWN, LOCAL HEALTH AUTHORITY FOR HARRIS COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH.
SO SINCE WE'VE SEEN OUR FIRST CASES, THE, THE COUNTY AS A WHOLE HAS SEEN A TOTAL TOTAL OF, OF 57 CASES.
HARRIS COUNTY, UNINCORPORATED HAS SEEN 10, AND HOUSTON HAS SEEN 47.
AND OF THOSE, ANY RECOVERIES AT ALL OR EVERYONE'S STILL SICK.
SO THE, THE COURSE FOR MOST IN GENERAL, AND THAT'S A GOOD POINT, THANK YOU.
THE COURSE FOR MOST IS SELF-LIMITING.
UH, MOST PEOPLE WILL RECOVER AND LESIONS WILL COMPLETELY HEAL WITHIN ABOUT THREE WEEKS.
SO YES, THERE HAVE BEEN MOST RECOVERIES.
UM, I THINK AS MAYOR MENTIONED, UM, WE DO HAVE ONE PERSON IN THE HOSPITAL, UH, AT THIS TIME.
UM, BUT THAT'S FOR PAIN MANAGEMENT BECAUSE THE LESIONS CAN BE QUITE PAINFUL.
AND, AND I ALSO, UH, WANT FOLKS TO KNOW WE DO HAVE THAT DATA AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW AND WE WILL WORK AND IT'S, IT'S ONLINE AND THERE'S A LINK.
THERE SHOULD BE A LINK RIGHT NOW ON RED HARRIS, BUT CERTAINLY IT'S OUR PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT WEBSITE.
AND TO THE EXTENT THAT WE HAVE MORE DATA, UH, WE'LL HAVE MORE INFORMATION.
RIGHT NOW, FOR EXAMPLE, WE'RE NOT OFFERING GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION FOR PRIVACY REASONS.
JUST AS IF YOU'LL RECALL AT THE BEGINNING OF COVID, WE HAD SUCH SMALL CASES, WE DIDN'T WANT FOLKS TO BE IDENTIFIABLE, BUT WE ARE OFFERING INFORMATION AS TO THE NUMBERS FOR BOTH THE CITY AND THE COUNTY.
AND WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO, AS ALWAYS, ERR ON THE SIDE OF TRANSPARENCY WITH THIS
[00:45:44]
HUNDRED VACCINES THAT HAVE BEEN ADMINISTERED UP TILL NOW.YOU SAID, AND I'M SORRY, JUST SO THAT I'M CLEAR, THAT'S AN INDIVIDUAL SHOT, NOT A COMPLETE DOSE.
SO YOU WILL NEED ANOTHER, SAY 200 OR SO TO COMPLETE THE, SORRY, LA LAST ONE FROM THERE, I PROMISE
SO WE CONTINUE TO HEAR FRUSTRATION FROM PEOPLE AND DOCTORS ABOUT HOW CLUNKY THE PROCESS IS.
ARE THERE PLANS TO REVAMP THAT AND MAKE ACCESS IN CARE MORE ACCESSIBLE? THANK YOU.
WELL, AND I'LL GIVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO, TO MR. WILLIAMS TO ANSWER IN A MOMENT, BUT WHAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW IS TO THINK, OKAY, IF THIS, IF THIS GETS BIGGER, IF THERE'S GREATER DEMAND FOR VACCINES, FOR TESTING, SETTING UP THE APPROPRIATE SYSTEM FOR THAT, RIGHT? UM, AND SO MAKING SURE THAT WE CAN SCALE UP, WE HAVE LESSONS THAT WE'VE LEARNED FROM COVID-19, AND, AND THAT'S THE WORK THAT'S BEING DONE RIGHT NOW.
AND, AND AS YOU SAID, IT'S, IT'S A BALANCE, RIGHT? BECAUSE YOU OFFER IT TO EVERYONE, BUT WE ONLY HAVE THIS MANY DOSES, RIGHT? SO WE HAVE TO, WE'RE WE'RE, WE'RE SORT OF GIVING LITTLE BY LITTLE AS WE RECEIVE MORE DOSES, BUT WE'RE IN COMMUNICATIONS WITH OUR, WITH OUR FQHCS, WE'RE IN COMMUNICATIONS WITH OUR PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENTS, WE'RE IN COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE COMMUNITIES THAT ARE MOST AFFECTED.
AND OF COURSE, BETWEEN COUNTY AND CITY AND, AND ALWAYS WE'RE SENDING MESSAGING TO OUR DOCTORS.
UM, THERE'S A, THERE'S A COMMUNICATION SYSTEM THAT GOES FROM THE PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENTS TO THE PROVIDERS IN THE COUNTY MAKING USE OF THAT.
UM, AS WELL AS, OF COURSE OUR, OUR CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION IN THE SENSE THAT WE NEED THEIR HELP TO BE ABLE TO OBTAIN MORE VACCINES.
AND LEMME JUST SAY WHAT, WHAT WE LEARNED FROM COVID IS THAT WHEN THE DEMAND IS HIGH AND THE SUPPLY IS LIMITED, PEOPLE ARE VERY, VERY FRUSTRATED AND CRITICAL.
NOW WHAT WE ARE FINDING OUT WITH MONKEYPOX, WITH ALL OF THE ATTENTION THAT'S BEEN BROUGHT TO IT, UM, ON THE WORLD SCALE, 16,000 CASES, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION NOW NAMED IT A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS, WHICH IT IS, THE DEMAND IS VERY HIGH, BUT THE SUPPLY HAS BEEN VERY LIMITED.
SO IT'S FRUSTRATING WHEN PEOPLE WANT IT, WHEN THEY KNOW IT'S A VACCINE AVAILABLE.
THEY WANT THE VACCINE MEDICAL PROVIDERS, WHEN THEY HAVE THE PEOPLE CALLING THEM, THEY WANT TO BE ABLE TO TELL THEM SOMETHING, YES, WE HAVE IT.
NO WE DON'T, BUT WE'LL HAVE IT, YOU KNOW, BY THIS TIME.
BUT THE SUPPLY'S BEEN VERY LIMITED.
AND SO WHEN THEY'RE SEEING WHAT'S TAKING PLACE IN NEW YORK, IN TC IN SAN FRANCISCO, THIS IS THE FOURTH LARGEST CITY, THE MOST DIVERSE.
AND UP UNTIL FRIDAY OF LAST WEEK, WE WERE DEALING WITH HOW MANY? ABOUT 300.
ABOUT 300 FOR THE ENTIRE HOUSTON HARRIS COUNTY.
SO THAT, THAT'S FRUSTRATING WHEN, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A VACCINE, NOBODY WANTS MONKEYPOX.
AND SO NOW AS THE CDC AND THE STATE HAS MADE MORE VACCINES AVAILABLE, WE CAN GET IT OUT A LITTLE BIT MORE, BUT WE NEED MORE, WE NEED MORE.
THE GOOD NEWS FROM THE DESIGNATION BY THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION IS THAT IT DOES PUT IT FRONT AND CENTER.
THIS IS A WORLD PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS.
AND SO HOPEFULLY THE CDC AND THE STATE WILL BE SENDING, UH, THOUSANDS OF MORE VACCINES TO THE HOUSTON HARRIS COUNTY AREA
[00:50:01]
SO THAT WE CAN, AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, UH, GET AHEAD AND NOT HAVE THESE NUMBERS EXPONENTIALLY INCREASE.AND I THINK MY OWN PEOPLE CAN TELL YOU I HAVE BEEN FRUSTRATED.
I'VE BEEN, I
UM, FROM WHAT I'M UNDERSTANDING, AND, AND I APOLOGIZE, I'M A LITTLE BIT OF A MESSENGER IN THIS SITUATION.
NO, YOU'RE GOOD, YOU'RE GOOD OTHER REPORTERS, BUT THAT THERE'S AGGRAVATION IN TERMS OF GETTING INFORMATION, YOU KNOW, HOW TO PROCEED, HOW TO ADVISE PATIENTS.
I THINK THAT, AND THAT'S WHY IS AN ADDITIONAL LEVEL.
AND THAT'S WHY THE JUDGE AND I ARE STANDING TOGETHER WITH ALL OF THESE EXCEPTIONAL HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS TO TRY TO PROVIDE MORE INFORMATION TO AT LEAST TO LET THE, GIVE THE PUBLIC WHAT WE KNOW.
OKAY? 'CAUSE WE CAN ONLY GIVE YOU WHAT WE KNOW AND THEN TO, UH, WRITE A JOINT LETTER TO THE CDC ASKING FOR MORE VACCINES.
BUT THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE WANTED TO COME TOGETHER, BOTH HARRIS COUNTY, CITY OF HOUSTON, WITH SOME OF OUR FQHCS, OUR MEDICAL EXPERTS, TO PROVIDE AS MUCH INFORMATION TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC SO THAT THEY WILL KNOW WE WANNA BE TRANSPARENT.
WE WANNA PROVIDE THEM WITH AS MUCH INFORMATION AS WE CAN, AND TO LET THEM KNOW THAT WE ARE HERE ADVOCATING ON THEIR BEHALF, OKAY.
TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY GET WHAT THEY NEED EVEN BEFORE THEY GET THE MONKEYPOX.
WE JUST WANT THEM TO KNOW WE ARE HERE FOR THEM.