[COVID-19 Talk with Local Health Authorities (#100) ]
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GOOD MORNING AND WELCOME TO COVID-19 TALKS WITH OUR LOCAL HEALTH AUTHORITIES.
ERICA BROWN FROM HARRIS COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH, DR. DAVID PERCH WITH THE CITY OF HOUSTON, HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
SPECIAL THANKS TO KATHLEEN FINNER, PAST PRESIDENT OF THE ROTARY CLUB OF HOUSTON.
JANINA WHITES, SITTING IN FOR DIRECTOR STEVEN WILLIAMS. AND THANK YOU TO OUR PRODUCERS, PRISCILLA KEY AND DAVID CASTILLO.
THIS IS OUR HUNDREDTH EPISODE AND WE'RE SO EXCITED.
IF YOU COULD JUST SHARE WITH US THE LANDSCAPE OF WHAT'S GOING ON WITH COVID RIGHT NOW IN THE COUNTY.
UH, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME FOR THE HUNDREDTH EPISODE.
UM, WE ARE CURRENTLY, UH, IN A MEDIUM RISK, UH, YELLOW LEVEL FOR HARRIS COUNTY.
AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT THOSE WHO, UH, ARE AT RISK OF SEVERE ILLNESS OR IMMUNOCOMPROMISED SHOULD CONSIDER TAKING EXTRA CAUTION.
UM, THAT MEANS CONSIDER GOING INTO CROWDED SPACES.
UM, ALSO CONSIDER WEARING A MASK WHEN YOU ARE AROUND, UH, UM, CROWDS OF PEOPLE.
UM, AND IT REALLY DEPENDS AGAIN ON YOUR RISK.
UM, THE, THE, UM, RISK OF YELLOW IS BASED ON THE WEEKLY NEW CASES PER HUNDRED THOUSAND.
WE'RE ACTUALLY DOWN A LITTLE BIT, BUT WE'RE NOT OUT OF THE WOODS.
SO THIS WEEK WE'RE, AS OF YESTERDAY, WE WERE AT 35.11.
IT'S ALSO BASED ON THE ICU BED, UH, USAGE, UH, PER SEVEN DAY AVERAGE, WE ARE UP A LITTLE BIT OKAY.
UM, THE THIRD THING IS IT'S BASED ON HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS PER A HUNDRED THOUSAND.
UM, WE ARE DOWN, WHICH IS GOOD AT 12.01, AND LAST WEEK WE WERE AT 13.88.
UM, THESE NUMBERS THOUGH, ARE STILL IN THE YELLOW RANGE, WHICH MEANS, AGAIN, THAT WE SHOULD TAKE PRECAUTION IF WE ARE IMMUNOCOMPROMISED OR FEEL THAT WE ARE AT HIGHER RISK.
THANK YOU FOR THAT UPDATE, SOME ENCOURAGING INFORMATION.
PER, WHO ALWAYS HAS A LITTLE BIT OF A LENS AS IT RELATES TO WASTEWATER YEAH.
AND HOW THAT IMPACTS WHAT DR. BROWN JUST MENTIONED.
SO WE FOUND THAT WASTEWATER HAS BEEN A PRETTY GOOD PREDICTOR ABOUT WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN.
AND SO AS THE WASTEWATER CHANGES DIRECTION, FOR EXAMPLE, WE WILL THEN SEE GENERALLY ABOUT TWO WEEKS LATER, POSITIVITY RATES WILL CHANGE AND THEN HOSPITALIZATION RATES WILL CHANGE.
AND SO TODAY, THE POSITIVITY RATE, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE NUMBERS THAT ARE REPORTED, YOU HAVE TO TAKE THAT WITH A GRAIN OF SALT.
'CAUSE THOSE COME FROM OUR PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE TESTING SUCH, BUT THERE'S SO MANY PEOPLE OUT THERE THAT ARE TESTING AT HOME THAT VERY SMALL NUMBERS OF FOLKS ARE GOING TO THE TESTING.
SO I DON'T PAY A WHOLE LOT OF ATTENTION TO THE NUMBER, THE POSITIVITY RATE, BUT THE DIRECTION IT'S GOING.
AND SO OUR WASTEWATER HAS PEAKED, UH, JUST A FEW WEEKS AGO AT 999%.
AND REMEMBER THAT IS A RELATIVE VALUE TO THE PEAK OF THE FIRST WAVE BACK IN JULY, ACTUALLY IT WAS JULY THE SIXTH OF 2020.
UM, AND THE REASON WE USE THAT IS THAT THE UNITS OF MEASURE ARE JUST SOMETHING YOU REALLY CAN'T GET YOUR HEAD AROUND.
IT'S LIKE 1.4 TIMES 10 TO THE SIX VIRAL PARTICLES PER CUBIC MILLILITER, YOU KNOW, AND THEN IT CHANGES TO ONE POINT, YOU KNOW, THREE, SEVEN TIMES 10 TO THE SIX.
AND YOU KNOW, PEOPLE, YOU JUST CAN'T MAKE SENSE OF THAT.
SO WE, WE PICK THAT PEAK AT THE FIRST WAVE AS AN ARBITRARY 100%.
SO 999%, WHICH IS WHAT WE PEAKED AT A COUPLE WEEKS AGO.
AND THAT'S ACROSS THE ENTIRE CITY.
SO THERE WERE A LOT OF FOLKS IN THE COMMUNITY THAT WERE SHUTTING VIRUS INTO THE, INTO THE WASTEWATER.
IT HAS COME DOWN TO, IT WENT DOWN FROM THAT AND ONE WEEK WENT DOWN TO 659%.
SO THAT'S ABOUT A 30 PLUS PERCENT DROP.
OUR MOST RECENT READING FROM LAST WEEK WAS 409%, AGAIN, ABOUT A 30% DROP.
SO WE'RE SEEING THIS VERY STEEP DROP IN THE AMOUNT OF, OF VIRUSES WE'RE FINDING IN THE WASTEWATER.
AND SURE ENOUGH, YOU'RE STARTING TO REPORT THAT SOME OF THE NUMBERS ARE STARTING TO CHANGE DIRECTION.
AND SO AGAIN, THIS IS A TWO WEEK DROP IN THE WASTEWATER, AND NOW WE'RE STARTING ABOUT TWO WEEKS, OR, YOU KNOW, TWO WEEKS LATER, WE'RE STARTING TO SEE SOME DROPS IN THE CLINICAL NUMBERS, IN PARTICULAR HOSPITALIZATIONS.
BUT AGAIN, EVEN AT 409%, THERE'S STILL FOUR TIMES AS MUCH VIRUSES IN OUR WASTEWATER AS THERE WAS BACK IN THE PEAK OF THE FIRST WAVE.
SO TO REINFORCE WHAT YOU SAID, WELL, THINGS ARE IMPROVING.
WE'RE NOT OUTTA THE WOODS YET.
I KNOW WE HAD A CHANCE TO REACH OUT TO YOU ALL AND, AND AGAIN REMIND YOU THAT THIS WOULD BE THE HUNDREDTH EPISODE.
SO I'M SO EXCITED TO HEAR MAYBE IF WE SAID SORT OF THE, UM, YOU KNOW, YEARS IN REVIEW OR WHAT IT MEANS TO HAVE TO, THAT WE'VE GOTTEN TO THIS POINT.
IF YOU ALL MIGHT WANNA SAY A FEW REMARKS WITH REGARDS TO LIKE A SUMMARY OF WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT US BEING HERE NOW AT THE HUNDREDTH EPISODE.
SO I MIGHT START WITH YOU, DR. BROWN.
SO, UM, I JOINED THE CONVERSATION,
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UM, I THINK THREE QUARTERS OF THE WAY THROUGH.UM, AND, AND IT'S BEEN A PRIVILEGE TO, TO BE A PART OF IT.
UM, I, I THINK WE ARE ALL, UH, IN AWE OF THIS PANDEMIC, JUST IN TERMS OF, UM, THE EFFECTS THAT IT HAS HAD AND THE CHANGES, UM, THAT IT HAS MADE TO OUR DAILY LIVES.
UM, I DON'T THINK THAT IT SHOULD EVER BE LOST ON US.
UM, THE LOVED ONES THAT HAVE BEEN LOST, UM, THROUGH THIS PANDEMIC.
UM, AND AGAIN, WE ARE NOT FINISHED, WE'RE NOT OUT OF THE WOODS.
WE'RE DOING WAY BETTER THAN WE WERE.
WE'VE COME REALLY, REALLY FAR.
UM, BUT IT WAS AN EXPENSIVE LESSON LEARNED MM-HMM
UM, AND SO AGAIN, I THINK THAT THIS HAS BEEN A GREAT PLATFORM TO SHARE INFORMATION.
UM, AND I FEEL PRIVILEGED TO, TO BE ALLOWED TO BE A PART OF IT.
PER? SO, UM, THANKS FOR THE QUESTION.
UM, I, I, I, AS I LOOK BACK, I, I THINK THAT IN PUBLIC HEALTH, ONE OF OUR MOST POWERFUL TOOLS IS PUBLIC MESSAGING, RIGHT? AND SO THERE, YES, WE HAVE VACCINES AND WE HAVE MEDICATIONS AND WE COORDINATE WITH THE HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY.
BUT I REALLY THINK THAT ONE OF OUR MOST IMPORTANT TOOLS AND OUR MOST EFFECTIVE TOOLS IS PUBLIC MESSAGING.
AND IF WE'VE LEARNED ANYTHING THROUGH THIS PANDEMIC, IS THAT, YOU KNOW, UH, THE, LET'S FACE IT, THE, THE PANDEMIC BECAME, BECAME POLITICIZED AND GETTING OUT THE TRUE MESSAGE BECAME INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT.
SO I REALLY WANNA THANK KATHY FINNER AND THE ROTARY FOR ALLOWING US TO HAVE THIS, UH, THIS OPPORTUNITY TO TALK TO THE PUBLIC WEEKLY MM-HMM
UH, BECAUSE IT GAVE US AN OPPORTUNITY TO NOT JUST TALK IN SOUND BITES THAT GET ON THE EVENING NEWS WHEN THE REPORTER AND, AND, AND REMEMBER THOSE GET EDITED AND SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, DEPENDING ON THE EDITOR, THEY'RE LOOKING FOR THE JUICIEST COMMENT OR WHATEVER, BUT NOT NECESSARILY THE WHOLE STORY.
SO THIS HAS GIVEN US A FORMAT WHERE WE CAN GO IN DEPTH WITH QUESTIONS AND EXPLAIN WHAT'S BEHIND WHAT YOU MAY BE SEEING ON THE EVENING NEWS, AND EXPLAIN WHAT YOU'RE HEARING OUT OF WASHINGTON AND HEAR, EXPLAIN WHAT'S COMING FROM THE CDC AND WHY THESE THINGS ARE SO CONFUSING.
AND SO, I ALSO WANNA THANK THE, THE ROTARIANS WHO SUBMITTED QUESTIONS BECAUSE THEY WERE REALLY GOOD QUESTIONS, AND SOME ARE REALLY HARD.
IT'S LIKE, OH MY GOD, REALLY? THEN YOU GO, WHERE DID YOU KNOW A WHERE DID THIS COME FROM? AND B I'M GONNA HAVE TO FIGURE OUT THE ANSWER TO THIS.
SO REALLY THANK YOU TO TO, TO BOTH, UH, KATHY FINNER FOR, YOU KNOW, BEING THE PERSON WHO PROBABLY GOT THIS UP AND GOING, I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT SHE HAD TO DO WITH THE ROTARY TO GET IT UP AND GOING.
UH, BUT ALSO TO THE ROTARIANS WHO SUBMITTED SOME REALLY, REALLY GOOD QUESTIONS.
UH, TO HTV, WE ALSO WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU BECAUSE YOU WERE, UM, INSTRUMENTAL.
WE WANNA HAVE A VIDEO MONTAGE OF WHAT THE PAST TWO YEARS HAVE LOOKED LIKE.
UHOH AND HTV HAS PUT TOGETHER A MONTAGE FOR US.
I WITH ME, YOU HAVE TWO TOP PUBLIC HEALTH DOCS FROM THE CITY OF HOUSTON, DR. DAVID PURSE, AND FROM HARRIS COUNTY.
THIS VIRUS IN THIS, UH, PANDEMIC IS STRESSING THE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM.
WHY ARE WE ASKING PEOPLE TO WEAR MASKS? AND WE'RE ASKING PEOPLE TO WEAR MASKS BECAUSE IT PROTECTS NOT JUST THE, THE, THE PERSONS AROUND YOU, BUT THE PERSON WHO'S WEARING THE MASK.
IS IT CONSISTENT WITH YOUR NORMAL PRACTICE TO ISSUE AN ORDER BEFORE SOMETHING ACTUALLY OCCURS? OR TO YOUR POINT, THE, THE MASK YOU WEAR IS TO PROTECT THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU.
AND, UH, IF THE PLACE ARE FILLED WITH PEOPLE NOT WEARING A MASKS, THEN THOSE PEOPLE CLEARLY DON'T CARE ABOUT MY HEALTH.
OR, OR THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND ENOUGH TO CLEAR MY RIGHT.
CLEAR MY, BUT, SO IT'S MY DECISION.
WHERE CAN WE GET ANTIBODY TESTS? I WANT YOU TO ANSWER THAT FIRST, 'CAUSE I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT.
IT LOOKS A LOT LIKE THAT WHEN WE SAW LAST JULY A YEAR AGO.
SO THESE ANTIBODIES CAN TAKE WEEKS, DAYS TO WEEKS.
I MEAN, LIKE THE BODY FOLLOWING AN EXPOSURE TO COVID.
EVEN IF YOU'VE GOTTEN COVID, IT DOES NOT MEAN YOU SHOULD NOT RECEIVE THE VACCINE SERIES.
YOU ABSOLUTELY SHOULD GET VACCINATED.
AND WHERE PEOPLE ARE MOST COMMONLY INFECTED, UNFORTUNATELY, IS FROM FAMILY MEMBERS.
BUT THE SECOND MOST COMMON PLACE TO GET IS FROM COWORKERS.
THERE'S JUST SO MUCH INFORMATION STILL TO BE LEARNED.
UM, WHEN WE TAKE A LOOK AT ALL THE DATA IN TOTALITY, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN QUITE SOME TIME NOW, UH, ALMOST TWO MONTHS, IT IS, IT CAME DOWN.
SO, AND IT CAME DOWN A LOT, ABOUT 34% FROM 900 INTO 99, DOWN TO 659%.
SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR PRODUCERS, DAVID CASTILLO AND PRISCILLA KEY AND PAST PRESIDENT OF ROTARY CLUB OF HOUSTON, KATHY FINNER, WHO PROVIDES US WITH THESE QUESTIONS.
SO NOW JOINING US IS KATHLEEN FINNER, THE PAST PRESIDENT OF THE ROTARY CLUB OF HOUSTON, AND THE KIND REMARKS THAT DR.
PERS JUST MENTIONED PRIOR TO US GOING TO THE RECAP,
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WE ALL ECHO THE SAME SENTIMENTS AND WE SO APPRECIATE YOUR VISION AND SUPPORT AND, AND THE ROTARIANS.SO WHEN WE INVITED YOU TO COME TO SET, YOU KNOW, WE, WE SHARED WITH YOU, WE WANTED YOU TO SAY A FEW REMARKS ABOUT WHAT THIS EXPERIENCE HAS MEANT FOR YOU.
BUT REALLY THAT WAS JUST TO GET YOU TO THE SET.
WE WANNA PRESENT YOU WITH A PROCLAMATION ON ALL THE WORK THAT YOU DID ON BEHALF OF, UM, THE HEALTH AUTHORITIES TO SAY THANK YOU FOR EXPANDING THE PLATFORM FOR THE COMMUNITY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IT'S MEANT IN THIS PANDEMIC ABOUT COVID-19 AND REALLY GETTING INFORMATION OUT TO THE PUBLIC.
SO WITH THAT, I'LL KICK IT OVER TO DR.
SO KATHLEEN, THANK YOU VERY, VERY MUCH FOR WHAT YOU DID.
AND I MET EVERYTHING THAT I SAID A MOMENT AGO.
AND SO TO LET YOU KNOW HOW IMPORTANT IT HAS BEEN, WE HAVE THIS PROCLAMATION AND I'M GONNA READ IT.
AND YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO SIT THERE AND BLUSH.
IT'S A PROCLAMATION FROM THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
WHEREAS AS THE PUBLIC HEALTH AUTHORITY, HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT PROVIDES VARIOUS SERVICES TO THE CITY OF HOUSTON RESIDENTS TO ENSURE THE PROMOTION OF HEALTH, PREVENTION OF DISEASE IN A SAFE ENVIRONMENT.
AND WHEREAS GOVERNOR OF TEXAS, GREG ABBOTT ISSUED A DISASTER PROCLAMATION ON MARCH 13TH, 2020, CERTIFYING UNDER SECTION 41.8014, THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE THAT A NOVEL CORONAVIRUS, A NOVEL CORONAVIRUS COVID-19, POSED AN IMMINENT THREAT OF DISASTER FOR ALL COUNTIES IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.
AND WHEREAS KATHLEEN FINNER PAST PRESIDENT OF THE ROTARY CLUB OF HOUSTON PROVED HERSELF TO BE A TRUE ASSET TO THE HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT AT A CRUCIAL TIME DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC.
AND WHEREAS KATHLEEN FINNER DEVELOPED A LIVE TV BROADCAST, COVID-19 TALK WITH LOCAL HEALTH AUTHORITIES THAT AIRED ON HTV AND SOCIAL MEDIA.
AND WHEREAS KATHLEEN FINNER GATHERED HOUSTON'S TOP DOCTORS AND PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS FOR THE COVID-19 TALK WITH LOCAL HEALTH AUTHORITIES, THE BROADCAST WAS HOSTED BY DR.
ERICA BROWN OF THE HARRIS COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH, DR. DAVID PURSE, LOCAL HEALTH AUTHORITY OF THE HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT, MODERATED BY STEPHEN L. WILLIAMS, HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR.
AND WHEREAS KATHLEEN FINNER PRODUCED AND DEVELOPED OVER 2,800 QUESTIONS ABOUT COVID-19 FOR DOCTORS TO ANSWER DURING THE LIVE WEBCASTS.
THESE QUESTIONS OFFERED SCIENTIFIC INSIGHTS INTO VACCINE DEVELOPMENT, POLICY UPDATES AND BEST PRACTICES COMMUNICATED BY THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION AT THE FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL LEVELS.
AND WHEREAS THROUGH KATHLEEN ER'S EFFORTS, HOUSTON TELEVISION, HTV AIRED THE FIRST LIVE BROADCAST OF COVID TO 19 TALK WITH LOCAL HEALTH AUTHORITIES ON APRIL 20TH, 2020.
THIS BROADCAST PROVIDED MUCH NEEDED AND TIMELY INFORMATION TO THE COMMUNITIES, NEIGHBORHOODS, HOSPITALS, AREA, BUSINESSES, AND HEALTHCARE WORKFORCE IMPACTED BY COVID-19.
THIS BROADCAST WAS A RELIABLE SOURCE OF INFORMATION FOR THE COMMUNITY WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE ROTARY CLUB OF HOUSTON.
AND WHEREAS ON JANUARY 26TH, 2023 COVID-19 TALK WITH LOCAL HEALTH AUTHORITIES WILL CELEBRATE ITS 100TH EPISODE.
THE CITY OF HOUSTON AND THE HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT COMMEND KATHLEEN FINNER AND THE ROTARY CLUB OF HOUSTON FOR THEIR EXTRAORDINARY EFFORTS TO ENHANCE THE LIVES OF OUR COMMUNITY.
THEREFORE, I, SYLVESTER TURNER, MAYOR OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON, HEREBY PROCLAIM FRIDAY, JANUARY THE 27TH, 2023 AS KATHLEEN FINNER DAY IN HOUSTON, TEXAS.
AND I DON'T, I'M NOT SURE IF MY MIC IS LIVE, BUT I WANNA SAY THANK YOU BECAUSE, UM, DAVID, YOU'VE BEEN, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE BEEN WITH US SINCE THE VERY BEGINNING.
AND, UH, HE PROMISED IT WOULD BE ONE PROGRAM,
AND, UH, AND THEN THE NEXT WEEK HE, THEY, HE AND DR. SHAW SAID, LET'S DO THIS AGAIN.
UM, BUT I DIDN'T EXPECT A HUNDRED
AND, UM, FOR THE PEOPLE THAT WOULD CHAT, TEXT, AND SEND MESSAGES IN, UM, YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW WONDERFUL THAT WAS.
UM, AND, UH, TO SEE THAT EACH WEEK WHEN WE THOUGHT THERE WAS NO MORE QUESTIONS TO BE HAD, SOMEONE WOULD HAVE AN IMPORTANT QUESTION OR THERE'D BE A NEWS REPORT THAT WE NEEDED TO TELL EVERYONE.
SO THANK YOU FOR BEARING WITH US FOR ALL THIS TIME.
WELL, WE WANNA THANK YOU AGAIN FOR JOINING US FOR OUR HUNDREDTH EPISODE.
UH, THANK YOU ON BEHALF OF THE CURRENT LOCAL HEALTH AUTHORITIES, DR. DAVID PERCH WITH THE CITY OF HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT, DR.
ERICA BROWN WITH HARRIS COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH.
PAST, PAST PRESIDENT KATHY FINNER AND THE ROTARY CLUB OF HOUSTON FOR THEIR SUPPORT.
OUR PRODUCERS, DAVID CASTILLO AND PRISCILLA KEY, THANK YOU TREMENDOUSLY TO HTV, WHO'S PUT THIS ALWAYS PUTS THIS TOGETHER.
UM, AND AGAIN, I'M SITTING IN, I'M DR. WHITE, SITTING IN FOR STEVEN WILLIAMS, THE DIRECTOR OF THE HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT.