The overview
The city is currently tracking 36 wastewater treatment plants and 48 manhole sites for the contagious respiratory illness, Dr. Jaena White, deputy health authority for Houston’s Health Department, said during a March 11 webinar for Houston-based nonprofit Children at Risk.
Additionally, the city is monitoring 45 Houston ISD schools, neighboring school districts and daycare centers that have low vaccination rates, as well as vulnerable populations at nine shelters, eight nursing homes and two local jails.
“There will be individuals that won’t be able to be vaccinated, so we can really wrap around them with having the community vaccinated at its highest level,” White said.
Zooming out
While there aren’t any active cases of measles in Houston, there have been a confirmed 259 cases and one death related to the outbreak in West Texas, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
Measles is a highly contagious virus that lives in the nose and throat mucus of an infected person, according to the DSHS. The disease is so contagious that if one person has it, 90% of the people close to that person who are not immune will also become infected, according to the department.
Dr. Michael Chang, a pediatric infectious disease physician with UTHealth Houston and panelist at the webinar, said the disease starts with a high fever up to 106 degrees, extreme irritability and a runny nose.
“After about three to four days of symptoms, then the rash appears, spreads downward from head to toe and then after the rash starts, symptoms may last up to another seven to 10 days,” Chang said. “It can lead to severe complications such as brain infection, pneumonia and death.”
Mayor John Whitmire and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo held a news conference March 4 urging Houston residents to get vaccinated.
“The remedy is being vaccinated,” Whitmire said. “If you have any doubt under your circumstances of having been vaccinated, take the precaution of being vaccinated.”
On January 23, the Houston Health Department identified two cases of measles in adults associated with international travel. David Persse, health authority for the health department, said during the news conference that the two cases didn’t spread because the two people cooperated with their doctors and kept themselves at home to prevent it from spreading.
“If you have a family member you’re worried about, your best line of defense is for everyone in the family to make sure you’re vaccinated,” Persse said.
What else?
Houston has several health clinic locations where residents of the city and surrounding neighborhoods can go for vaccines, including the Texas Children’s Pediatrics, Harris County Public Health and the Houston Health Department.
Texas Children’s Pediatrics provides mobile health clinics around the city. Locations can be found on the hospital system’s website or residents can also call 832-372-9871 to schedule an appointment. On March 18 and 25, the closest mobile health clinic will be located at Sylvan Rodriguez Elem on 5858 Chimney Rock Road, Houston.
Uninsured or underinsured individuals can get free or low-cost vaccines through the Vaccines for Children or Adult Safety Net programs. A list of providers through the program can be found on the Houston Health website.
Harris County Public Health and the Houston Health Department are also offering the vaccine at different locations that can be found in this flyer.
