A new COVID-19 testing and vaccination site was opened Wednesday at Forest Brook Middle School.
The site, located at 7525 Tidwell Road, is open from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. There will be a designated area for children ages 5 to 11 to receive their vaccination. Also, first and second shots of the vaccine as well as the booster shots will be available for adults. This is free and you don’t have to make an appointment to attend.
“Those who come do not have to be part of the HISD family or live in northeast Houston,” Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee said on Wednesday. “We have the shortest lines and we are eager to make sure that we are here until every car is served.”
But the focus on Wednesday with the opening of the Forest Brook Middle School testing/vaccination site was for the children as the omicron variant continues to sweep through the country.
Jackson Lee cited low vaccination numbers with increased hospitalization rates for children around the Houston-area as a reason for the increased urgency.
“There is a major crisis and the major crisis demands that we respond and we respond in the manner of getting vaccinated and, as well, making sure our children are vaccinated,” she said. “Doctors will tell you that an unvaccinated person is the kind of home that the variants, that the viruses, look for.
“It is true that it is the little children that can be the carriers and they can be asymptomatic and cause a great deal of stress.”
The opening of the Forest Brook Middle School testing site comes as HISD students prepare to come back from winter break on Monday. Citing safety as a priority, HISD Superintendent Millard House II reiterated that the district’s mask mandate would continue to be in effect for all of the district’s offices, facilities, campuses, as well as the district’s school buses. House also recommended that individuals coming back to school to get tested, and that those whose health allows to get vaccinated.
House said that, as of around two weeks ago, around 70-75% of HISD’s roughly 27,000 employees have been vaccinated so far.
The following PCR testing sites were also announced by House:
- Thursday, Dec. 30, Sam Houston High School and Delmar Stadium: 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
- Thursday, Dec. 30, Cashmere High School and Lamar High School: 1 p.m.-4:30 p.m.
- Sunday, Jan. 2, Chavez High School/Westbury High School/Westside High School: 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (drive through)
- Sunday, Jan. 2, Bellaire High School/Worthing High School: 1:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m. (drive through)
House also said that HISD would provide on-campus COVID-19 PCR testing to students and staff starting in January.
“As cases surge, we must continue to work together and do our part to ensure that everyone in our community is safe,” House said.
There was a live news conference featuring Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and HISD Superintendent Millard House II earlier on Wednesday. The full video of the press conference can be seen in its entirety below.