The EPA awarded four Houston neighborhoods with much-needed grant money this week.

HOUSTON – Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said Monday that while the coronavirus vaccine has arrived in the city, people should remain vigilant to control the spread of the virus. He said an additional 745 cases were reported by the Houston Health Department on Monday, bringing the total number of cases in the city to 104,962. Dr. Lauren Hopkins, of the Houston Health Department, said the survey found that 13.5% of the people whose blood were tested for coronavirus antibodies were positive. Building confidence in the vaccinePersse said the technology used to create the coronavirus vaccine was originally developed 15 years ago when the SARS virus was prevalent. Turner encouraged hospitals who receive the vaccine to make the vaccination process transparent so that people can see the process.

HOUSTON – Mayor Sylvester Turner presented a new initiative Thursday that could serve as a faster method of containing COVID-19. Since May, the Houston Health Department has monitored the wastewater at 38 treatment plants for the presence of the virus. The wastewater monitoring project is a collaboration between the Houston Health Department, Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine. The sewage wastewater is collected at the treatment plan before its process, according to Dr. Lauren Hopkins, of the Houston Health Department. “This will give us that early warning that we may have otherwise missed,” said Dr. David Persse of the Houston Health Department.

Why the Survey Matters“We know that the contaminants in the groundwater plume are carcinogenic and we know that this community has a cancer cluster—that means elevated cancer cases—and the TCEQ actually requested the cancer cluster analysis,” Dr. Lauren Hopkins, the Houston Health Department’s Chief Environmental Science Officer, said. Hopkins said they know that there is a carcinogenic chemical plume contaminating underground water underneath approximately 110 homes in Fifth Ward and Kashmere Gardens. A Community in ActionThe study sparked a fiery response from Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee, as well as Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis, the Houston Health Department and community groups. IMPACT Greater Houston and the Houston Health Department informed residents about the community meetings on January 13 and February 10, when the Houston Health Department plans to release the results of Saturday’s survey. Jackson-Lee is also working with the state and federal officials and planning a large-scale stakeholder meeting on January 21 in the Fifth Ward at 7 p.m.