‘Cancel gatherings and get tested’ | Local leaders urge residents to cancel holiday parties – KHOU.com

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner pleaded with residents to cancel holiday gatherings this year as COVID numbers continue to rise.

HOUSTON Two days before Christmas, the COVID-19 trends are getting worse in Houston. Leaders in Harris County and Houston are hoping residents do what they can in order to avoid what has happened in other communities across the state.

Local leaders held a news conference Wednesday urging residents to cancel holiday plans in order to slow the spread in the Houston area.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner both pressed the issue. Both the mayor and the judge referenced rising hospitalization rates and a rising positivity rate that has nearly doubled over the last month.

"We can't sustain a surge in cases beyond what we're at now," Hidalgo said. "All across Texas, communities are entering dangerous territory. We've consistently seen the cases increase, and most worrisome, the ICU population continues to increase. It's a very real possibility that we could end up facing the fate we've avoided thus far."

Multiple national COVID-19 models suggest Houston could be the next hotspot in January. It's why Turner and Hidalgo joined forces Wednesday to plead with the public to cancel and holiday gatherings or parties with anyone outside their immediate household.

"You don't want someone to get sick because you decided to host a holiday party," Hidalgo said.

The numbers are moving in the wrong direction, and although it's manageable now, Turner and Hidalgo said they're worried it won't be for much longer. Local health experts share the same concern.

Since Thanksgiving, contract tracing shows the spread is happening in private gatherings where people let their guard down, not in controlled environments like office settings and school classrooms.

"We've unfortunately seen our positivity rate has doubled in the last two months. If we continue with this trajectory, it will triple by January," Dr. Sherri Onyiego, with the Harris County Health Department, said.

If people ignore the threat, city and county leaders said they have one tool left in their toolbox to try to tame the virus: A curfew.

"I view it as a nuclear option," Turner said. "Once you've done it ... you've done it."

Hidalgo said no curfew will be put in place at this time but the option is still on the table if things get worse. She said the curfew would only be used in a "worst-case scenario."

Turner announced 634 new COVID-19 cases in the city as well as two more deaths related to the virus. The city's positivity rate is at 11.2% and has been rising over the last month or so.

Public testing sites in the city and county will be closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day but will reopen Saturday.

Turner and Hidalgo said the vaccine is a step in the right direction. Both the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines have already been rolled out in the Houston area.

Modernas COVID-19 vaccine began arriving Monday at dozens of Houston-area hospitals and clinics. The City of Houston is expected to get at least 6,000 doses of Modernas COVID-19 vaccine this week.

Those doses will be split evenly between the Houston Health Department, the Houston Fire Department and other frontline health workers.

The support operations, the functions that are filled by support personnel, at this moment dont qualify, said HFD Chief Sam Pea during a news conference Monday afternoon. But as soon as the decision is made for the Phase 1 Bravo group to be eligible, then well be prepared to administer those.

Although both vaccines use messenger RNA or mRNA to attack the coronavirus and both require two doses, there are some key differences.

Pfizer's is approved for people ages 16 and older. Moderna's is for people 18 years or older.

Pfizer's must be stored in ultra-cold freezers, around -80 degrees Celsius. Moderna's can last in normal refrigerators for up to 30 days.

According to Dr. Catherine Troisi, an infectious disease epidemiologist at UT Health School of Public Health, the difference is because of the lipids, or fats, that each company used for surrounding the mRNA.

She said Moderna's are more stable, but that Pfizer did not know that when creating their vaccine.

Get whichever vaccine you can," said Dr. Troisi. "They are both equally effective.

Pfizer requires shipment batches of 975 or more. Moderna requires 100 or more.

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'Cancel gatherings and get tested' | Local leaders urge residents to cancel holiday parties - KHOU.com