EMILY KUBISCH-SABRSULA | SJNT The Courthouse lawn is festooned with Marvel and DC comic book characters and stars in honor of Child Abuse Awareness Month.

COLDSPRING — Residents of San Jacinto County can soon expect to see prescribed burns and surveyors with the U.S. Forest Service wrapping up their jobs around the Sam Houston National Forest, with improvements to come from them.

During a special session on Wednesday, the court discussed plans to bid on CDBG-DR Harvey Round 1 projects, including on streets in the Waterwood subdivision and other roads in the county including Butch Arthur, Jeanette, Pelican, and Chipmunk roads.

Improvements include plans to install culverts, clean neglected ditches and perform other means of flood mitigation, since several roads and bridges in the county historically flood via the San Jacinto river and several of its creeks.

Pending the completion of the surveys and updates of county records, that information will be used to complete Harvey related projects as well as other potential areas of improvement including running new power lines and means to reduce speeding on the county’s curvier roads.

Those still seeking to receive their first shot of the Covid-19 vaccine, either Pfizer or Moderna depending on availability, can reach out to the San Jacinto Office of Emergency Management at (936) 653-8714 for upcoming clinics.

Those seeking a vaccine do not need to live in the county to receive one. This includes those participating in the ongoing Save Our Seniors Initiative, which aims to prioritizing getting the vaccine to those 75 years or older.

The Enterprise Lease program continues to provide Chief Tim Keen with weekly check-ins but production cutback from pandemic-related problems have left the department without new vehicles, something that has been ongoing since late 2020.

COURTESY PHOTO Claudia Brown, a resident of Trinity Rehabilitation Center, helps “Tackle COVID” by receiving the first of two vaccines.

By Tony Farkas

TRINITY — Mary Poppins did it with song and sugar; Trinity Rehabilitation Center did it with football and cupcakes.

Folks at the senior citizen center on Thursday rolled out a COVID-19 immunization plan with the theme of Tackle COVID, according to center CEO and Owner Darcy Whatley.

“We had our vaccines today for staff and patients,” she said. “CVS Pharmacy, through the federal Operation Warp Speed, and they administered the vaccine to the employees and all the residents.”

COURTESY PHOTO April Ross-Lester, activity director for Trinity Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center, signs the field showing she has helped “Tackle COVID” by being immunized.

The promotion was to get the employees behind receiving the vaccine, and those that did were able to sign a commemorative football field.

The promotion was part of educating both the staff and the residents to the need for the vaccine, and listed all the benefits of being treated, so that they would volunteer. Whatley said that pretty much all residents signed up.

Additionally, Dr. James Crawford, one of the facility’s medical directors, talked with the staff about the importance of the vaccine, which helped convince employees.

In 21 days, the second required vaccine will be administered, possibly to a baseball theme, Whatley said.

FILE PHOTO - Coronavirus

President Joe Biden set a goal Tuesday for 70% of the country’s adult population to receive at least one Covid-19 vaccine shot by July 4.

Polk County is well on track for that mark when considering those who are 65 years of age and older. Of that age group, 67.80% in Polk County have been vaccinated with at least one dose, and 57.63% have been fully vaccinated.

The totals aren’t as impressive amongst younger adults.

According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, 14,540 people have been vaccinated with at least one dose of COVID vaccine, and 10,612 people in Polk County have been fully vaccinated. There have been 24,102 COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the county.

The Polk County Office of Emergency Management has a total case count of 3,282 locally, with 1,493 of those confirmed positive, 1,789 probable and 136 cases that are active.

They are still encouraging residents in Polk County to get vaccinated and remind all that COVID-19 is a vaccine-preventable disease.

The virus and its impact are not diminishing. According to the health district, numbers in COVID-19 cases and COVID hospitalizations each day have slightly increased. There have been 112 fatalities and an estimated 3,034 recoveries.

A pause was placed on the administration of the Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine April 13, but lifted April 23. The Texas Department of State Health Services recommends vaccine providers in Texas resume administering the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine following the recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The pause was recommended after reports of six cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in individuals following administration of the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine. During the pause, medical and scientific teams at the FDA and CDC examined available data to assess the risk of thrombosis involving the cerebral venous sinuses, or CVST (large blood vessels in the brain), and other sites in the body (including but not limited to the large blood vessels of the abdomen and the veins of the legs) along with thrombocytopenia, or low blood platelet counts.

The teams at FDA and CDC also conducted extensive outreach to providers and clinicians to ensure they were made aware of the potential for these adverse events and could properly manage and recognize these events due to the unique treatment required for these blood clots and low platelets, also known as thrombosis-thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS).

The two agencies have determined the following:

· Use of the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine should be resumed in the United States.

· The FDA and CDC have confidence that this vaccine is safe and effective in preventing COVID-19.

· The FDA has determined that the available data show that the vaccine’s known and potential benefits outweigh its known and potential risks in individuals 18 years of age and older.

· At this time, the available data suggest that the chance of TTS occurring is very low, but the FDA and CDC will remain vigilant in continuing to investigate this risk.

VACCINE INFORMATION (POLK):

PROVIDERS:

Brookshire Brothers Pharmacies:

936-327-4354 in Livingston, 936-398-9227 in Corrigan, 936-646-2488 in Onalaska

CVS:

936-327-2561

Address: 1500 W. Church St., Livingston, TX 77351

Vaccine: Phizer

Vaccine Days: 7 days a week

Administration Fee: No Charge Appointments: Online at https://www.cvs.com/content/coronavirus

Wal-Mart Pharmacy:

936-327-1294

Address: 1620 W. Church St., Livingston, TX 77351

Vaccine: Check availability online

Vaccination Days: Check availability online

Administration Fee: No charge Appointment Scheduling Information: https://corporate.walmart.com/covid-vaccine To Schedule an Appointment: Online at https://www.walmart.com/cp/1228302

Walgreens:

936-327-1086

Address: 1501 W. Church St., Ste. 500, Livingston, TX 77351

Vaccine: Pfizer

Vaccine Days: Daily While Supplies Last (check availability online)

Administration Fee: No Charge Appointments: Online at https://www.walgreens.com/findcare/vaccination/covid-19/location-screening

Health Center of Southeast Texas:

936-327-4660

Address: 204 West Park Drive #200, Livingston, TX 77351

Vaccine: Call to check availability

Appointments: Call 936-327-4660

West Park Primary Care:

936-328-5820

Address: 210 West Park Drive, Ste. 104, Livingston, TX 77351

Vaccine: Call to check availability

Appointments: Call 936-328-5820

Livingston (HealthMart) Pharmacy:

936-327-5510

Address: 714 W. Church St., Livingston, TX 77351

Vaccine: Call to check availability

Vaccine Days: Daily While Supplies Last (check availability online)

Administration Fee: No Charge

Appointments: Call 936-327-5510

Polk County Emergency Management:

Clinic Location Address: Given upon Appointment

Vaccine: Moderna

Vaccination Days: Fridays

Administration Fee: No Charge Appointments: Online at http://www.etxcovidvaccine.com

Angelina County & Cities Health District:

Sign up at: www.etxcovidvaccine.com. Those without internet access, can call the Coronavirus hotline at 936-630-8500 to register for a vaccine.

TONY FARKAS | TCNS Health professionals from HealthPoint provide COVID-19 immunizations at a clinic held at Trinity High School on Saturday. More than 700 vaccinations were provided through a combined effort of the Trinity Memorial Hospital Board, HealthPoint, the city, the county and the school district, as well as numerous volunteers.

HealthPoint, hospital board hold COVID vaccine clinic

TRINITY — Seven hundred residents received the first round of COVID vaccines at an immunization event at Trinity High School on Saturday.

The event was a joint effort between the Trinity Memorial Hospital Board and HealthPoint.

Marjory Pulvino, vice president of the TMHB, said HealthPoint received 925 vaccinations from the state very recently, and when the event was announced online, 600 people had registered for the vaccinations within hours.

On Feb. 1 and 2, 120 people who did not have online access were registered through the Trinity Community Health Resource Center.

On Saturday, 45 health professionals from HealthPoint, along with help from TMHB, Trinity schools, Trinity Police Department, and County Judge Doug Page and the county’s Emergency Management Operations Center, as well as volunteers, held the drive-through clinic at Trinity High School.

Pulvino said there were no problems with people receiving shots because of the work of everyone involved.

TMHB President Randy Karnes called the event incredibly successful.

“We would like to express our deep gratitude to HealthPoint for their generous support,” he said. “We are fortunate to have HealthPoint in the community. I also would like to recognize the community for supporting this event.”

FILE PHOTO Polk County OEM

On Tuesday, Polk County launched a temporary waitlist for the COVID-19 vaccine for Phase 1B.

Phase 1B includes persons who are 65 and older, or persons 16 years and older with at least one chronic medical condition that puts them at increased risk for severe illness from the virus. See the Texas Department of State Health Service’s definition of Phase 1B for more details.

Persons who wish to receive a COVID-19 vaccination may sign up on Polk County’s temporary waitlist by clicking the following link: https://arcg.is/11ePGb. Persons without internet access who do not have someone able to help them sign-up online may contact Emergency Management at (936) 327-6826.

This temporary waitlist will be used by county staff and our partner vaccine providers to distribute the vaccine to the public for a limited time. Please note, this is a waitlist only and not a registration list.

The Angelina County & Cities Health District (ACCHD) is preparing a more sophisticated self-registration and appointment program that we hope will be launched soon. When ACCHD launches their new program, it will be linked to our Facebook page and website so you can sign up.

The temporary waitlist will then be discontinued.

Please stay tuned to the Emergency Management Facebook page and website for the announcement of the ACCHD COVID-19 vaccine registration and appointment program. The OEM will also share this information with other local media outlets such as the Polk County Enterprise, PolkCountyToday.com, Piney Woods Express online newspaper, and local radio stations.

Vaccine supplies are limited and wait times will be dependent upon vaccine availability and distribution phase. As the vaccine becomes more available, eligibility will expand.

Again, for further updates from Emergency Management, visit our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/PolkCountyEmergencyManagement) or our website at www.PolkCountyOEM.com.