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Page last reviewed: May 16, 2024
News Releases
A boy between the ages of 6 and 10 is the city’s first flu-associated pediatric death of the 2019-2020 flu season, the Houston Health Department confirmed today. The child, who had a pre-existing health condition, died in November.
The Houston Health Department encourages everyone ages six months and older to protect themselves, their family and community from the flu by getting a flu shot before the end of October.
A weeklong awareness effort to curb the growing misuse and addiction to prescription pain medication in the region, where deaths in Harris County associated with opioid overdose are up 135% since 2013, was announced today at Houston City Hall by officials of the Houston Health Department, area municipalities and the University of Houston at Sugar Land in partnership with HCA Houston Healthcare.
The Houston Health Department is working to address the opioid crisis before it becomes an epidemic in the city. Two recent grants, the first of their kind awarded to the health department, focus on reducing overdose deaths, referring people to treatment, providing education and improving data collection.
The greater Houston area so far this year has experienced two disease outbreaks easily preventable by vaccines. Six children from counties surrounding Houston became infected in early 2019 with measles, a highly contagious disease that can prove fatal, and a mumps outbreak detected mid-year among county jail inmates now totals 20 cases.
As local flu activity increases, the Houston Health Department (HHD) encourages people to get a flu shot if they haven’t gotten one this flu season.