It s hard to make a definitive claim about the state of the opioid crisis in Fort Bend County. No one is collecting data about fentanyl and opioid deaths in the
Missouri City could be eligible for up to $209,633 for opioid addiction treatment after joining a settlement agreement involving many communities across Texas, including at least one other in Fort
A growing number of residents have checked themselves into Fort Bend County hospitals in recent weeks and been diagnosed with the Delta variant of COVID-19, setting off concern among physicians that this could be the beginning of another wave of coronavirus, according to health experts.
But unlike previous waves during the pandemic, this rise has been limited almost exclusively to people who have declined to receive the coronavirus vaccine, said Rita Obey, communications manager for Fort Bend County Health and Human Services.
âAs with the rest of the Houston region, Fort Bend County has seen a rise in cases,â Obey said. âThe vast majority of these cases have been unvaccinated residents. Out of the 367,000-plus Fort Bend County residents who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, four people who were 70-plus years of age and had comorbidities died from COVID-19.â
Fort Bend County Health and Human Services has submitted a $2 million grant proposal to the Texas Department of State Health Services, seeking to add staff and create infrastructure needed to serve a county of almost 900,000, according to the departmentâs proposal.
Even before the pandemic, the countyâs health services hadnât kept pace with the population growth, and hasnât completed a community health needs assessment since 2007 because of a lack of personnel, according to the grant proposal.
Health department spokesperson Rita Obey said July 14 that no one who works for Fort Bend County Health and Human Services, including herself, was available to be interviewed for this story. She said they were too busy.
Fort Bend County residents are receiving their coronavirus vaccines at rates above most suburban and urban counties in Texas, with some 71 percent of the population age 12 and older having received at least one dose, according to state data.
County Judge KP George took to social media on June 23 to celebrate the countyâs efforts, saying Fort Bend was leading Texas in getting vaccinated and returning to normal.
âLet me be clear,â George said. âFort Bend Countyâs aggressive COVID vaccination program is an American success story.â
The numbers come as Fort Bend health officials step up their efforts to vaccinate more students and younger residents.