A conversation about the COVID-19 Vaccine addressing your concerns

We had a conversation about the COVID-19 Vaccine, where we answered your questions on how you can register and addressing concerns about the vaccine.

Speaker: Dr. David Persse, MD, Chief Medical Officer, City of Houston

Dr. David E. Persse launched his career in medicine as a field paramedic and paramedic instructor in upstate New York and New Jersey. After receiving his pre-med training at Columbia University, he attended Georgetown University School of Medicine. Dr. Persse then completed residency training in emergency medicine at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, Calif.

Dr. Persse completed fellowship training in emergency medical services and resuscitation at the Baylor College of Medicine and the City of Houston Emergency Medical Services program. Following his EMS fellowship, Dr. Persse became the assistant medical director for the Emergency Medical Services system of Houston. He then became medical director of the Los Angeles County Paramedic Training Institute, and the assistant medical director of the Los Angeles County EMS Agency. In 1996, Dr. Persse returned to Houston to assume the role of the director of Emergency Medical Services for the City of Houston. In May 2004, he was appointed by the Houston City Council as Houston's public health authority.

Speaker: Dr. Kathy Flanagan, Board Certified Psychiatrist; Specializing in Mood Disorders (Depression, Anxiety and

Bipolar)

Kathy C. Flanagan, M.D., is a diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. She currently serves as the chair of the Medical Care Subcommittee on Mayor Sylvester Turner's Health Equity Response Task Force.

Dr. Flanagan has practiced medicine for more than 30 years in Houston's Upper Kirby area. A graduate of The University of Texas at Austin, Dr. Flanagan received her medical degree from The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, now known as McGovern Medical School. She completed her general adult psychiatric residency at Baylor College of Medicine and became an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine, where she served as the deputy medical director of Ben Taub General Hospital Emergency Psychiatric Unit. Dr. Flanagan has received several gubernatorial appointments. President George W. Bush appointed her to presiding officer of the Private Sector Prison Industry Oversight Authority Board. In addition, Governor Rick Perry appointed Dr. Flanagan to the Texas Board of Criminal Justice on Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments-Advisory Committee and to the Texas Medical Board, District One Committee.

Speaker: Dr. Victor Salcedo, Board Certified, Pulmonologist; Specializing in Sleep Disorder, and
Obstructive Lung Disease

Dr. Victor Salcedo is a pulmonologist in Houston with experience in sleep-disordered breathing and obstructive lung disease. He currently practices at Houston Chest Internists and is affiliated with Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital. Having earned his doctorate of medicine from la Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara in Mexico, Dr. Salcedo completed an internal medicine internship at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, and completed an internal medicine residency, pulmonary disease fellowship, and a critical care fellowship, all at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

He is a fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians (FCCP) and a fellow of the American College (FACP). Dr. Salcedo is board-certified in internal medicine, pulmonary medicine, critical care, and sleep medicine.

Anyone who lives in Houston and the surrounding area can register and get the COVID-19 vaccine when eligible, please visit www.HoustonEmergency.org/covid19 to check if you are currently eligible or when you will become eligible.

Appointments for Houston Health Department vaccine clinics are filled through January 2021, based on the current supply. Additional appointments are not being scheduled at this time. When supply increases, the health department will open the appointment portal and post the link on HoustonEmergency.org/COVID19.

Learn about new appointment opportunities through email, text message, voice call, or mobile app push notification by registering for the HoustonRecovers subscription of AlertHouston at AlertHouston.org. HHD vaccine clinics are conducted at its health centers, multi-service centers and community locations. As supply increases, the vaccine will also be made available via mobile units. Please visit the Texas COVID-19 Vaccine Provider Locations map to see providers near you who are offering the vaccine, and be sure to call ahead to see if they have vaccine supply available for you. As vaccine availability increases in 2021 and more people become eligible, people will be able to get vaccinated at doctor's offices, pharmacies, hospitals and other "usual" sites.