Nearly 77% of eligible residents in Harris County have received at least one dose of the vaccine, Harris County Public Health reported on Oct. 12.

HCPH says trick-or-treating can be much safer this year for children 12 years and older because they can be vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus. They’re are strongly encouraging parents to visit a free HCPH vaccine site and to get both doses of the Pfizer vaccine before the holiday.

Autoridades en la ciudad y el condado están optimistas por los avances en el proceso de vacunación contra el covid-19. Entretanto, hasta el momento se han registrado 562,900 casos de contagio confirmados entre Houston y Harris.

Según la portavoz del Departamento de Salud Pública del Condado de Harris, han inyectado sobre 2,100 vacunas de refuerzo de Pfizer.

In the Houston area, 1,731 people were hospitalized Tuesday with COVID-19, according to the Department of State Health Services. That’s slightly less than half the number seen on Aug. 24, when the area peaked at 3,500 hospitalizations. Jennifer Kiger, COVID-19 division director for Harris County Public Health, said the area is not out of the wave yet. But it’s on the right path.

Patrick Kisindja spends his days combating vaccine hesitancy. Sometimes he calls people, other times he drives to their homes to explain the science behind the shot. Then, in the afternoon, Kisindja drives teens to the Harris County Public Health vaccination clinic at Dick Graves Park. The Houston resident serves as an ambassador at the faith-based nonprofit reVision.

Locally, Harris County Public Health (HCPH) strongly encourages all pregnant women and those trying to get pregnant, to get vaccinated.

The improvement in local COVID-19 stats may have something to do with the increase in Houston area vaccination rates thanks to incentive programs run by Harris County Public Health and the Houston Health Department.

Harris County’s vaccine rate in the 10- to 19-year-old age group — which includes children who are not yet eligible for a vaccine — rose from 27.5 percent on Aug. 2 to 40 percent on Sept. 20, according to the latest data tracked by the Harris County Public Health Department.