appointment-free vaccinations

Houstonians no longer need appointments at NRG COVID mass vaccination site

Residents will no longer have to make appointments at NRG Park for vaccinations.

Photo courtesy of ABC13

More than half of all American adults have now gotten at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Thanks to a new plan, Harris County is making it easier for locals to get immunized.

Residents will not have to make an appointment at NRG Park, per a new plan announced by Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and Congressman Al Green. That means anyone aged 16 or older can walk or drive up and receive a shot at the NRG mass vaccination site.

Hours are currently 8am-5pm, but starting Wednesday April 21, the site will be open noon-9 pm, Hidalgo tweeted. The site will continue to operate 7 days a week.

“More than a half million people in the United States have died from COVID-19. That’s nearly 564,000 members of our families and communities who unfortunately have succumbed to this unprecedented pandemic,” Congressman Al Green said on April 19. “As we are here in the Ninth Congressional District today to expand vaccine accessibility, I am encouraging everyone eligible to get vaccinated at this facility or one nearest you.”

As of late April 19, there are 386,556 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Houston/Harris County and 3,981 deaths, per Harris County Public Health. Some 372,650 patients have recovered and the positivity rate is 8.9 percent.

This announcement comes as the nation is trending up in vaccinations — but also in hospitalizations in some parts of the country.

“More people in the United States are being vaccinated every single day at an accelerated pace,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a White House COVID-19 briefing on April 10, CNN reports.

“On the other hand, cases and hospitalizations are increasing in some areas of the country and cases among younger people who have not yet been vaccinated are also increasing.”

The NRG mass vaccination site is located at One NRG Park and accessed via Gate 16A off of Main Street.

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”

appointment-free vaccinations

Houstonians no longer need appointments at NRG COVID mass vaccination site

Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

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