Drive-Thru Vaccination Sites Popping Up In Montgomery County

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, TX — COVID-19 hospitalizations have reached an all-time high in Montgomery County, health officials reported Friday, and drive-thru vaccination sites in all four precincts are beginning as soon as Saturday.

In its triweekly update, the Montgomery County Public Health District announced there were 332 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the county, with 64 of those in intensive care. The increase in hospitalizations coincides with the spread of the delta variant, which is more contagious than variants in past waves.

Only 49.73 percent of eligible Montgomery County residents age 12 and older are fully vaccinated, according to data from the Texas Department of State Health Services.

At Tuesday's Montgomery County Commissioners Court meeting, commissioners discussed taking a precinct-focused approach to setting up pop-up mass vaccination sites to help encourage people to get vaccinated. That effort was organized quickly as the Montgomery County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management announced four drive-thru vaccination sites that will operate for three days each over the next couple weeks. The first site will open Saturday at The Magnolia Event Center. No appointments are necessary.

Here are the sites ordered by the dates they will operate:

Precinct 2

• When: Aug. 14-16, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
• Where: The Magnolia Event Center, 11659 FM 1488 in Magnolia

Precinct 1

• When: Aug. 17-19, 9 a.m.-7 p.m.
• Where: North Montgomery County Community Center, 900 Gerald St. in Willis

Precinct 3

• When: Aug. 20, 9 a.m.-7 p.m.; Aug. 21-22, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
• Where: 2133 Timberloch Place in The Woodlands

Precinct 4

• When: Aug. 23-25, 9 a.m.-7 p.m.
• Where: A.V. 'Bull' Sallas Park, 21675-C McCleskey Road in New Caney

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MCPHD added 792 new cases Friday, bringing the county's total to 64,472. There are now 7,031 active cases in Montgomery County, an increase of 582 since Wednesday's update. It's the highest total of active cases in the county since January. Public health officials also confirmed the death of three more people with COVID-19, bringing the total to 362. The three deaths were a Spring man in his 60s, a Conroe man in his 60s and a Willis woman in her 80s. None were vaccinated.

In the report, MCPHD indicated that the "vast majority" of new cases and hospitalizations are from people who are unvaccinated. In the Montgomery County Commissioners Court meeting Tuesday, Jason Millsaps, executive director of the county's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said that roughly 91 to 92 percent of hospitalizations at that time were unvaccinated people.