578/5/2022
This week, Mayor Sylvester Turner, the Houston Health Department’s Stephen Williams, director, and Dr. Loren Hopkins, PhD, chief environmental science officer, Houston Public Works, and Rice University announced some good news for hard work during COVID.
The Houston Health Department (HHD) has received a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) designation as a national Center of Excellence for wastewater epidemiology. During the COVID-19 pandemic, HHD, in partnership with Rice University, established itself as a leader in wastewater epidemiology.
The center will allow a continued collaboration between the department and Rice University. The department will lead the CDC grant with a sub-award given to Rice University. The award will assist the department in sharing its expertise with cities across the nation and supporting public health. It also places the department center stage as the CDC develops standardized methods for this new public health tool.