Latest Contributions

• "On a crash course": Texas hospitals brace for another COVID-19 surge as delta variant burns through unvaccinated communities

  by Karen Brooks Harper Updated: July 29, 2021

  Hospital officials worry that "staggering and frightening" hospitalization rates will push facilities to capacity at a time when staffing is short and workers are exhausted. Full Story 

• CDC wants more vaccinated people and schoolchildren to mask up — but Texas keeps it voluntary

  by Karen Brooks Harper July 27, 2021

  Texas Republican state leaders held their ground against allowing local schools and governments to require masks. The CDC guidelines are not mandates and have no weight of law. Full Story 

• Austin announces stricter coronavirus protocols for unvaccinated residents as cases increase. But it can’t legally enforce them.

  by Karen Brooks Harper and Colleen DeGuzman Updated: July 15, 2021

  The city’s return to Stage 3 risk-based guidelines marks the first time a major Texas city has reversed direction in the trend toward normalcy. But others are also reporting surges in cases. Full Story 

• Texas Democrats’ decampment over voting legislation has echoes of 2003 redistricting fight

  by Karen Brooks Harper July 15, 2021

  Now, as in 2003, Democrats say their main motivator is protecting the voices of Texas voters. Can they stop legislation that would restrict voting in Texas? Full Story 

• Amarillo was vaccinating people at double the state’s pace. Then the effort hit a wall.

  by Karen Brooks Harper and Carla Astudillo July 6, 2021

  Local health officials are trying to boost vaccinations in this Panhandle city and its surrounding counties, which rank near the bottom of the state’s population centers in the percentage of residents fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Full Story 

• After a year of living carefully, nearly half of Texas voters have returned to their pre-pandemic lives, UT/TT Poll finds

  by Karen Brooks Harper June 30, 2021

  In the June poll, 47% of voters said they were coming and going as they were before the pandemic, while 39% said they were leaving the house but exercising caution. Full Story 

• Texas congressional Democrats propose bill to let local governments expand Medicaid without state consent

  by Karen Brooks Harper Updated: June 21, 2021

  The bill would let counties and cities apply to the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for funds that were declined by their states. Full Story 

• Supreme Court tosses Texas-led Affordable Care Act challenge, preserving sweeping health care law

  by Karen Brooks Harper Updated: June 17, 2021

  The 7-2 ruling said the plaintiffs didn’t have standing to sue over the law. The court’s ruling did not include an official opinion on whether the law, commonly known as Obamacare, was constitutional. Full Story 

• After Austin shooting, advocates and Texas Democrats renew calls for action on gun violence

  by Heidi Pérez-Moreno and Karen Brooks Harper June 15, 2021

  State Rep. Joe Moody, a Democrat from El Paso, said a special legislative session already planned for later this year should also address gun violence. Full Story 

• Some medically vulnerable Texans feel left behind as the state returns to normal

  by Karen Brooks Harper June 14, 2021

  The possibility that the vaccine won’t work — or that, as some worry, it could even hurt them — is a devastating blow after a year of sacrifice, isolation and waiting for protection against the virus. Full Story 

• Gov. Greg Abbott signs bill to punish businesses that require proof of COVID-19 vaccination

  by Karen Brooks Harper June 7, 2021

  Abbott's signature means that businesses that require so-called vaccine passports can't get state contracts and could lose state licenses or operating permits. Full Story 

• Texas lawmakers responded to the pandemic by limiting what the government can do in response to a pandemic

  by Karen Brooks Harper June 3, 2021

  Lawmakers didn’t succeed in curtailing the governor's power during a disaster, but they did pass bills that prohibit so-called vaccine passports and ban the mandatory closure of churches and gun stores. Full Story 

• COVID-19 ravaged the state’s border counties. Now they’re leading Texas in vaccinations.

  by Karen Brooks Harper and Carla Astudillo June 1, 2021

  From El Paso to Brownsville, every county along the border is outpacing the state average for the percentage of residents fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Full Story 

• Texans can now schedule free COVID-19 vaccine clinics for groups of 5 or more

  by Karen Brooks Harper May 26, 2021

  Gov. Greg Abbott encouraged “groups of Texans who wish to get vaccinated as a business, family unit, friend group, or more” to schedule an event. Full Story 

• Texas House votes to yank state funding from sports teams that don't play national anthem at games

  by Karen Brooks Harper May 24, 2021

  Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick named the bill one of his legislative priorities after Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, stopped playing the anthem before home games. Full Story 

• Texas youth show up in "amazing" numbers as state tries to vaccinate 1.7 million children now eligible for COVID-19 shot

  by Karen Brooks Harper May 24, 2021

  In the days since the federal approval of the shot for their age group, about 6% of Texas children ages 12-15 have gotten a dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Full Story 

• Texas sets public hearings as it tries to convince federal government to extend health funding for the uninsured

  by Karen Brooks Harper May 19, 2021

  Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration over its decision to rescind the Trump administration's extension of the so-called 1115 waiver. Full Story 

• “If you are vaccinated, go for it”: Large counties roll back some pandemic-era limits as COVID-19 deaths drop statewide

  by Karen Brooks Harper May 18, 2021

  Officials in Travis and Harris counties — both early adopters of pandemic restrictions — rolled some back Tuesday in an effort to allow vaccinated residents to return to pre-pandemic living. Full Story 

• New Texas lawsuit accuses Biden administration of threatening state’s health care funding to force Medicaid expansion

  by Karen Brooks Harper May 14, 2021

  Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuit, filed Friday, argues that the Trump-era extension of the federal 1115 Medicaid funding waiver was lawful and that overturning it was a political move. Full Story 

• How a small Texas town doubled its COVID-19 vaccination rate in a month as the state’s rate declined

  by Karen Brooks Harper May 12, 2021

  Mount Pleasant in northeast Texas lags behind the state in its vaccination rate, but the town is boosting its numbers by mobilizing churches, nonprofits and other trusted community leaders to help overcome residents’ fears and doubts. Full Story