Omicron on track to shatter Texas' COVID-19 hospitalization record
“The situation in Texas is that it probably won’t reach the peak [for cases] until the second half of January,” a top researcher said. Full Story
The latest Department of State Health Services news from The Texas Tribune.
“The situation in Texas is that it probably won’t reach the peak [for cases] until the second half of January,” a top researcher said. Full Story
Officials added 36 to the estimate of lives lost in the disaster, which knocked out power in much of the state. Some experts place the toll even higher. Full Story
The governor asked the federal government for help opening test sites in Bexar, Cameron, Dallas, Harris, Hidalgo and Tarrant counties. Full Story
Five of the department’s regional infusion centers have run out of sotrovimab, the only antibody treatment known to be effective against the new variant. Full Story
Most local officials insist they still have testing capacity at their public testing sites, but Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said demand has outpaced supply. Full Story
Hospitalizations related to the virus remain low in the state, but the number of people testing positive is rising and once again fueling worries about the struggling health care system’s ability to weather a new surge. Full Story
So much is unknown about the new COVID-19 variant: the severity of the illness it causes, whether it can resist vaccines and natural antibodies and whether it’s more contagious than the delta variant that has burned through Texas and the U.S. for months. Full Story
A surge in COVID-19 cases from the West is impacting El Paso. Full Story
A Travis County judge temporarily blocked the state from listing delta-8 as a Schedule I drug, which effectively made it illegal. The cannabis extract became popular because users say it produces the “high” effect of marijuana. Full Story
The federal farm bill in 2018 made the substance legal because of its low THC content. Full Story
Student and staff COVID-19 cases declined after districts reported their highest levels in January since the pandemic began. But the data is incomplete and likely an undercount. Full Story
Preliminary data shows 99.5% of COVID-related deaths in Texas were among unvaccinated people, according to the Department of State Health Services. Full Story
The latest, most transmissible coronavirus variant is spreading rampantly in countries with low vaccination rates, and health experts are bracing for impact in Texas. Full Story
Parental consent is required for vaccinating children in this age group, either orally or in writing, though the guardian does not necessarily need to be present for the shot itself. Full Story
Locals are also brainstorming incentives, sending out emergency cellphone alerts, running clinics in workplace break rooms and hanging sign-up sheets in churches. Full Story
Lawmakers this session have filed a flurry of proposals related to the pandemic. Some, experts say, constitute meaningful reform. Others could leave the state worse off. Full Story
Nearly 9,000 Texas nursing home residents have died of COVID-19. This is what the last year of chaos and isolation was like for nursing homes residents and the employees who care for them. Full Story
The state is still directing providers to prioritize older and vulnerable Texans, and cities are continuing their efforts to reach Texans who have trouble accessing vaccine doses. Full Story
The newly revised number is nearly twice the 57 that state health officials estimated last week and will likely continue to grow. Full Story
Providers are not allowed, under state health guidelines, to require vaccine recipients to prove a medical condition that would qualify them because it could create barriers at a time when Texas is trying to vaccinate most of its 29 million residents. Full Story