The governor asked the federal government for help opening test sites in Bexar, Cameron, Dallas, Harris, Hidalgo and Tarrant counties.
Department of State Health Services
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Coronavirus in Texas
Health agency warns Texas is running out of the only antibody treatment effective against the omicron variant
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.
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Coronavirus in Texas
At-home COVID-19 tests are in scarce supply in Texas while public testing sites see a rise in demand
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.
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Coronavirus in Texas
With questions about omicron’s severity still unanswered, Texas braces for new COVID-19 wave this winter
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.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Texas scientists search for potentially virulent new omicron COVID-19 variant as state health officials push vaccination
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.
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Coronavirus in Texas
COVID-19 hospitalizations in Texas are lower than they have been in months, but experts say there’s still reason to be wary
A surge in COVID-19 cases from the West is impacting El Paso.
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Criminal Justice
Delta-8 is legal in Texas — for now — after Travis County judge blocks state from criminalizing the cannabis extract
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.
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Criminal Justice
Texas says popular cannabis extract, delta-8, is illegal, sending retailers scrambling
The federal farm bill in 2018 made the substance legal because of its low THC content.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Texas has seen nearly 9,000 COVID-19 deaths since February. All but 43 were unvaccinated people.
Preliminary data shows 99.5% of COVID-related deaths in Texas were among unvaccinated people, according to the Department of State Health Services.
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Health care
Houston-area COVID-19 outbreak — including delta variant cases — should be a wake-up call for Texans, health expert warns
The latest, most transmissible coronavirus variant is spreading rampantly in countries with low vaccination rates, and health experts are bracing for impact in Texas.