COVID-19 hospitalizations double in Texas as omicron strains staffing
The number is surging, though it is still much lower than the peak one year ago. Full Story
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Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Texas abortion providers want district court, not conservative appeals court, to hear challenge to restrictive law
Lawyers for the providers argue that the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals should send the challenge against Texas’ Senate Bill 8 to district court, which in October temporarily blocked enforcement of the law. Full Story
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![Abortion rights activists during a rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on May 21, 2019.]()
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Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick tested positive last week for COVID-19 but didn’t tell Texas right away
Patrick’s office said he tested positive for COVID-19 last week and experienced mild symptoms but has since tested negative. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick speaks at a press conference concerning the recently passed Election & Ballot Security Bill, also known as Senate Bill 7, at the Texas Capitol on April 7, 2021. "Senate Bill 7 is about voter security, not about voter suppression, and I'm tired of the lies and the nest of liars who continue to repeat them," said Patrick.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Texas puts final estimate of winter storm death toll at 246
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
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![An ice and snow covered alley in South Austin after a freezing rain storm rolled through the area on Feb. 17, 2021.]()
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Gov. Greg Abbott calls on Biden administration to open more COVID-19 testing sites, send more monoclonal antibody treatments
The governor asked the federal government for help opening test sites in Bexar, Cameron, Dallas, Harris, Hidalgo and Tarrant counties. Full Story
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2021 in photos: Texans navigated COVID-19, weathered power outages and witnessed an increase in border crossings
As 2021 comes to a close, here’s a look back at just some of our favorite images captured by Texas Tribune photographers all over the state — and across the nation — to tell the stories of Texans in a challenging year. Full Story
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![People line up in cars to get vaccinated against COVID-19 at a federally-run mass vaccination site at NRG Stadium in Houston on Feb. 26, 2021.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
Video: With abortions restricted in Texas, many leave the state to seek care at crowded Kansas clinic
About half the patients at Trust Women’s Wichita clinic come from out of state. Full Story
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![Taniya, an ultrasound sonographer, performs an ultrasound on a patient before she has a medical abortion at Trust Women clinic in Oklahoma City on Dec. 6, 2021.]()
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Top stories from our data visuals team in 2021
In 2021, the Tribune’s data visuals team helped tell the biggest stories affecting Texans. Here’s a roundup of our most impactful work. Full Story
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![Images from the Texas Tribune data visuals team's best work in 2021.]()
Credit: Illustrations by Leland Foster and Emily Albracht -
Omicron is sidelining even health care workers as it rips through Texas
The highly contagious omicron variant has led to a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases in Texas. Hospitalizations are beginning to increase in a health care system already troubled by staffing shortages. Full Story
Credit: Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribune -
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. Full Story
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![Isidro Bernardino receives a COVID-19 antibody infusion at Titus Regional Medical Center in Mount Pleasant on Aug. 19, 2021.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Sarah Weddington, lawyer in Roe v. Wade case, dies at 76
Weddington was just 26 when she argued the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that legalized abortion in her first appearance before the high court. Full Story
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![Attorney Sarah Weddington, who argued the Roe v. Wade case before the U.S. Supreme Court, at a Planned Parenthood event in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 21, 1998.]()
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2021 Texas politics in photos: An insurrection, legislative battles and emerging campaigns
Texas politics in 2021 were marked by a violent insurrection at the nation’s Capitol and state legislative fights over abortion, voting rights and redistricting. Our photojournalists were there every step of the way. Full Story
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![Democratic members of the Texas House and Texas Senate gather for a joint press event to update Texans on their work in Washington, DC to advocate for federal voting rights protections at Washington Plaza Hotel in Washington, DC on Wednesday, July 14, 2021.]()
Credit: Shuran Huang for The Texas Tribune -
Frustrated, exhausted, scared: Omicron exacerbates pandemic mental health concerns
The state’s COVID-19 mental health support line has seen a spike in calls since early December as people navigate holidays amid a highly contagious new variant. Full Story
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![Downtown San Antonio's COVID-19 memorial, called "Deep in Our Hearts,” consists of more than 3,400 red hearts to honor the San Antonio residents who died from the virus during the pandemic. Sept. 17, 2021.]()
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“Out of sight, out of mind”: Omicron and Christmas collide in Texas
Texans are taking varying levels of precautions as they finish holiday shopping and prepare for Christmas worship services. Full Story
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Texans getting COVID-19 vaccine boosters outpace those getting first shots as omicron bears down
So far this month, at least 1.2 million Texans have gotten booster shots — nearly triple the number of people who received their first doses of the vaccine during the same time. Full Story
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![Syringes sit on a table at a COVID-19 vaccine clinic held in partnership between the Central Texas Food Bank and the University of Texas in Austin on July 21, 2021.]()
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Holidays and at-home tests mean omicron’s spread will be harder to track in Texas
The Texas Department of State Health Services, which tracks the number of coronavirus vaccinations, cases, hospitalizations and deaths across the state, won’t be updating its daily dashboard Friday through Sunday both this week and next over the holidays. Full Story
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott sticks with hands-off approach to COVID-19 as omicron spreads
Abbott’s office says vaccines are the best defense to the pandemic, however, the governor has rarely spoken about vaccines in recent months other than to push back against mandates. He did not respond to a question about whether he got the booster. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott adjusts his mask after giving an update on the categories of medical surge facilities at a press conference at the Texas Department of Public Safety on Tuesday, June 16, 2020.]()
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COVID-19 in Texas: U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments over federal vaccine mandates that state officials oppose
Live updates: As infections increase ahead of the holidays — and omicron spreads throughout the state — officials urge people to get vaccines and booster shots. Full Story
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![A person gets vaccinated for COVID-19 at Acres Home Multi-Service Center in Houston, on Oct. 13, 2021.]()
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Texas has the highest share of uninsured residents in the nation. Another COVID-19 wave puts them at risk.
Untreated medical conditions, lack of access to testing and limited paid time off leave uninsured Texans particularly vulnerable to the disease. Full Story
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![Isidro Bernardino receives a COVID-19 antibody infusion at Titus Regional Medical Center in Mount Pleasant on Aug. 19, 2021.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
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. Full Story
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune
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