The latest health care news from The Texas Tribune.
While all eligible Texans under the first phase of the rollout can now receive the COVID-19 vaccine, doses remain in short supply and many Texans who are desperate to get vaccinated can't get clear answers. Full Story
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Mayor Steve Adler said the severity of the COVID-19 situation in Austin requires more drastic measures. El Paso County announced a similar order earlier this month. Full Story
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Texas is leading a group of conservative states in a legal battle to have the sprawling health care law struck down. Without it, disabled Texans stand to lose programs that have allowed more people to stay in their homes, rather than state-run institutions. Full Story
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Texas officials' push for providers to administer more vaccines comes as Texas’ seven-day average COVID-19 positivity rate has remained above 15% for one week, according to data the state released Tuesday. Full Story
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The previous high of nearly 10,900 was broken as more than 11,300 Texans with COVID-19 were hospitalized Monday. Full Story
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COVID-19 rules and accommodations are still uncertain in the Capitol, though many people with disabilities don't plan to give testimony in person because of fears of exposure. Full Story
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“We are unable to pinpoint our initial exposure, as we ... made the difficult decision to celebrate Christmas with just our own household this year,” Bonnen, who is retiring from the House, wrote on his Facebook page. Full Story
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Like so many people, everyone we spoke to for this special edition of The Brief podcast said they're ready for this year to be over. Full Story
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The move in Williamson County drew a sharp rebuke from local leaders, who felt that health officials shirked their duties by failing to promptly administer doses of the vaccine. Full Story
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The arrival of the vaccine signaled an emergence from what countless health care workers called the darkest time in their careers. Full Story
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President Donald Trump has suggested he will veto COVID-19 aid legislation, creating uncertainty about when assistance may reach Americans. Meanwhile, Texans are living in cars and the state is sitting on unspent relief money. Full Story
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Texas health officials have told vaccine providers that they could resume using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in all adult recipients. Use of that vaccine had been paused for nearly two weeks. Full Story
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At a hospital in Edinburg, medical workers lined up to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. It will be months before the shots are widely available to most Texans, but many hope the end to the pandemic could be in sight. Full Story
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“Vaccine hesitancy” or “vaccine skepticism” remains a huge challenge for health authorities trying to overcome mistrust by communities of color, the anti-vaxxer crowd and general dubiousness on the part of a traumatized nation. Full Story
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A Texas Tribune analysis of state data shows that in regions with the worst outbreaks, including El Paso, Amarillo and Lubbock, the restrictions have done little to ease an overburdened health care system. Full Story
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"I will never ask a Texan to do something I'm not willing to do myself," Abbott said moments before getting vaccinated at Ascension Seton Medical Center in Austin. Full Story
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The vaccine, which arrived in Texas on Dec. 14, has been available so far only to front-line health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities. Full Story
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The relief bill, passed Monday night, will reinstate supplemental unemployment benefits of $300 per week and extend eviction protections through the end of January. The legislation also allocates another $284 billion to the Paycheck Protection Program. Full Story
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Abbott has stressed that the vaccine will not be required for Texans, and on Monday, he specifically said it will not be mandatory for the state's school children. Full Story
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Photojournalists captured the unforgettable images that defined an epic year in Texas as people grappled with the pandemic, protested police brutality and made their voices heard at the polls. Full Story
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