Page 3 - John Zerwas News Today

Dr. John Hellerstedt said he and the governor remain on the "same page" about COVID-19 recommendations.

 | Updated March 4, 2021 Texas’ top health official said Wednesday that Gov. Greg Abbott (R) did not consult him before announcing that the state would become the largest in the nation to lift its COVID-19 restrictions. Abbott said Tuesday that he would end the state’s mask mandate and that all businesses could operate at full capacity, effective March 10. Other governors have also begun easing precautions as coronavirus cases and deaths decline thanks to an ongoing vaccination blitz and s...

One adviser said he thinks it’s too soon for the state to stop requiring masks in public.

Skip to main content 3 of Abbotts COVID medical advisers say they werent directly consulted before mask mandate lifted Shawn Mulcahy, Texas Tribune FacebookTwitterEmail Texas Gov. Greg Abbott should keep the state’s mask mandate going. This is a no-brainer.Ricardo Brazziell /TNS In April 2020, an optimistic Gov. Greg Abbott announced at the Texas Capitol that he would soon take initial steps to allow businesses to reopen during the coronavirus pandemic. The loosening of restrictions, his tea...

The pushback from the White House is new for Abbott and other Republican governors who...

More hospital beds are freeing up in Austin and around the state as COVID-19 cases dip, but epidemiologists and medical authorities warn the disease could pick up steam again. Slightly fewer than 11,000 Texans were being treated for the coronavirus in Texas hospitals, according to Tuesday data, the most recent available, a 23.9% drop since a high of 14,218 on Jan. 11. There are now fewer Texas COVID-19 patients than during the summer peak. "We’re in a downward cycle with hospitalizations no...

McAllen woman to receive life-saving COVID-19 therapy after her son writes to Gov. Abbott The therapy is available in major Texas cities, like Dallas and Houston, but has not been available at the hospital in the Rio Grande Valley where the woman has spent the past few weeks fighting the virus. Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center in Houston is one of the U.S. hospitals Walmart has identified as a center for excellence, a program it created where it offers employees the option to travel to hos...

Tarrytown Pharmacy in Austin quickly exhausted its supply of 500 coronavirus vaccine doses in late December, then was bombarded by phone calls from people looking to get vaccinated. Credit: Montinique Monroe for The Texas Tribune After the staff at Austin’s Tarrytown Pharmacy hustled to vaccinate 500 vulnerable Texans and front-line workers over the holidays, pharmacist Rannon Ching logged into an online state system used to track the vaccines. Then he panicked. According...

Then he panicked. According to the system, his Tarrytown pharmacy hadn’t vaccinated anyone. The numbers on his screen indicated all 500 doses were still sitting on his shelf. “I freaked out thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, they’re not going to give me any [more] doses because they think I’m not giving anything,’” Ching said. As the state began the massive undertaking of distributing the coronavirus vaccine, its early rollout was beset by data problems that left state of...

<figcaption> Tarrytown Pharmacy in Austin quickly exhausted its supply of 500 coronavirus vaccine doses in late December, then was bombarded by phone calls from people looking to get vaccinated. <cite>Credit: Montinique Monroe for The Texas Tribune</cite> </figcaption>