Page 18 - Mark Escott News Today

With the states mask mandate set to be lifted next week, the top health officials in Austin and Travis County on Friday urged business owners to keep mask requirements in place, saying its more important than ever to keep coronavirus cases down as more vaccine doses become available to the public. Despite the caution, Dr. Mark Escott, interim Austin-Travis County Health authority, and Austin Public Health Director Stephanie Hayden-Howard, offered positive news that the Austin area could by...

Health experts warn that even with an increase in vaccines, the pandemic is far from over.

If things continue this way, Escott said he may recommend we drop down to stage three risk guidelines and possibly flirt with stage two in the late spring. But that doesn't mean letting down your guard.

1. Merck has agreed to produce Johnson & Johnson's single-dose COVID-19 vaccine in a deal expected to boost the nation's inoculation effort, President Biden announced Tuesday. The deal with Merck, a Johnson & Johnson rival, was hammered out in talks between the two companies' chief executives and White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients. It will help speed up production and distribution of the vaccine, which received emergency approval from...

10 things you need to know today: March 3, 2021 Harold Maass 1. President Biden said Tuesday that the "stepped-up process" for producing and distributing coronavirus vaccines had put the country "on track" to have enough doses for every adult in the United States "by the end of May," several months earlier than he previously predicted. Biden said the federal government was giving Johnson & Johnson, maker of a vaccine just approved for emergency use, the support it needs for arou...

Officials in Oregon have reported the first case of a coronavirus variant originally detected in Brazil, marking the first such instance on the West Coast.

"We ask that all our customers please wear masks in our stores. To protect the safety of our Partners, we will not engage in confrontation."

Texans React To Gov. Abbott’s Lifting Of COVID-19 Restrictions City leaders, business owners, school districts, teachers and parents respond to Gov. Abbott’s lifting of the statewide mask mandate and business capacity limits. March 3, 2021, 2:06 PM Bartender Alyssa Dooley makes a cocktail at Mo’s Irish Pub, Tuesday, March 2, 2021, in Houston. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Tuesday that he is lifting business capacity limits and the state’s mask mandate starting next week. Reactions to...

The KVUE Defenders analyzed months of data to find out which Central Texas school districts have seen the most COVID-19 cases among staff and students.

The governor announced that he's rescinding orders restricting business operations and ending the statewide mask mandate. "At this time ... people and businesses don't need the state telling them how to operate," he said.