Tag Archives: vaccinations

New variants being detected

Posted on April 18, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Got to keep an eye on that. Two new omicron subvariants that health officials say are contributing to a COVID uptick in New York State have been identified in Houston, according to researchers at Houston Methodist. Genome sequencing efforts within the hospital system have … Continue reading →

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Grand jury indicts three Hidalgo aides

Posted on April 12, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Not great. Three Harris County staffers at the center of a mounting investigation into a since-canceled vaccine outreach contract have been indicted with misuse of official information and tampering, according to district clerk records. Aaron Dunn, Wallis Nader and Alex … Continue reading →

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COVID hospitalizations at a low in the state

Posted on April 12, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good news (say it with me) for now. Texas hospitals are treating fewer than 1,000 patients with COVID-19 for the first time in two years. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, hospitalizations totaled 993 on Sunday. The … Continue reading →

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Here comes BA.2 in Houston

Posted on April 2, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

But don’t panic, it’s just a change in the virus composition, not an increase in viral load. Houston is seeing an uptick in the number of BA.2 cases, with genome sequencing and wastewater testing picking up higher levels this week compared to … Continue reading →

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COVID may be down but it’s definitely not out

Posted on March 17, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Just a reminder, this pandemic hasn’t gone away. It’s less of a threat to us here right now, but it’s still very much a threat. The evolution of the coronavirus is likely to produce dangerous new variants that escape built-up … Continue reading →

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How low can COVID go?

Posted on March 16, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I feel like this is more a function of time and evolution than anything else, but we’ll see. New coronavirus cases across the greater Houston area dropped to their lowest level in four months, new data showed Monday, just days … Continue reading →

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MLB’s Canadian conundrum

Posted on March 15, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s an interesting wrinkle to the recently-resolved MLB lockout. With the Major League Baseball season set to start, unvaccinated players will once again need to sit out series against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Players who haven’t been … Continue reading →

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And we’re back to yellow again

Posted on March 12, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s hope it lasts. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo on Thursday lowered the county’s COVID threat level to yellow, signaling a controlled level of cases following the decline of the omicron wave. The yellow level means COVID poses a “moderate … Continue reading →

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We’ve had a lot of COVID

Posted on March 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. More than half of Texans had been infected by COVID-19 as of late January, according to a nationwide blood sample survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The survey was based on samples from 52 commercial … Continue reading →

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The Rodeo is back

Posted on March 4, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Gonna be interesting to see how different it is, if it’s different at all. And this year, after a one-year hiatus, the rodeo again will be focused on preventing the spread of COVID-19, the virus that abruptly brought the rodeo … Continue reading →

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HISD lifts its mask mandate

Posted on March 1, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

A bit earlier than expected. The Houston Independent School District will lift its mask mandate Tuesday, no longer requiring the use of face coverings at all facilities and buildings, district officials said Monday. The change in policy at Houston ISD … Continue reading →

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Orange is the new threat level

Posted on February 27, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

New again, anyway. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo lowered Harris County’s COVID-19 threat level to “significant” Thursday, signaling the city is emerging from the worst of the omicron wave as infection rates plummet. Harris County has met all four metrics needed to lower its threat … Continue reading →

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COVID madness

Posted on February 20, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

How many ways will unhinged lunatics find to kill us? A federal appeals court has reversed a ruling, effectively halting United Airlines’ COVID-19 vaccine mandate for employees. The majority on the 5th U.S. Circuit panel ruled in favor of lifting … Continue reading →

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Omicron on the decline in Houston

Posted on February 3, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Some good news. Omicron is receding in the Houston area, new data show, even as hospitals continue to feel the strain of January’s post-holiday bump in COVID-19 cases. The region’s rate of transmission — a key metric used to gauge … Continue reading →

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Two new polls of the Governor’s race

Posted on February 1, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

One is in the news. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is running 11 percentage points ahead of Democrat Beto O’Rourke in this year’s race for Texas governor, according to a Dallas Morning News-University of Texas at Tyler poll released Sunday. Buoyed … Continue reading →

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You don’t want to go to the ICU right now

Posted on January 31, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

And even if for some reason you did want to go to the intensive care unit, there probably wouldn’t be room for you. The number of Texas intensive care unit beds available for adult patients is at an all-time low … Continue reading →

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The Rodeo will (probably) happen

Posted on January 30, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Assuming it all doesn’t go south from here. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said Tuesday the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo should proceed as planned, citing a decline in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. “It’s difficult to predict what things are … Continue reading →

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I repeat: We need to get more kids vaccinated

Posted on January 29, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Come on, Houston. In spite of the spread of the omicron variant, national COVID-19 vaccination rates for children ages 5-11 remain low. The same is true for children in Harris County, according to a Kaiser Health News analysis of CDC data. Of Harris … Continue reading →

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Spare a thought for the nurses

Posted on January 28, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

And do everything you can to avoid getting COVID. [Kristen McLaury, a nurse and unit manager at Methodist Hospital The Woodlands] treated one of the hospital’s first COVID patients and hasn’t stopped since. She now runs the respiratory unit, where … Continue reading →

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Have I mentioned that we need to get more kids vaccinated?

Posted on January 21, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Seriously, y’all. Since November, 693,345 Texas elementary-age children have received at least one dose of the vaccine, accounting for about 24% of the state’s 2.9 million children ages 5-11 — and a figure in line with the national rate. Nearly … Continue reading →

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You (probably) still have to get vaxxed if you work in Houston

Posted on January 20, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I’m glad to see this, but there’s a huge question that this story doesn’t address, much less answer. Local companies say they will maintain their vaccination policies despite last week’s Supreme Court ruling that struck down the Biden administration’s vaccination … Continue reading →

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On the campaign trail again

Posted on January 14, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s good to be back. In the 2020 election cycle, many campaigns in Texas went fully virtual as the coronavirus pandemic, then a new and uncertain threat, bore down on the state. They held virtual rallies, phone banks and fundraisers, … Continue reading →

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Back to Code Red

Posted on January 11, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Hopefully not for too long. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo on Monday moved the county again to its highest COVID-19 threat level, her office said. The announcement should be old hat for Hidalgo, who has moved to Level Red each … Continue reading →

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The hospitals are getting slammed again

Posted on January 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Take precautions, y’all. Pandemic forecasters in Texas say the state’s current surge of omicron infections and hospitalizations is likely to get much worse before it gets better, with hospitalizations expected to continue climbing for at least three weeks if social behaviors don’t change … Continue reading →

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Three comments about three vaccine mandate news stories

Posted on January 6, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Item one: A U.S. district judge in North Texas has blocked a mask mandate and vaccine requirement for staff and students in the Head Start program that was issued by President Joe Biden. Head Start is a federal school readiness … Continue reading →

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Corbevax gets its approval

Posted on January 4, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Kudos. Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine today announced Corbevax — a protein sub-unit COVID-19 vaccine — has received approval from the Drugs Controller General of India to launch in that nation. The vaccine has been developed in … Continue reading →

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Back to school, kids

Posted on January 2, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’ll probably be fine. And honestly, there’s no appetite for anything else. Most of Texas’ roughly 1,200 school districts will welcome students and staff back within the next week, even as other states debate whether to mandate vaccines for teachers … Continue reading →

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Got to keep an eye on the hospitalizations

Posted on December 30, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

They’re up, but for now we’re still in reasonably decent shape. More than 1,200 people were hospitalized for COVID-19 in the Houston area on Monday, according to data released by the state Tuesday afternoon. The Department of State Health Services … Continue reading →

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HISD will not lift its mask mandate

Posted on December 28, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Seems like an easy call at this point. The Houston Independent School District will maintain its mask mandate and offer free COVID testing at campuses for students and staff in 2022, Superintendent Millard House II announced last week. House previously … Continue reading →

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We need to get more kids vaccinated

Posted on December 27, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

C’mon, y’all. Now is very much not the time to be hesitant. Most Houston parents have not rushed out to inoculate their children against COVID-19, new data show, the latest indication that achieving widespread immunity among the young may be … Continue reading →

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Simply having a COVIDful Christmastime

Posted on December 24, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Sorry not sorry. Houston has surpassed 300,000 COVID-19 cases, just days after the highly contagious omicron variant leapfrogged delta to become the dominant viral strain circulating in the region and around the United States. The staggering milestone reached Thursday, when … Continue reading →

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Our year in COVID

Posted on December 23, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It was bad. How it is next year is at least partially up to us. Texas recorded a 35 percent increase in COVID-19 deaths in 2021, compared to the first year of the pandemic, even though vaccines have been available … Continue reading →

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COVID puts NHL on pause

Posted on December 22, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

A bit of an ominous throwback. The NHL is beginning a leaguewide shutdown Wednesday amid a rise in positive COVID-19 test results among players, and with 10 of the league’s 32 teams’ schedules already paused and their facilities closed. The … Continue reading →

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Back to threat level orange

Posted on December 21, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Thanks, omicron. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo raised Harris County’s COVID-19 threat level to “significant” Monday, as the number of infections rise sharply, sparked by the spread of the omicron variant. “Level 2: Orange,” is the second-highest threat level in … Continue reading →

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