Tag Archives: vaccinations

What will Harris County do about rising case numbers?

Posted on July 18, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I’m afraid we’ll find out soon enough. The Harris Health System’s COVID-19 ward was down to just one patient at the beginning of July. Anxious to hit zero COVID-19 patients, Dr. Esmaeil Porsa, the hospital system’s CEO, purchased and stored … Continue reading →

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Austin tries to slow down the Delta spike

Posted on July 17, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Not really much they can do, though. Austin city and public health officials on Thursday raised the city’s coronavirus risk-based guidelines for the first time since the winter surge, urging unvaccinated people to avoid non-essential travel and take other precautions … Continue reading →

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Where the outbreaks are the worst

Posted on July 16, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

We talk a lot about the vaccination rate in Texas, but that number by itself is misleading. Some parts of the state are very well vaccinated. Others, very much not so. That matters, because the Delta variant is just ripping … Continue reading →

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The risk of being unvaccinated

Posted on July 13, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

The numbers don’t lie. Nearly all COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. now are in people who weren’t vaccinated, a staggering demonstration of how effective the shots have been and an indication that deaths per day — now down to under … Continue reading →

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The next level of vaccine resistance

Posted on July 10, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I’m speechless. Some Texas Republicans are pushing back against President Joe Biden’s push for greater outreach to get more Americans to receive COVID-19 shots, as vaccination drives in states like Texas have stagnated. “Not on my watch!” Attorney General Ken … Continue reading →

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Our Delta future

Posted on July 9, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Don’t expect anything to change, except for the number of people getting sick and dying. The new and highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus may have sparked the recent outbreak of 125-plus cases of COVID-19 linked to a Houston-area … Continue reading →

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The return to normal

Posted on July 8, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Lots of us are going back to pre-pandemic life. Some of us have more justification for it than others. As an increasing number of Texans get vaccinated against COVID-19, most voters here are returning to their pre-pandemic lives — or … Continue reading →

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The COVID death spike

Posted on July 5, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Another way to visualize the data. It’s bad no matter how you look at it. More than 51,000 Texans have died of COVID-19, according to the state’s latest tally. That is larger than the capacity of Minute Maid Park, though … Continue reading →

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Here comes the Delta variant

Posted on July 2, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Be vaxxed or be vulnerable. Texas Medical Center hospitals are seeing an uptick in patients infected with the COVID-19 Delta variant, and infections are prevalent among young children and adults who have not been immunized. At Texas Children’s Hospital, fewer … Continue reading →

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Quinnipiac: Permitless carry and total abortion bans are not popular in Texas

Posted on June 26, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

More Q-poll data. One week after Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill into law allowing Texans to carry unlicensed handguns, voters say 74 – 24 percent that they oppose allowing anyone 21 years of age or older to carry … Continue reading →

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Methodist anti-vaxxers officially fired

Posted on June 24, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. More than 150 Houston Methodist Hospital employees resigned or have been fired as of Tuesday over a recent policy that required hospital employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Monday. All told, … Continue reading →

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We’re (sort of) halfway vaccinated

Posted on June 22, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It depends on how you’re measuring it. And it’s still not enough, no matter how you look at it. Texas has hit the halfway point. As of Friday morning, 50.1 percent of Texans 18 and older are fully vaccinated from … Continue reading →

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Kids still get COVID, too

Posted on June 19, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

And they need to get vaccinated if at all possible. Since the Food and Drug Administration approved emergency use of the Pfizer vaccine for 12 to15 year olds on May 10, more than 300,000 Texas adolescents and teenagers have received at least … Continue reading →

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Methodist anti-vaxxers appeal lawsuit dismissal

Posted on June 17, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

As expected. A group of Houston Methodist employees who sued the hospital system over its COVID-19 vaccine requirement have appealed a ruling dismissing the case. Over the weekend, U.S. District Judge Lynn N. Hughes tossed the lawsuit, calling it “reprehensible” … Continue reading →

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Harris County’s COVID situation continues to improve

Posted on June 17, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Keep it up. Harris County’s 14-day average test positivity rate for COVID-19 has fallen below 5 percent for the first time since the start of the pandemic, County Judge Lina Hidalgo announced this week. Despite the positivity rate and vaccination … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit over Methodist Hospital vaccination mandate tossed

Posted on June 15, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

That was quick. A federal judge has tossed a lawsuit against Houston Methodist over its policy to terminate workers who refuse to get the COVID vaccine, calling it “reprehensible” that plaintiffs compared the requirement to those made under Nazi Germany. … Continue reading →

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Will Methodist fire its unvaccinated workers?

Posted on June 10, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

In two weeks, if they haven’t gotten vaccinated, the answer is Yes. Dozens of cheering supporters gathered outside the Houston Methodist Baytown campus Monday evening as several medical workers who refused to get a COVID-19 vaccine ended their last shifts … Continue reading →

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What are the limits on limiting vaccination requirements?

Posted on June 8, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

News item #1: Carnival will require COVID vaccinations for all passengers cruising from Galveston: Carnival Cruise Line today announced plans to begin cruising from the Port of Galveston on July 3. Cruises will be open to customers who are fully … Continue reading →

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What was the effect of Texas’ early re-opening?

Posted on June 6, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a new study by a trio of economic researchers that attempts to answer questions about the behavioral, public health, and economic effects of Greg Abbott ending the statewide mask mandate and all restrictions on how businesses can operate, all … Continue reading →

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Threat level down again

Posted on May 30, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Nice. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo on Friday downgraded the county to the yellow COVID-19 threat level, citing improving metrics for the virus here coupled with increasing vaccinations. “This is an important and encouraging, but still fragile, milestone in our … Continue reading →

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Hospitalizations are down

Posted on May 29, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Very good news. The number of Texans hospitalized for COVID-19 this week hit its lowest mark in nearly a year, the latest sign that the state is turning a corner. According to the state Department of State Health Services figures … Continue reading →

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The kids are getting vaxxed

Posted on May 28, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. In the first week that Texas adolescents were eligible to be vaccinated for COVID-19, after a year of pandemic-induced isolation from their families, peers and classrooms, more than 100,000 kids ages 12-15 poured into pediatricians’ offices, vaccine hubs … Continue reading →

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Two arguments against Abbott’s rollback of extended unemployment insurance

Posted on May 25, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It’s bad economic policy. “I’m still nervous that we’re bowing out of this program before the labor market is fully healed,” said Dietrich Vollrath, an economics professor at the University of Houston. “The bad consequences of doing too much is … Continue reading →

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Threat level down

Posted on May 19, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Been waiting for this for some time. Harris County finally will downgrade from its highest COVID-19 threat level, County Judge Lina Hidalgo said Monday evening, after 47 weeks of urging residents to stay home. Hidalgo said the effectiveness of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Abbott ends mask mandates

Posted on May 19, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

This guy, I swear. Gov. Greg Abbott announced Tuesday that public schools can no longer require masks on their campuses starting June 5. The decision was part of a new executive order that bans governmental entities in Texas — like … Continue reading →

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Of course business groups want Abbott to cut off unemployment payments

Posted on May 18, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Completely on brand. The Texas Association of Business and more than three dozen other business groups are pushing Gov. Greg Abbott to cut the additional $300 in federal benefits currently going to unemployed Texans. Nearly 1 million Texans remained unemployed … Continue reading →

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Reopening schools and the COVID rate

Posted on May 16, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Reopening schools led to more COVID cases. I mean, this is not a surprise, right? When Texas schools returned to in-person education last fall, the spread of the coronavirus “gradually but substantially accelerated,” leading to at least 43,000 additional cases … Continue reading →

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You can lose the mask if you’re fully vaxxed

Posted on May 15, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Do your part, reap the reward. Federal health officials reversed course Thursday and advised that people who are fully vaccinated can stop wearing masks and observing social distancing in most indoor and outdoor settings. It’s welcome news for many who … Continue reading →

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Pfizer shot approved for younger kids

Posted on May 13, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Yes! The Food and Drug Administration cleared the first coronavirus vaccine for emergency use in children as young as 12 on Monday, expanding access to the Pfizer-BioNTech shot to adolescents ahead of the next school year and marking another milestone in … Continue reading →

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Please get your second shot

Posted on May 11, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I hope this is mostly a function of incomplete data. Millions of Americans — including tens of thousands of Houstonians — either have delayed or are forgoing their second dose of a COVID-19 vaccination. As of late last month, roughly … Continue reading →

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Houston’s hospitals are still busy

Posted on May 7, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. While local hospital leaders aren’t sounding the alarm about capacity concerns, we heard a similar story from leaders at St. Luke’s and Houston Methodist: hospital beds and emergency rooms are regularly filling up as both health systems continue to … Continue reading →

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Trib polling roundup, part 1

Posted on May 4, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

On COVID and vaccinations. Texas voters are feeling safer about being out in public, and better about getting COVID-19 vaccines, but a majority of the state’s voters still consider the coronavirus a “significant crisis,” according to a new University of … Continue reading →

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A little incentive

Posted on May 3, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

If it takes a reward of some kind to get a few more people to be vaccinated against COVID, I’m fine with that. To increase the rate of vaccinations, the Harris County Commissioners Court approved giving incentives to citizens. At … Continue reading →

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We need to up our vaccination data game

Posted on April 29, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

As noted before, it gets harder from here. As the initial mad rush for COVID-19 vaccines wanes, Texas is shifting its distribution strategy to focus on smaller providers, setting up a crucial test for the state as it attempts not … Continue reading →

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