Tag Archives: Baylor College of Medicine

PFLAG wins injunction against Paxton’s intrusive data requests

Posted on March 26, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox, as I have not seen any news stories about this yet: The Travis County District Court today granted a temporary injunction blocking the Texas Attorney General’s Office’s latest effort targeting transgender Texans — its demand that PFLAG … Continue reading →

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Three Ken Paxton updates

Posted on March 7, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I missed these in the recent news rush, but spotted them all more or less at once via the Google News app on my phone. Doomscrolling for the win, I guess. Whistleblowers: Texas Supreme Court must reject Ken Paxton’s ‘scheme’ … Continue reading →

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PFLAG sues Paxton over intrusive data requests

Posted on March 2, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Time for more deep breathing. An LGBTQ advocacy group is suing the Texas attorney general after his agency requested information that the group said would reveal the identities of its members, including those who sought to stay anonymous in recent … Continue reading →

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More on our future doctor shortage

Posted on January 16, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is unsustainable. Abortion restrictions have forced Texas obstetrician-gynecology residency programs to send young doctors out of the state to learn about pregnancy termination, a burdensome process educators say is another example of abortion bans undermining reproductive health care. At … Continue reading →

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COVID hospitalizations up in Houston

Posted on July 14, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Welp. COVID-19 hospitalizations have nearly doubled in the Houston area over the last month, according to re-published Texas Medical Center data, which paints a clearer picture of the risk associated with newer, increasingly transmissible versions of the virus. The medical … Continue reading →

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Rich guys back from space

Posted on May 2, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

What goes up, must come down. The first all-private crew to visit the International Space Station landed in the Atlantic Ocean on Monday, completing the first mission a Houston company organized as a precursor to building its own space station. … Continue reading →

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A broader look at the Houston project to track COVID in wastewater

Posted on December 16, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

The DMN tells me things I did not know about my current favorite public works project. The [Houston] health department is conducting the wastewater surveillance for COVID-19 in partnership with researchers at Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine. Wastewater … Continue reading →

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Yes, omicron was found in the wastewater

Posted on December 8, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

In case you missed it. Houston has detected the omicron variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 in eight of its wastewater treatment facilities, confirming the new strain is spreading in the city. A Harris County resident was the first … Continue reading →

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Our wastewater treatment plant is ready for omicron

Posted on December 4, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

One small bit of reassurance in these uncertain times. The Houston Health Department is testing the city’s wastewater for the new COVID variant, omicron, which experts say could soon be found in the U.S. The department tests the city’s wastewater weekly for COVID strains. … Continue reading →

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More proof that vaccine mandates work

Posted on October 8, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

In the end, most people just get the damn shots. The rest is sound and fury. Protests, lawsuits and national media coverage surrounded Houston Methodist Hospital in June when it became the country’s first major health system to require a … Continue reading →

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Hospital systems have no excuse for not mandating COVID vaccines now

Posted on September 12, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

So get on with it already. Local hospitals reacted Friday to President Joseph Biden’s sweeping vaccine mandates directed at the health care workers, who make up much of the Houston workforce. In a move that overrides Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive … Continue reading →

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Yes, the wastewater is also pointing to a COVID surge

Posted on August 22, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

In case you were wondering. There is more COVID-19 in the city’s wastewater system now than at any time in the pandemic, city officials said Wednesday, the latest warning that the virus is spreading at an unprecedented rate. Dr. David … Continue reading →

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More on the Memorial Hermann and Baylor vaccination mandates

Posted on August 3, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Memorial Hermann: Get your shots or get out. Memorial Hermann on Monday said it will require all employees to be vaccinated by Oct. 9, becoming the third Houston healthcare institution to do so. The hospital system follows Baylor College of … Continue reading →

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More hospital systems to require vaccines

Posted on August 2, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

About time. Memorial Hermann officials are finalizing details on its mandatory vaccine policy for employees. During a radio interview Wednesday, Dr. David L. Callender, president and CEO, said the system will soon announce the timeline for its employees to become … Continue reading →

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The COVID wastewater tracking project has been a big success

Posted on May 4, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

This has been one of the best things to come out of this interminable and miserable COVID experience. Lauren Stadler’s environmental engineering students always pose the same question at the beginning of a semester: “What happens to water in the … Continue reading →

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Houston Methodist tells its employees to get vaxxed or else

Posted on April 27, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I’m okay with this. Four out of five Houston Methodist employees are vaccinated against COVID-19. The sliver who are not will be suspended or fired if they refuse the shot, according to company policy. The hospital required managers to be … Continue reading →

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You will eventually need a COVID booster shot

Posted on April 25, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Just get used to the idea. More than 28 percent of Texans 16 and older are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, having received either one shot of the Johnson & Johnson or two of Moderna or Pfizer. But as scientists … Continue reading →

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Finally, a bit of good COVID news

Posted on January 24, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Naturally, it comes from the wastewater. Researchers who study sewage to monitor the pandemic are detecting less virus in Houston than they have in months, a positive signal that could indicate a forthcoming drop in new COVID-19 cases, doctors said. … Continue reading →

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More COVID restrictions are about to happen in Harris County

Posted on January 7, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Blame Greg Abbott and the virus, in whatever order you prefer. Houston and its surrounding communities on Tuesday became the latest region to require new emergency restrictions after seven straight days of ballooning coronavirus hospitalizations. The rollback, mandated under Gov. … Continue reading →

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More people in Houston than you think have had COVID

Posted on December 17, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

About one in seven, which is an awful lot. Nearly 1 in 7 Houstonians have been infected with the coronavirus, city officials announced Monday, the infection’s true prevalence according to a study of antibodies in blood samples taken from people … Continue reading →

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“On the cusp” of another COVID surge

Posted on October 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The numbers are already trending up. You know what that means. Cases of COVID-19 in parts of Texas surged to near catastrophic levels this summer as some hospitals were forced to put beds in hallways, intensive care units exceeded capacity … Continue reading →

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We really can track COVID-19 through wastewater

Posted on October 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This is terrific news. Researchers with the city, Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine were able to sniff out a potential second outbreak of COVID-19 at a homeless shelter in downtown Houston earlier this year by looking down its … Continue reading →

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How about some antibody tests?

Posted on May 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

That would be good. After months of emphasis on diagnostic screening, contact tracing and research into possible treatments, Houston is about to deploy a new tool in the effort to contain COVID-19: antibody testing. Baylor College of Medicine researchers last … Continue reading →

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Typhus in Texas

Posted on August 19, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

One more thing to worry about, in case you needed it. Strickland spent four days in a hospital receiving treatment and needed about a year to fully recover from the potentially fatal disease transmitted by fleas believed nowadays to be … Continue reading →

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No Rice-BCM merger

Posted on January 13, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The longstanding merger talks between Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine have been terminated. Rice President David Leebron and Baylor College of Medicine President Dr. William Butler gave no reason for the talks ending in their statement. “Since we … Continue reading →

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Senate panel approves budget

Posted on March 31, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As you know, the Lege has one task they absolutely must do every biennium, and that’s pass a budget. The Senate Finance Committee has taken its first step towards doing that. A two-year state budget that accepts federal stimulus money … Continue reading →

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