Tag Archives: Centers for Disease Control

New COVID vaccine available

Posted on August 29, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

In case you missed it. The Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday it has greenlighted updated COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna for the 2024 fall season. The decision clears the way for distribution to begin for the latest version … Continue reading →

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Yeah, COVID is still out there

Posted on July 20, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Not the threat it once was, thankfully, but still a threat. The arrival of summer is once again coinciding with an uptick in COVID-19 infections in Houston. Infections are on the rise for the fifth summer in a row in … Continue reading →

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Please chainsaw responsibly

Posted on July 15, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

From the “Things That Shouldn’t Need To Be Said But Really Really Are” department: People in the Houston area eager to dig out of the damage wrought by Hurricane Beryl already have a list of challenges facing them: near-record heat, … Continue reading →

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Bird flu found in Houston wastewater

Posted on June 19, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

No need to panic, but good to know. Bird flu has been detected in wastewater around the Houston area, Harris County Public Health officials said Tuesday. The source of the Bird flu, or H5N1, found in Houston water between March … Continue reading →

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We’re beginning to quantify the effect of the abortion ban

Posted on January 26, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Three stories from the Chron about abortion and forced births. The first one involves rape victims. Read carefully. More than 26K rape-related pregnancies estimated after Texas outlawed abortions. Texas saw an estimated 26,313 rape-related pregnancies during the 16 months after … Continue reading →

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Paxton sues Pfizer for not ending the COVID pandemic quickly enough

Posted on December 1, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

What the actual fuck? Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton accused drugmaker Pfizer of fear-mongering and lies about the effectiveness of its COVID-19 vaccine, which the company insinuated would end the pandemic, according to a lawsuit Paxton announced Thursday. “In a … Continue reading →

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Lots of people will not get that latest COVID shot

Posted on September 27, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Sadly not a big surprise. We could move this at the margins, but not as long as any part of government is in Republican control. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends new covid-19 booster vaccines for all — … Continue reading →

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Time for your next COVID shot

Posted on September 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I’m ready. The U.S. approved updated COVID-19 vaccines Monday, hoping to rev up protection against the latest coronavirus strains and blunt any surge this fall and winter. The Food and Drug Administration decision opens the newest shots from Moderna and … Continue reading →

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Yeah, COVID’s on the rise again

Posted on August 6, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

We’re in a much better place overall now, but do exercise caution and get your damn shots if you haven’t already. COVID-19 isn’t going anywhere. Infections are rising in Texas and Houston for the fourth summer in a row, with many … Continue reading →

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Tuberculosis

Posted on July 16, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s making an unfortunate comeback. Before 2020, advances to eradicate TB, which is spread person to person through the air, were underway globally. It was considered by many public health experts to be a feasible goal, since tools are available to identify … Continue reading →

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Our wastewater COVID tracking is a big deal

Posted on July 14, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Nice to be recognized as a leading innovator. The practice of using plumbing to track and prevent disease isn’t new. A series of cholera outbreaks in the mid and late 1800s prompted many cities, including London, Boston, and Chicago to install sewer systems in … Continue reading →

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Malaria

Posted on July 8, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Time for something new to worry about. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning doctors and public health officials about a handful of locally acquired cases of malaria. There hasn’t been a case of malaria caught locally … Continue reading →

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Syphilis

Posted on June 18, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I had no idea. The number of babies born with syphilis in the U.S. continued its upward climb in 2021, new data shows, worrying doctors and public health investigators in Texas who have been trying to draw attention to what … Continue reading →

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Please get an mpox vaccine if you are at risk

Posted on June 13, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s avoid a summer surge. On the heels of a cluster of new mpox infections in Chicago this month, the CDC is urging at-risk populations to get fully vaccinated. One year ago Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control released its … Continue reading →

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COVID rates tick down again in Houston

Posted on January 22, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Always a good headline to read. COVID-19 data from the Texas Medical Center this week suggests the current wave may be subsiding, though experts urge caution as a new, highly infectious variant continues to circulate. The average number of daily … Continue reading →

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A closer look at the maternal mortality report

Posted on December 29, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I take no joy in predicting that the Legislature will take no action on this. Nakeenya Wilson was at a meeting of Texas’ maternal mortality review committee when she got the call: Her sister, who had recently had a baby, … Continue reading →

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It’s winter surge time again

Posted on December 22, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, though I think you already suspected this. COVID-19 cases are rising across Texas two weeks after the Thanksgiving holiday, echoing last year’s surge of the omicron variant. There are more than 18,000 positive … Continue reading →

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Here at last is that updated report on maternal mortality

Posted on December 18, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

We’re still really bad at preventing it, especially for Black women. At least 118 women dead and nearly 200 children left without a mother. This was just a portion of the death toll from pregnancy and childbirth in Texas in … Continue reading →

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Is this just the calm before the next COVID wave?

Posted on October 17, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Things look good now, at least in the Houston area, but COVID never sleeps. As the U.S. heads into a third pandemic winter, the first hints are emerging that another possible surge of COVID-19 infections could be on its way. … Continue reading →

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Your omicron booster will be ready this week

Posted on September 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll be getting mine. Most Texans will be eligible in the coming days for a second round of Covid-19 booster shots after updated vaccines got final federal approval this week. The new doses, from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, are designed to … Continue reading →

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Get your kids vaccinated (I’m saying it again)

Posted on July 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

We have a long way to go. In the two weeks since the federal government allowed emergency use of COVID-19 vaccines for children younger than 5, nearly 32,000 Texas kids in that age group have been vaccinated. That accounts for … Continue reading →

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Get your kids vaccinated

Posted on July 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

A good start, but we can do a lot more. Texas Children’s Hospital has administered COVID-19 vaccines to nearly 6,000 children ages 6 months through 4 years old since the youngest age group became eligible to receive the shots last … Continue reading →

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Monkeypox in the Houston area

Posted on June 24, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Was bound to happen sooner or later. Two people in the region have tested positive for monkeypox, a viral disease with typically mild symptoms, public health officials with the City of Houston and Harris County announced Saturday. The Houston Health … Continue reading →

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COVID vaccines for kids under 5 are now available

Posted on June 21, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s been a long wait. On Saturday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky signed off on Covid vaccines for the youngest Americans. Her endorsement means shots can begin immediately, finally ending the two-and-a-half year wait … Continue reading →

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Monkeypox? Really?

Posted on June 17, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Yeah, really. Texas health officials said Tuesday they have identified the first case of monkeypox in the state this year, but noted the illness does not currently present a risk to the general public. The case was identified in a … Continue reading →

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Looks like Texas didn’t even have to sue to keep Title 42 from ending

Posted on April 27, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

A different Trump judge already put it in the bag for them. A federal judge in Louisiana plans to temporarily block the Biden administration from ending Title 42, a pandemic-era health order used by federal immigration officials to expel migrants, … Continue reading →

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Texas sues to stop the end of Title 42

Posted on April 25, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Just another day at the office of destruction for Ken Paxton. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration on Friday to halt the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from lifting Title 42, a pandemic-era … Continue reading →

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Biden administration to appeal airplane mask mandate order

Posted on April 22, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good. U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration said on Tuesday it would appeal a judge’s ruling ending a mask mandate on airplanes if public health officials deem it necessary to stem the spread of COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control and … Continue reading →

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Mask mandate lifted for planes and trains

Posted on April 20, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

And other forms of mass transportation. The Biden administration will no longer enforce a U.S. mask mandate on public transportation, after a federal judge in Florida on Monday ruled that the 14-month-old directive was unlawful, overturning a key White House … Continue reading →

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Studying COVID in cats and dogs

Posted on March 30, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Seems like a reasonable thing to look at. Brushing a dog’s teeth is hard enough. The dog looks at you plaintively, eyes wide with betrayal, as you insert the toothbrush and perform a quick pantomime of a tooth cleaning in … Continue reading →

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More school districts dropping mask mandates

Posted on March 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Unsurprising. Some of Texas’ biggest school districts are lifting mask mandates for students just weeks before spring break. Houston Independent School District, the state’s largest district, and Dallas ISD announced Monday that they would not require students to wear masks. … 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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