Tag Archives: coronavirus

“Universal masking” for school children recommended

Posted on July 28, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Seems like a sensible idea, especially given that children under the age of 12 can’t get the vaccine yet. The American Academy of Pediatrics on Monday recommended that all children over the age of 2 wear masks when returning to … Continue reading →

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Still surging

Posted on July 27, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Hospitalizations. The number of lab-confirmed COVID hospitalizations in Texas broke 4,000 on Friday for the first time since March, a worrying sign of the pandemic’s quick resurgence since the Delta variant was discovered in the state. […] As of Saturday, … Continue reading →

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It’s not vaccinated people that are dying

Posted on July 25, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Numbers don’t lie. It’s the unvaccinated that die. Of the 8,787 people who have died in Texas due to COVID-19 since early February, at least 43 were fully vaccinated, the Texas Department of State Health Services said. That means 99.5% … Continue reading →

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More masking

Posted on July 25, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

In Travis County. Public health officials in Austin and Travis County are now encouraging vaccinated people to wear masks both indoors and outdoors, and for those unvaccinated to stay at home except for essential needs — the first major city … Continue reading →

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The fourth wave

Posted on July 23, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

We’re not ready. One local hospital is reinstating visitor limits and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo is mulling a change to the county’s threat level amid a wave of COVID-19 variant cases that medical leaders warned Tuesday could overwhelm area … Continue reading →

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Abbott affirms he will take no action to mitigate future COVID waves

Posted on July 22, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

He’s on brand, that much is for sure. Gov. Greg Abbott says he will not impose another statewide mask mandate, despite COVID-19 cases being on the rise again. “There will be no mask mandate imposed, and the reasons for that … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 38 Comments

The ultimate inducement to getting vaccinated

Posted on July 22, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Winning college football games. I mean seriously, if that doesn’t do it then literally nothing will. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey calls it the “vaccination motivation” — in urging the league’s programs to receive the COVID-19 vaccination before the season kicks … Continue reading →

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Are any state leaders going to talk about the rising COVID rate?

Posted on July 21, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Just curious. With less than half of Texans vaccinated and the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus spreading, the percentage of COVID-19 tests coming back positive in the state has climbed to a rate unseen since winter. As of … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , | 17 Comments

The Virus And The Vote

Posted on July 20, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

As you may recall, there were a lot of concerns going into the 2020 election about the potential for things to go horribly wrong. Books were written about the weak points in our bizarre and super-distributed system for running and … Continue reading →

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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 →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

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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More federal stimulus money for education coming

Posted on July 13, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Texas soon will receive another $4.1 billion in federal stimulus money to address the post-pandemic needs of public school students, many of whom fell behind academically during months of remote learning. The funding comes come as the U.S. Department … 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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Bad bail bill 2.0

Posted on July 12, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

This was also happening over the weekend. Days into a short legislative session, Texas lawmakers are moving quickly to pass a GOP priority bill that would make it harder for some people who have been arrested but not convicted to … 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 →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Here’s your special session agenda

Posted on July 8, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

They call this “red meat”, but it’s really just bullshit. Gov. Greg Abbott has announced the agenda for the special legislative session that begins Thursday, asking lawmakers to prioritize 11 issues that largely appeal to conservatives who wanted more out … 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 →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Superintendent House has arrived

Posted on July 4, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

He’s got a lot of work in front of him. When Millard House II officially [started] as the new superintendent of Houston ISD on Thursday, he [had] a stack of challenges awaiting his attention. Some students fell further behind during … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

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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UT/Trib poll: Abbott has the best of a bunch of weak approval numbers

Posted on June 30, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Same story, new chapter, Texas voters are split over whether they approve of Gov. Greg Abbott’s job performance, though he remains popular with Republicans and more popular among Texans than President Joe Biden, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas … Continue reading →

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And the STAAR results ain’t great either

Posted on June 30, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Oof. The COVID-19 pandemic appeared to undo years of improvement for Texas students meeting grade requirements in reading and math, with students who did most of their schooling remotely suffering “significant declines” compared to those who attended in person, according … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

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 →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The pandemic was hard on math

Posted on June 23, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Math scores on the end-of-course algebra exams, in particular. Texas’ first trove of 2021 state standardized test scores offers early confirmation of what many educators feared: students fell dramatically behind in math during the coronavirus pandemic. Results from spring algebra … 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 →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

HISD asks for virtual learning funds do-over

Posted on June 19, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I can understand this. Thirty school districts, including Houston ISD, and two associations signed a letter to urge Gov. Greg Abbott to add legislation funding virtual learning to any special session for other proposed laws. A bill that would have ensured districts … 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 →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

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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Another data point on Biden and Latino support

Posted on June 11, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. Hispanic voters were one of President Joe Biden’s biggest weaknesses in the 2020 election. Although sources differ on his exact margin, Biden’s advantage with Hispanics was the worst for a Democratic presidential nominee since 2004 — even as he … Continue reading →

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