Rural governments sidelined in COVID vaccine planning
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Social distancing sign on sidewalk outside Tony s Pizza Napoletana, 1570 Stockton Street, in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, December 28, 2020.Scott Strazzante, Staff Photographer / The Chronicle
Rural governments often get tasked with providing services not required of their more metropolitan counterparts. These cities and goverments fill such gaps as providing broadband access or facilitating hurricane evacuations when public transportation options are limited.
But as COVID-19 vaccines are beginning to roll out across the state, it appears that expertise has yet to be tapped by state officials. And to this point, officials in Southeast Texas largely don’t know what it will look like or when they’ll be brought into the fold.
Sharon Whitley, Health Director, informed me that she has no concerns about any customers of Little Caesars Pizza in Lumberton contracting COVID-19 from a transaction at this business, McDaniel said. As has been our policy from the start of this mess, we immediately pulled all employees that had worked with this person and had those employees tested, the letter continued.
Seven of them received positive results. He said those employees immediately started the quarantine process.
Most of the new county s new cases are linked to social gatherings of families and friends, according to Hardin County Judge Wayne McDaniel.
The county has seen decreasing hospitalization numbers and several recovered cases in the past week, according to McDaniel.
State data shows 300k COVID-19 vaccine doses haven t been used yet
A letter issued by DSHS urged vaccination sites to add timeliness and a sense of urgency to vaccination planning, saying there may be unnecessary delays Author: Victoria DeLeon, Raegan Gibson Published: 9:39 PM CST December 28, 2020 Updated: 10:24 PM CST December 28, 2020
KOUNTZE, Texas More than 900 people in Southeast Texas have already received the first dose of the Moderna vaccine according to new data from the state.
Smaller counties began receiving the first shipments of the Moderna vaccine last week.
Counties are now facing pressure to speed things up after a letter was issued from the Texas Department of State Health Services. It urged entities with the vaccine to speed up the administration.
COVID concern takes no Christmas break
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HOUSTON, TX - DECEMBER 22: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Dr. Joseph Varon watches the endoscope screen while performing a tracheotomy procedure on a patient in the COVID-19 intensive care unit (ICU) at the United Memorial Medical Center on December 22, 2020 in Houston, Texas. According to reports, Texas has reached over 1,610,000 cases, including over 26,190 deaths. (Photo by Go Nakamura/Getty Images)Go Nakamura, Stringer / Getty Images
Increased COVID-19 infections in Southeast Texas are continuing to push the death toll in rural areas past previous records. Officials say the most recent reports don’t begin to reflect what is on the horizon.
SE Texas pharmacies prepare for next wave of vaccinations
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The components of the coronavirus vaccine before being injected into waiting physicians. Baptist Hospital administered the first of their Covid-19 vaccines to 5 doctors on the pandemic frontlines Friday morning. Photo made on December 18, 2020. Fran Ruchalski/The EnterpriseFran Ruchalski, The Enterprise / The Enterprise
Thousands of doses of the recently approved Moderna vaccine are set to arrive at pharmacies and clinics across Southeast Texas this week, giving further hope of added protection for the area’s most vulnerable and critical frontline workers, but some problems with the vaccination equation remain to be solved.