Governor Lifts Restrictions
It has been a year now since the COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Worldwide there have been 114M documented cases and 2.54M deaths. Here in the United States, we sit at about 28.6 million cases and 514,000 deaths. While in Texas there have been a recorded 2.66M and 43,962 deaths. Finally, locally here in Cass County, we have had 1,123 recorded cases and 77 fatalities with 91 estimated ongoing cases.
According to a news release on March 2, 20211, "Governor Greg Abbott today issued an Executive Order (GA-34) lifting the mask mandate in Texas and increasing capacity of all businesses and facilities in the state to 100 percent."
In the release Abbot was quoted in saying, "With the medical advancements of vaccines and antibody therapeutic drugs, Texas now has the tools to protect Texans from the virus,” said Governor Abbott. "We must now do more to restore livelihoods and normalcy for Texans by opening Texas 100 percent. Make no mistake, COVID-19 has not disappeared, but it is clear from the recoveries, vaccinations, reduced hospitalizations, and safe practices that Texans are using that state mandates are no longer needed. Today's announcement does not abandon safe practices that Texans have mastered over the past year. Instead, it is a reminder that each person has a role to play in their own personal safety and the safety of others. With this executive order, we are ensuring that all businesses and families in Texas have the freedom to determine their own destiny."
"During his remarks, the Governor discussed the incredible advancements that Texas has made that allow the state to open fully and lift the mask mandate—noting the rapid increase of vaccines. Nearly 5.7 million vaccine shots have been administered to Texans, and the state is now administering almost one million shots each week. By next Wednesday, about 7 million shots will have been administered in Texas, and over half of seniors in Texas will have received a vaccine shot. By the end of March, every senior who wants a vaccine should be able to get one. The vaccine supply continues to increase so rapidly that more and more Texans will soon be eligible to receive a vaccine." the press release went on to note.
This comes on the heels of potentially good news from Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, “Let’s say we get 75 percent, 80 percent of the population vaccinated,” Fauci said. “If we do that, if we do it efficiently enough over the second quarter of 2021, by the time we get to the end of the summer, i.e., the third quarter, we may actually have enough herd immunity protecting our society that as we get to the end of 2021, we can approach very much some degree of normality that is close to where we were before.”
Another piece of good news is Johnson & Johnson was approved to start distributing their vaccine. “Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) (the Company) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine, developed by the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, to prevent COVID-19 in individuals 18 years of age and older,” according to the Johnson and Johnson Website.
JNJ went on to report that “This decision was based on the totality of scientific evidence, including data from the Phase 3 ENSEMBLE study that demonstrated the vaccine was 85 percent effective in preventing severe disease across all regions studied, and showed protection against COVID-19 related hospitalization and death, beginning 28 days after vaccination.”
According to NPR, “Jeff Zients, the White House’s COVID-19 response coordinator, said at a briefing Monday that 3.9 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be distributed to states, tribes, territories, pharmacies, and community health centers this week, starting as early as Tuesday.”
It should be noted, however, even with this good news, the CDC continues to encourage people to maintain social distancing and mask-wearing, because according to the CDC vaccines are only one tool to fight COVID. Additional covid information can be found at dshs.texas.gov/coronavirus/.
Locally, CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System will host another COVID-19 Vaccination Hub Clinic on Saturday, March 6. CHRISTUS St. Michael was designated by the State of Texas to serve the Texarkana area region as a vaccine hub and is working in partnership with Bowie County, the City of Texarkana, TX, the Emergency Operations Center, Texas A&M University-Texarkana and Texarkana College to provide vaccinations.
This round of Moderna first-dose vaccinations is also occurring by appointment only. Walk-in and wait-list appointments are not available.
To schedule an appointment for Saturday, March 6, visit vaccinate.christushealth.org.
When you visit vaccinate.christushealth.org, you will be asked to answer the questions in the yellow chatbox on the right of the screen to determine if you meet the guidelines for receiving the vaccine. Individuals may also call the following dedicated phone line for information and registration for a vaccination appointment at this hub vaccination clinic: (877) 335-5746.
According to the website last week, CVS had some openings here in Atlanta, but those openings filled up pretty quickly and are currently no longer available.
Keith Creel, the Chief Operating Officer from Genesis Prime Care, confirmed that they have received 300 doses for the Atlanta location. “We are planning to distribute this to our most at-risk patients based on DSHS/CDC guidelines for phase 1B. We remain hopeful that we will continue to get vaccines weekly so that we can expand our offering to the community. “