4 Free At-Home Rapid Antigen COVID-19 Tests Can Be Ordered Online
Several local residents have reported difficulties finding free COVID tests or scheduling free COVID tests. In the US, residents can now order online four tests to be shipped free at the end of January to residential addresses through the post office for those who request them. One type of COVID-19 test kit that can purchased This is not for individuals who immediately need COVID-19 tests, but those who wish to order them online to...
COVID-19 Continues To Rise, With 578 Active Cases In Hopkins County On Jan. 14
As has been the case across the country, state and world, COVID-19 cases have continued to surge in Hopkins County this week. Over the past four days alone, new cases have far outpaced recoveries with only 24 recoveries and 157 new COVID cases, which coupled with the 174 new cases reported Jan. 1-7, 2022, leaves 578 Hopkins County resident who still actively had COVID-19 on Thursday, Jan. 13, according to Texas Department of State...
Several Area Schools Closed Following COVID-19 Surge
Regardless of your opinions regarding COVID-19 and vaccinations, the virus has definitely taken a toll on local school districts this week, further taxing staff who were already feeling the stress caused as illnesses swept from classrooms to campuses and across districts. Many school districts in the area on Wednesday and Thursday announced plans for their schools will be closed through Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and are set to...
Jan. 12 Deadline For Rural Hospitals, Nursing Facilities To Apply For ARPA COVID-19 Funding
AUSTIN – The Texas Health and Human Services Commission is reminding rural hospitals and nursing facilities in Texas to apply for $128 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding to help pay for critical staffing needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The deadline to apply is Wednesday, Jan. 12. “We’re encouraging health care providers who have worked so hard in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic to take advantage of this...
FDA Shortens Interval For Booster Dose of Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine to 5 Months
FDA News Release – Jan. 7, 2022 Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration amended the emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine to shorten the time between the completion of a primary series of the vaccine and a booster dose to at least 5 months for individuals 18 years of age and older. “The country is in the middle of a wave of the highly contagious omicron variant, which spreads more rapidly than...
FDA Acts To Expand Use Of Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine
FDA Jan. 3, 2022 News Release Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration amended the emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine to: Expand the use of a single booster dose to include use in individuals 12 through 15 years of age.Shorten the time between the completion of primary vaccination of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine and a booster dose to at least five months.Allow for a third primary...
First Known Case Of COVID-19 Omicron Variant In Texas Identified In Harris County
DSHS News Release – 6:59 p.m. Monday, Dec. 6, 2021 The first known Texas case of the COVID-19 B.1.1.529 variant has been identified in a resident of Harris County. The adult female resident was recently diagnosed with COVID-19. Results of genetic sequencing this week showed that the infection was caused by the Omicron variant strain. The case is being investigated by Harris County Public Health and the Texas Department of State...
FDA Expands Eligibility For COVID-19 Vaccine Booster For All Individuals 18 Or Older
FDA News Release – November 19, 2021 Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration amended the emergency use authorizations (EUA) for both the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines, authorizing use of a single booster dose for all individuals 18 years of age and older after completion of primary vaccination with any FDA-authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC)...
DSHS: Texas Data Shows Unvaccinated People 20 Times More Likely To Die From COVID-19
DSHS Nov. 8, 2021 News Release A new study released by the Texas Department of State Health Services shows that during the month of September, Texans not vaccinated against COVID-19 were about 20 times more likely to suffer a COVID-19-associated death and 13 times more likely to test positive than people who were fully vaccinated. An analysis of data from the four-week period from Sept. 4 through Oct. 1 shows that vaccination had a...
FDA Authorizes Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine For Emergency Use In Children 5 Through 11 Years of Age
Friday, Oct. 29, 2021 USFDA New Release Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19 to include children 5 through 11 years of age. The authorization was based on the FDA’s thorough and transparent evaluation of the data that included input from independent advisory committee experts who overwhelmingly voted in favor of making the...
