How is Texas?
By JESSICA MOTTA
In the midst of a global pandemic, Texas governor Greg Abbott decided to reopen Texas fully, without masks. Now what does this mean for the state? How have they been coping with this change? How are their vaccine numbers and case numbers?
According to the Texas Tribune staff, as of the 11th of April, Texas has reported 2.4 million confirmed cases in 254 counties, and 395,730 probable cases in 224 counties since the start of the pandemic. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, reports of vaccinations have increased over the last week, as an average of 290,926 vaccine doses were given each day. As of April 10, 19.4% of Texans have been fully vaccinated, the Texas Tribune reports. The state is counting those who have gotten at least one dose of the vaccine as being vaccinated, and all of those who have gotten the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. The vaccine, as of March 29th, is available for all Texas residents ages 16 or older, though many residents are having trouble getting appointments.
Despite the 14.3 million doses given out, the vaccine is in short supply. 75% to 90% of Texans need to be vaccinated to have herd immunity, health experts say. This means that at least 22 million people, or all adults in the state of Texas, need to be inoculated. One obstacle that reaching this 75-90 percent is facing is that the vaccine is not approved for those under the age of 16, making up about 23% of the population.
Some good news, however, lies in the fact that the number of reported cases and the number of deaths have decreased, with a 37 case decrease from 1,519 reported cases and 18 count death decrease, to about 26 deaths. Overall, 48,211 people have died in total as reported on April 11th. However, as of July 27, DSHS (Texas Department of State Health Services) began reporting deaths based on death certificates that specifically state the cause of death as COVID-19, as opposed to relying on counts based on smaller health departments. The state then added 400 deaths to the total, not including those who had COVID, but died of an unrelated cause. Because of this, it is impossible to compare death rates before and after July 27th. Experts say that the official state death toll is most likely an undercount.
For the majority of the pandemic, Texas only reported cases based on criteria posted by the CDC, specifically ones with the nasal swab, which are highly accurate. However, starting in November the state started reporting cases detected through rapid-results - and while the results are faster, they are also far less accurate. In addition to this, the number of new cases dropped on the weekend because labs are less likely to report data. As long as the number of cases decrease and the number of vaccinations increase, the world will surely return to normal.
Works Cited:
Texas Tribune Staff. "Texas has administered 14.3 million vaccine doses, and
19.4% of its population is fully vaccinated." The Texas Tribune, Texas
Tribuna, 11 Apr. 2021, apps.texastribune.org/features/2020/
texas-coronavirus-cases-map/
?_ga=2.2169139.20199970.1618201684-1826143073.1618201684. Accessed 12 Apr.
2021.