Sophie Novack
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins on Battling COVID-19, and the Governor, as Texas Reopens
Is Texas Inflating Its COVID-19 Testing Numbers by Including Antibody Tests?
The state health department is including some antibody test results in its case totals, potentially clouding information on the current spread of the virus.
Texas health officials are combining some antibody tests along with more common viral tests in statewide COVID-19 tracking data. Experts say this muddies the data and potentially helps pad testing numbers while giving the public a distorted view of the … Read More
Texas Has Stopped Kicking Thousands of Kids Off Medicaid Each Month During the Pandemic, but Advocates Point to Delays for New Enrollees
Texas' frequent eligibility checks for kids on Medicaid are on hold during the COVID-19 public health emergency.
For years, some Texas families have been stuck in a persistent cycle. Their kids are covered by Medicaid, until suddenly they’re kicked off. Sometimes parents don’t realize their children have lost coverage until they’re at the doctor’s office and find … Read More
Texas Health Officials Undercount COVID-19 Cases by Excluding Some Prisoners Who Tested Positive
The Observer identified at least nine Texas counties where current prison cases make up more than 10 percent of the total COVID-19 cases in the county.
COVID-19 cases have skyrocketed in Texas prisons in recent weeks, with the virus infecting and killing incarcerated people and staff, and likely spreading into nearby communities through the thousands of workers who travel back and forth each day. Yet some … Read More
In Rural Counties, COVID-19 Cases are Likely Undercounted. Greg Abbott Wants to Reopen them Anyway.
More than 100 Texas counties—many with limited medical resources—will be able to reopen businesses to 50 percent capacity on Friday.
In Red River County, a community of about 12,000 in far northeast Texas, the first confirmed COVID-19 case didn’t come until mid-April, despite the ballooning number of cases in surrounding counties and across the state. But the rural county, which … Read More
Underwater
Colonias on the Texas-Mexico border are hit hard even by small storms. For a local nonprofit, the solution lies in affordable, sustainable housing. But how do you rebuild in an area that keeps flooding?
Under Water Colonias on the Texas-Mexico border are hit hard even by small storms. For a local nonprofit, the solution lies in affordable, sustainable housing. But how do you rebuild in an area that keeps flooding? By Sophie Novack April … Read More
Bajo el Agua
Las colonias, asentamientos irregulares en la frontera entre México y Texas, se ven sumamente afectadas por las tormentas, inclusive las más pequeñas. Para una asociación local sin fines de lucro, la solución está en generar vivienda accesible y sustentable, pero ¿cómo reconstruir en un área que se inunda constantemente?
Bajo el Agua Las colonias, asentamientos irregulares en la frontera entre México y Texas, se ven sumamente afectadas por las tormentas, inclusive las más pequeñas. Para una asociación local sin fines de lucro, la solución está en generar vivienda accesible … Read More
COVID-19 Cases Now Tied to Meat Plants in Rural Texas Counties Wracked with Coronavirus
The outbreaks, which are being investigated by the state health agency, represent the first reported cases of the virus inside Texas meatpacking plants, and are in rural areas where medical resources are already stretched thin.
A meatpacking plant in Deep East Texas appears to be connected to an outbreak of COVID-19 in a rural part of the state where the number of coronavirus cases has skyrocketed in recent weeks. The state health department is investigating … Read More
Texas Had a State Office That Could Have Investigated Racial Disparities in COVID-19 Cases. Lawmakers Defunded it Three Years Ago.
While early reports elsewhere show African Americans disproportionately infected and dying from COVID-19, Texas’ data is incomplete.
In 2005, faced with data showing that black and Native American families were overrepresented in Texas’ child welfare system, lawmakers ordered Child Protective Services (CPS) to study whether staff treated any racial or ethnic groups more harshly than others. The … Read More
‘I Think I’m Gonna Die’: Coronavirus Compounds Risk for Dialysis Patients in the Rio Grande Valley
In the Valley, about one in three people have diabetes. They’re at higher risk for COVID-19, but those who rely on dialysis can’t stay home.
Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning, Carmen Zuniga leaves her house in McAllen before dawn to go to the dialysis center about four miles away. Zuniga has had diabetes for nearly three decades; the disease has left her mostly blind and … Read More
