Health Care
He Removed Labels That Said ‘Medical Use Prohibited,’ Then Tried to Sell Thousands of Masks to Officials Who Distribute to Hospitals
Using TaskRabbit and Venmo, a Silicon Valley investor and his business partner had workers repackage non-medical KN95 masks so he could sell them to Texas emergency workers.
This article was originally co-published by ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of powers. Lucas Rensko was making money through a popular...Read More
Promising Results Reported for COVID-19 Patients Treated with Plasma Therapy in Texas
The speed with which physicians and patients across the United States have signed up to participate in the ongoing plasma therapy project is unprecedented.
The 61-year-old postal worker arrived at Austin’s Ascension Seton hospital in April in respiratory distress—he had a high fever, struggled to breath, an...Read More
The Traveling Midwife
In far West Texas, some women have to travel hours to give birth, endangering themselves and their babies. Could midwives help fill in the gap?
The Traveling Midwife In far West Texas, some women have to travel hours to give birth, endangering themselves and their babies. Could midwives help fill in the...Read More
In Rural Texas, COVID-19 Contact Tracing is Largely Up to Local Officials, If It Happens at All
As public health experts warn of new waves of infections this summer or fall, experts say there’s still not a robust system in place to track the coronavirus, particularly in rural areas.
For the last few weeks, L.D. Williamson has fielded calls from worried neighbors. COVID-19 has spread quickly through Red River County in far Northeast Texas, a...Read More
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins on Battling COVID-19, and the Governor, as Texas Reopens
“Now we're just working with this unprecedented state usurpation of local control, trying to keep people safe as best we can.”
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins was the first Texas official to declare a stay-at-home order for COVID-19 in March—more than a week before Governor Greg Abbo...Read More
With Storage Space Evaporating, the Oil and Gas Industry Will Get to Put Its Products Back Underground
The Railroad Commission has rolled back rules that once prohibited producers from storing liquid hydrocarbons in geological formations across the state, despite risks to aquifers.
Last month, as the COVID-19 pandemic pushed oil prices into negative figures, drillers in the state’s sprawling shale plays were still pumping and piping oil ...Read More
Home Wasn’t Safe. Then COVID-19 Made It Seem Like the Only Option.
Seeing a “disturbing” decrease in clients and callers amid COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, some domestic violence shelters in rural counties worry this is just the “calm before the storm.”
Home Wasn’t Safe. Then COVID-19 Made It Seem Like the Only Option. Seeing a “disturbing” decrease in clients and callers amid COVID-19 stay-at-home orders...Read More
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 da...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...Read More