The guardian
Texans scramble to be vaccinated after Republican governor no longer wears masks
Greg Abbott says the state can ‘open 100%’ without masks, but millions remain unvaccinated and a vaccination clinic in New Braunfels is a navigation through the state’s vaccination bureaucracy. Governor Abbott’s order to lift masked mandates has sparked condemnation of democratic leaders across the state. Photo: Mikala Compton / AP In Houston, a long line of cars revolves around a group of white tents in the parking lot of the NRG Stadium – a vaccination center in Texas. Texans roll up to the driveway, hang an arm out the window to shoot and leave as if the vaccination site is one of the many fast-food restaurants distributed by the state. Men and women in army green and face shields direct traffic, scan QR codes and give shots with the ticket to a renewed social life and peace of mind. The insurance may not come too soon for Texans, as the mandate over the entire mask has now been officially lifted, and millions of those who have not yet been vaccinated are more vulnerable to a contagious disease that has killed 527,000 people in the US , including more than 45,000 in Texas. On March 2, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced that the mandate for the entire mask applied in the summer would abruptly cease to exist from Wednesday. At first glance, one can see the announcement as the light at the end of the tunnel. But upon further investigation, it appears that Texas is firing the gun. According to the Texas Department of Health, the number of fully vaccinated people in the state currently stands at 2,463,005 – about 16% of the Texas population of nearly 15 million over the age of 18. Texas currently ranks 38th in the country for total vaccinations administered. Abbott announced last week that the mask mandate had ended: ‘It’s time to open Texas 100%. So today I issue a new executive order revoking most of the previous executive orders: effective next Wednesday all businesses of any kind may open 100%. I also end the mandate for the whole mask. ‘The announcement has fueled condemnation of democratic leaders across the state. Some have argued that Abbott’s order was a result of the state’s failure to maintain its energy network during a brutal winter storm that left millions of days without electricity, heat and water. Harris judge Lina Hidalgo said of Abbott’s move: ‘It’s at best a wishful thinking, that Covid is somehow less dangerous than yesterday. At worst, it’s a cynical attempt to distract Texans’ attention from the failures of state oversight of our power grid. She referred to the deadly storms in the Arctic that hit the state last month with little warning and caused massive power outages and suffering. Hidalgo urged voters to continue wearing a mask and practicing social distance until more people are vaccinated. Shortly after his announcement in Lubbock, Abbott blamed the leadership of Joe Biden’s administration for admitting positive “illegal immigrants” from Covid-19 in the United States. Former San Antonio mayor and Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro has expressed outrage that the governor was already planning to turn undocumented migrants into a scapegoat for any upheaval in Covid affairs. He said: ‘You have a governor who is trying to pass the blame on to undocumented immigrants when we see that the numbers here are starting to increase because of his terrible policy decisions … there is no basis for immigrants to spread Covid-19. in Texas. There is evidence to suggest that the decision taken by the governor to kill the mask mandate and also to open cases up to 100% will cause the spread of coronavirus in Texas much more. Castro is a regular customer of Halcyon, an eclectic coffee shop and lounge in the River Walk area of San Antonio. On Twitter, he applauded the institution’s sign on the door, which reads: “Despite the recent ordinance, we as a business have decided to still need masks if we are not sitting at the table. Thank you for your understanding and for helping us keep our staff and customers safe. When I shop, most people do not wear masks. They see other non-mask wearers and they will meet each other on five farm Angelica Guerra Wells Kristopher Strompl, one of Halcyon’s drivers, says it’s too soon to lift the mask mandate. ‘The only reason [Covid] the case’s numbers were lower due to the storm, ”Strompl said. “We will continue to wear a mask. This is an extra layer of protection. “Before lifting the mask mandate, Strompl said some patrons had less than respect for Halcyon’s mask policy. He said he expects more such cases once the mask order is lifted. “It was the equivalent of a child throwing an outburst of anger,” Strompl said, recounting the time his team had to threaten to call police before the customer finally left alone. In Houston, Mexican restaurant Picos has handled even worse reactions from customers refusing to wear a mask. Some customers even threatened to report staff to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice). The co-owner of the restaurant, Arnoldo Richards, told CNN: ‘This gentleman just said I should not take action against the governor of Texas and that we should respect his mandate to lift the ban. If not, he can send immigration to look at our green cards. And I thought it was highly racist. I thought it was inappropriate. And if it was not a Mexican restaurant, he might not have said or referred to our green cards. ‘Angelica Guerra Wells lives in New Braunfels, a town just outside San Antonio. She describes her city as ‘very conservative’. “The norm here is already that if I don’t shop, most people don’t wear masks,” Guerra Wells said. ‘They see others not wearing masks, and they will have a fifth point for each other. I try to buy bananas, and they talk about the food. It’s ridiculous. “During the pandemic, Guerra Wells went to her office every day. She had just stopped referring to the dangerous policies of her company as part of her decision to look for a new job.” I had to go to the office every day. go. Everyone has. How they [pandemic] is kind of the reason I’m gone. “They tried to implement things to keep their distance, to control the temperature and not allow people into the office, but none of that was actually enforced,” Guerra Wells said. “It felt like they were offering a proposal that they would follow this policy.” Governor Greg Abbott last week during an event announcing that he was revoking the mask mandate. Photo: Justin Rex / AP Guerra Wells and her husband live in a one-bedroom apartment. When he contracted Covid, she said her employers told her she should come in if she was feeling well and being tested negative, despite the possibility of transmitting the virus to other co-workers. ‘I had one employee whose wife and daughter caught Covid. He did not catch it, but shortly afterwards his brother caught it [it] and died, ”Guerra Wells said. ‘Today is my new company’s one-year anniversary of homework. I feel that they consider the safety of many more people. Guerra Wells is now fully vaccinated. Her health conditions pushed her to the top of the list, but she said she still felt guilty that she had access to vaccines while others did not need them. ‘I’m hopeful that we’ll return to some kind of normality, but I think it should first happen with better access to vaccinations. These 90-year-olds cannot get vaccinated because they are not fast enough on the computer. It’s really hard to get through the phone lines. “I had to wait four hours to just talk to someone and then hang up,” she said. She added: “I hear far too often from pharmacists that they have to throw away vaccines at the end of the day, or scramble to call their friends to come take one.” In many parts of Texas, vaccinations are offered on a first-come-first-served basis for those who fall into Category 1a or 1b, as defined by the Department of Health. But even those in neither category insure appointments, as there is no process to verify whether someone has an underlying health condition or works in a school or care facility. Eunice Lee is a student pharmacist in San Antonio. She believes the flawed explosion process in the state, coupled with the mandate to lift the mask mandate, will cause an increase in Covid cases. “When [Abbott] made the announcement that he was getting rid of the mask mandate, only 6-7% of the Texans were vaccinated. It came out of the blue, especially after we had the winter snowstorm. Many people were still displaced from it. “Many people have not had food or water yet and have not even lived at home,” Lee said. “As health workers, many people were shocked and angry.” Lee and her family were personally affected by the winter storm, as were millions of other Texans. ‘I had a family member who had to be vaccinated during the week of the storm, and because the pharmacy did not have electricity, we unfortunately had to miss the appointment. “I can imagine how many more people were in my grandmother’s situation who missed their vaccine,” Lee said. “It wiped out a week’s amount of people who could be vaccinated. It probably hurt our numbers even more. Many young people help older family members to book their vaccination appointments, as the elderly and needy can be frightened to browse the website of a country or pharmacy chain. Digital literacy is often the key to the successful acquisition of a vaccine. So if a place opens, the fastest person will win – no matter how big the health risks of another person. Lee was finally able to get a vaccine appointment for her grandmother, but said she had to stay awake “night after night” to catch one, even though she worked in a pharmacy. ‘Since I can use the computer easily, I will go to all the different companies’ websites and open all the tabs, like a strange ritual every day. If I could not drive through the city, she would not have had that appointment. She does not know the roads either, “said Lee. Lee relies on ‘intel’ from her other pharmacist friends to find out when new shipments of vaccines are expected and when websites will be up to date. She shares all the information she knows with patients, but says those who are older are often uncomfortable driving too far and to unknown places to get their vaccinations. “It’s disappointing and frustrating for me and my family, but also for others around me who are in the same situation,” Lee said. ‘We have the manpower to vaccinate all these people, but we have to get it [vaccines] in local pharmacies and community pharmacies as for flu shots. Hopefully we can get the majority of the population vaccinated, but this deployment process is hampering us at this point. ‘It makes me feel that the governor is not looking at his constituents. To me, it’s just bizarre. Masks will only help if the majority of people wear them. ”