The Austin Daily Drop

Pfizer announces that trials of its vaccine in children 5 to 11 show success and safety. Local new COVID hospitalizations continue dropping, towards Stage 4 range. Pecan Street Festival organizers note that while their Fall event was cancelled by the city, thousands of people gathered at Saturday's Texas football game with no COVID precautions of any kind in place - while those same permits for th...

Average daily new COVID hospitalizations have plateaued in the mid-50's - we need to get below 50 to drop to Stage 4. Hays CISD shuts down Tobias Elementary for the rest of the week due to an outbreak, Round Rock ISD sees shouting matches at school board meetings , and Eanes ISD reveals that while they're mandating masks, they're not enforcing their mandate . Still no special events permits for th...

Austin Public Health officials are optimistic that we could see a reduction in our pandemic precaution levels soon, from Stage 5 to Stage 4 - however, the decline in key indicators for staging has stalled in recent days . Local health authorities are turning their focus to promoting vaccines in neighboring counties with lower percentages than Travis. Total COVID hospitalizations across Texas have...

COVID measurements of new hospitalizations and deaths hold steady amidst a general decline, while reports say about 2 million Texans have failed to complete their vaccinations with a second shot, and new urgent guidelines are announced for pregnant women . Michael Buble cancels a show at the Frank Erwin Center when the venue declines to adhere to his precaution preferences, and the Texas Book Fest...

Local COVID numbers continue improving - we could hit Stage 4 this week, and Travis County is near 70% vaccination of those eligible. However, Texas school kids are still seeing a major spike in cases, while political wars over masking in Texas schools continue. Tanya Tucker has cancelled her U.S. tour and will thus not appear at the ACL Festival, while the Kerrville Folk Festival cancels its mid-...

Local COVID hospitalization average is on track to leave Stage 5 range by next weekend if current trends hold. However, Smithville and Bastrop ISD's are seeing huge spikes among students and staff while not requiring masks - Austin ISD, which does require them, is seeing much lower spread so far. A new Federal program promises to fill the gaps for school districts punished by state governments for...

A big spike in daily COVID deaths - 23 on Wednesday - pushes the overall county total past 1,000 . On the bright side, new hospitalization average continues to decline, and is now approaching Stage 4 . Marble Falls ISD backtracks on a new masking mandate that was set to begin this month. UT Health continues a public study of COVID antibody rates . ACL Fest organizers will again trade single day pa...

COVID new hospitalization rate drops below 60 - we're (hopefully) on our way back to Stage 4, at 50 - while two reported deaths on Tuesday keep that daily average steady and high at 7. The fall run of the Pecan Street Festival has been denied its special events permit by the City. Lago Vista High School goes to remote learning for three days, starting today. Governor Greg Abbott signs into law the...

Mixed bag of local COVID news: good news is, our local new hospitalization rate continues to drop . Bad news is, deaths are up , pediatric cases are up, and we completely exhausted our metro ICU capacity for a time over the holiday weekend. Burnet CISD shuts down for two days, while Lockhart ISD leaves the list of local mask-optional districts , opting to mandate masks indoors. UT, so far, sees on...

New abortion restrictions in Texas continue to reverberate nationally. President Biden weighs in and promises a response. Effects on Texas' high-tech labor force remain to be seen, and on the court system, which will likely see a wave of lawsuits from Texans informing on their neighbors and seeking the promised $10,000 bounty. Bumble creates a fund to support Texas women seeking reproductive care...

The new Texas vigilantism-fueled abortion law shocks the nation . Details are released on the 5-4 vote in the U.S. Supreme Court , which denied an emergency appeal against the law, which primarily affects women who lack the economic means to travel out of state for abortion services on their own. "Self-managed" abortion is likely to see a rise. U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is to speak on health...

The U.S. Supreme Court declines to intervene in a new abortion restriction law, enacted today in Texas, that bans abortion beyond the six-week mark in a pregnancy - effectively suspending Roe v. Wade. 666 (!) new state laws go into effect today across the state, including advances in medical marijuana, a new committee dedicated to producing "patriotic" Texas history materials, the founding of an a...

Local COVID numbers: 3 new deaths reported Monday, daily average remains 5. New hospitalizations have started to drop , but possibly due to hospitals reaching capacity. The Austin Fire Department has lost its first firefighter to COVID, while the Austin Police Department dials back public contact following two APD COVID deaths last week. The suspect in June's mass shooting on East Sixth Street has...

Our thoughts focus on New Orleans and the rest of Louisiana impacted by Hurricane Ida - the extent of the damage will become more clear today. Local COVID stats regarding new hospitalizations and deaths remain steady at a higher than comfortable rate - deaths are now surpassing last year's count for August . UT begins offering prizes up to $10k for shots, but are still not requiring vaccines or ma...

Lots of pandemic-related news today: a big spike in COVID deaths yesterday at 10, surpassing the daily high of 6 over the last several months and bringing our 7-day average up to 5. Dell Children's Hospital reports that pediatric COVID cases under their care have doubled. Austin Police Department loses its second officer to the virus - the second in just two days . Austin City Council gives health...

Four more COVID deaths reported Wednesday, as four becomes our new daily average, up from one daily death one month ago, while our daily new hospital admission average continues hovering in the upper 70's, a high plateau. Travis County sets another new record for total COVID-19 hospitalizations: 653. Highland Lakes Elementary in Marble Falls shuts down for the rest of this week due to rising cases...

Local COVID hospitalizations hold a high plateau , while deaths begin to climb - a daily average of 4 in Austin, and half of recent COVID deaths in Williamson County are people under 50 , all unvaccinated . Cases are jumping anew, especially among people under 18, and Austin Public Health draws a connection to school resuming . AISD reacts to the new Pfizer vaccine FDA approval with incentives , a...

Local new COVID hospitalizations see another jump over the weekend - at 80, we're again moving in the wrong direction : another new total patient count record on Saturday, another new ventilator record yesterday, and deaths are now averaging 4 per day. Doctors have begun leaning on experimental monoclonal antibody therapies . With Pfizer's new FDA approval , look for employers and agencies to ramp...

Local COVID stats are straining at maximums with new records in overall hospitalizations, and in patients on ventilators - and also, over the last week, a gradual increase in COVID deaths . Austin Public Health expects these numbers to be further exacerbated by the return to live school. Governor Greg Abbot t says he's testing negative, 4 days past his initial positive test, while State Rep. Troy...

Local COVID hospitalization average seems to be settling into a high plateau, while researchers at UT predict - with many caveats - an eventual decline . Also at UT, a survey of students on their confidence in University safety measures pessimistic. Austin Public Health begins handing out HEB gift cards as a vaccination incentive . Texas Attorney General's attempt to persuade the Texas Supreme Cou...

The general trend in local COVID-related hospitalizations continues to drop over the last week - however, this may be in part due to local hospitals hitting capacity . A new record-high number of ICU patients was set for a third day in a row on Wednesday, and we're flirting with a new all-time high of overall COVID patients in hospital. The State denies Austin's request for help in setting up alte...

A five-day slide in our daily COVID hospitalization average ends with a slight rise on Tuesday - we remain firmly in Stage 5, and the return of school will likely slow efforts to recover. Austin Public Health begins offering booster shots to the immuno-compromised . New data emerges on pediatric and so-called "breakthrough" cases in Austin. Drama with "mask war"-fighting parents at elementary scho...

A continued fifth day of decline in our new COVID hospitalization average is a sliver of hope as AISD students are due back on campus today. Austin and several other districts are holding fast to their mask mandates to Governor Greg Abbott's chagrin , while several others remain mask optional - here's a list of local ISD's and their policies . Some AISD classrooms are not only mask-required, but a...

Local COVID new hospitalization average drops slightly for a second day - good short term news, in the midst of a long haul. Eanes and Hays ISD 's reverse course and decide to require masking, just as the Texas Supreme Court rules on the side of Governor Greg Abbott's ban on masking requirements by agencies funded by the State - which includes liquor licenses, as Live Nation - producer of the Aust...

A glimmer of good news from Austin's COVID stats - our hospitalization average dropped a bit last night , for the first time since July 2. Local restaurants back down from vax proof requirements upon learning of a new state law that bans the practice - will live music venues be next? USDA recommends a third shot for the severely immuno-compromised, while Thirsty Planet offers free beer at their Sa...