The Guardian
Texans struggle to get vaccinated after the Republican governor says there are no more masks
Greg Abbott says the state can ‘open 100%’ without masks – but millions remain unvaccinated and navigating the state’s vaccine bureaucracy is a complicated task. A vaccination clinic in New Braunfels. Governor Abbott’s order to remove the mandates from the masks fueled the condemnation of Democratic leaders across the state. Photo: Mikala Compton / AP In Houston, a long line of cars involves a cluster of white tents in the parking lot at NRG Stadium – a Texas-sized vaccination center. Texans go to the drive-through, hang their arm out of the window to get their injection, and leave as if the vaccination site is one of the many fast-food restaurants spread across the state. Men and women in army green and face shields direct traffic, scan QR codes and manage photos containing the ticket to a renewed social life and a little peace of mind. That guarantee could not come too soon for Texans, as the mask’s statewide mandate has been officially suspended, leaving millions of people still unvaccinated more vulnerable to an infectious disease that killed 527,000 people in the U.S., including more of 45,000 in Texas. On March 2, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced that the state mask mandate implemented over the summer would suddenly cease to exist on Wednesday. At first glance, you can see the ad as the light at the end of the tunnel. But, after further examination, it appears that Texas is rushing. According to the Texas Department of Health, the number of people fully vaccinated in the state today is 2,463,005 – about 16% of the nearly 15 million of the population over 18 in Texas. Texas currently ranks 38th in the country in terms of administered vaccinations. Announcing the end of the mask’s term, Abbott said last week: “Now it’s time to open Texas 100%. Therefore, today I am issuing a new executive order that rescinds most of the previous executive orders: starting next Wednesday, all deals of any kind can open 100%. In addition, I am ending the mask’s mandate across the state. ”The announcement led to condemnation of Democratic leaders across the state. Some argued that Abbott’s order was a distraction from the state’s failure to keep its power grid powered during a brutal winter storm that left millions of people without electricity, heating and water for days. Harris County judge Lina Hidalgo said of Abbott’s move: “At best, this is an illusion, that Covid is somehow less dangerous than it was yesterday. At worst, it is a cynical attempt to distract Texans from the failures of state supervision of our power grid. ”She was referring to the deadly arctic temperature storms that hit the state with few warnings last month and caused massive power cuts and suffering. Hidalgo asked the constituents to continue wearing masks and practice social detachment until more people are vaccinated. Shortly after his announcement in Lubbock, Abbott blamed Joe Biden’s spurious administration for allowing positive “illegal immigrants” from Covid-19 to enter the United States. Former San Antonio mayor and Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro expressed outrage that the governor is already planning to make undocumented migrants a scapegoat for any increase in Covid’s cases. He said: “You have a governor who is basically trying to pass the blame on to undocumented immigrants when we see the numbers start to rise here because of his terrible political decisions … there is no basis whatsoever to suggest that immigrants are spreading Covid -19 in Texas. There is evidence to suggest that the governor’s decision to cancel the mask’s mandate and also to open 100% deals will cause a much wider spread of the coronavirus in Texas. ” Castro is a frequent client of Halcyon, an eclectic café and lounge in San Antonio’s River Walk pedestrian area. On Twitter, he applauded the establishment’s sign on the door that said: “Despite the recent ordinance, we, as a company, decided to still demand masks when we are not sitting at the table. Thank you for your understanding and for helping us keep our team and customers safe. ”When I go shopping, most people don’t wear masks. They meet with others who don’t wear a mask and greet each other. Angelica Guerra Wells Kristopher Strompl, one of Halcyon’s managers, says it is too early for the mask order to be suspended. “The only reason [Covid] the number of cases fell because of the storm, ”said Strompl. “We will continue to use a mask. It is an extra layer of protection. ”Before the mask mandate was lifted, Strompl said that some customers did not respect Halcyon’s mask policy. He said he expects more cases like this once the mask order is suspended. “It was the equivalent of a child having a tantrum,” said Strompl, recounting the time his team had to threaten to call the police before the client left on his own. In Houston, the Mexican restaurant Picos faced even tougher reactions from customers who refused to wear a mask. Some customers even threatened to report the team to the Immigration and Customs Department (Ice). Restaurant co-owner Arnoldo Richards told CNN: “This man just said that I shouldn’t go against the governor of Texas and that we should respect his mandate to lift the ban. Otherwise, he could send immigration to check our green cards. And I found it highly racist. I thought it was inappropriate. And if it weren’t for a Mexican restaurant, he might not have said anything or referred to checking our green cards. ”Angelica Guerra Wells lives in New Braunfels, a town on the outskirts of San Antonio. She describes her city as “very conservative”. “The norm here is that when I go shopping, most people don’t wear masks,” said Guerra Wells. “They see other people who don’t wear a mask and greet each other. I’m trying to buy bananas and they’re clapping and talking about the food. This is ridiculous. “During the pandemic, Guerra Wells came to his office every day. She left recently, citing her company’s Covid’s dangerous policies as part of her decision to look for a new job.” I had to go to the office every day, everybody did it, how they dealt with the [pandemic] That’s the reason I left. They tried to implement things about keeping a distance, checking temperatures, not allowing people to enter the office, but none of that was really applied, ”said Guerra Wells. “It looked like they were pretending to follow these policies.” Governor Greg Abbott last week at an event to announce that he is terminating the mask’s term. Photo: Justin Rex / AP Guerra Wells and her husband live in a one-bedroom apartment. When he hired Covid, she said her employers told her that she should come if she felt good and the test was negative, despite the possibility of transmitting the virus to other co-workers. “I had an employee whose wife and daughter caught Covid. He didn’t take it, but soon after, his brother took it [it] and died, ”said Guerra Wells. “Today is the one-year anniversary of my new company working from home. I feel that they are taking much more into account the safety of people. ”Guerra Wells is already fully vaccinated. Her health conditions have placed her near the top of the list, but she said she still feels guilty about having access to the vaccine, while others who need it do not. “I am hoping to return to some kind of normality, but I think that this needs to happen first with better access to vaccines. These 90-year-olds cannot get vaccines because they are not fast enough on the computer. It is very difficult to speak on the phone lines. I had to wait four hours just to talk to someone and then get stuck, ”she said. She added: “I often hear from pharmacy technicians that they are having to throw away vaccines at the end of the day, or struggling to call their friends to come over for one.” In many parts of Texas, vaccination consultations are being offered on a first-come, first-served basis for those who fall into categories 1a or 1b, as defined by the state health department. But even those in any of the categories are guaranteeing appointments, as there is no process for checking whether someone has an underlying health problem or works at a school or health institution. Eunice Lee is a pharmacy student in San Antonio. She believes that the defective process of distributing the vaccine in the state, combined with the removal of the mask order, will cause an increase in Covid’s cases. “When [Abbott] made the announcement that it was getting rid of the mask’s mandate, only 6-7% of Texans had been vaccinated. It came out of nowhere, especially after we had the winter snowstorm. Many people have still been displaced from this. Many people still didn’t have food or water and didn’t even live at home, “said Lee.” As health professionals, many people were shocked and angry. ” Lee and his family were personally affected by the winter storm, like millions of other Texans. “I had a family member who was supposed to get the vaccine during that stormy week and, as that pharmacy had no electricity, unfortunately we had to miss the appointment. I can imagine how many other people in my grandmother’s situation missed the vaccine, “said Lee.” That eliminated a week of people who could have been vaccinated. This probably hurt our numbers even more. ”Many young people are helping older relatives to schedule their vaccination appointments, because browsing the website of a county or pharmacy chain can be daunting for the elderly and those who need it most. Digital literacy is often the key to successfully purchasing a vaccine. Therefore, when a vacancy opens, the quickest person will win – regardless of how big the health risks of another person are. Lee ended up getting a vaccination appointment for his grandmother, but said that she had to stay up “night after night” to get one, despite working at a pharmacy. “Since I can use the computer with ease, I would access the websites of all companies and open all the guides, like a strange ritual every day. If I couldn’t drive through the city, she wouldn’t have had that commitment. She also doesn’t know the roads, ”said Lee. Lee has relied on“ information ”from his other pharmaceutical friends to find out when new vaccine shipments are due and when the sites will be updated. She shares any information she knows with patients, but says that those who are older often feel uncomfortable driving too far and in unfamiliar places to get vaccines. “It is disappointing and frustrating personally for me and my family, but also for other people around me who are in the same situation,” said Lee. “We have the manpower to vaccinate all of these people, but we need to get [vaccines] in local and community pharmacies, as we do for flu shots. Fortunately, we can vaccinate the majority of the population, but this implantation process is preventing us at this moment. “I feel that the governor is not taking care of his voters. For me, it’s just bizarre. Masks will only help if most people wear them. “