GOP Texas governor asks for federal assistance to help with COVID-19 testing, treatment [View all]
Source: The Hill
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) announced on Friday that the state has requested federal assistance to help with COVID-19 testing and treatment amid a surge in cases. Abbott, who has been a leading opponent of COVID-19 vaccine mandates, said in a statement that Texas is “urging the federal government to step up in this fight and provide the resources necessary to help protect Texans.”
The Texas Division of Emergency Management and the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) asked for federal resources to support testing centers, medical personnel and more monoclonal antibody treatments. “Testing sites, additional medical staff, and continued shipments of therapeutics from the federal government will help us continue to save lives and mitigate the spread of COVID-19,” he said. “Detecting COVID-19 and preventing COVID-related hospitalizations are critical to our fight against this virus."
The state is specifically requesting testing sites in Bexar, Cameron, Dallas, Harris, Hidalgo and Tarrant counties ... Additionally, Texas requested three teams of medical personnel to help in hospitals in urban areas that do not have staff contracted with the DSHS and asked the federal government to continue supplying the Regeneron and bamlanivimab monoclonal antibody treatments.
The requests comes after the Texas Health and Human Services Commission revealed last week that the state had run out of its supply of sotrovimab, which has proved to be effective in combating the omicron variant. The omicron strain is driving a nationwide surge in COVID-19 cases. The state said infusion centers would not be able to provide the treatment until “federal authorities ship additional courses of sotrovimab to Texas in January.”
Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/587934-gop-texas-governor-asks-for-federal-assistance-to-help-with-covid-19
The state of Texas made headlines on Friday after a federal judge blocked mask and vaccine mandates in the state’s Head Start program.
Abbott … said,
“Texas just beat Biden again.”
Abbott issued an executive order in October barring vaccine mandates from being implemented in the state
after Biden announced a series of federal mandates for health care workers, large employers and federal contractors.
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