Coronavirus News

First doses of COVID-19 vaccine arrive at medical centers across Texas

COVID-19 vaccine Baylor College of Medicine

Front-line and health care workers will get the vaccine first.

Photo courtesy of BCM

Four sites in Texas received the COVID-19 vaccine on December 14, part of a rollout of doses being shipped out across the U.S.

Texas received 19,500 doses, with another 250,000 doses being distributed to 109 facilities in Texas this week.

According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, the first four sites to get it are:

MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston
Methodist Dallas Medical Center
Wellness 360 at UT Health San Antonio
Dell Medical School's UT Health Austin

The first vaccination in North Texas went to Teresa Mata, 51, an employee at Methodist Dallas.

Another 75,000 doses will be delivered on December 15 to 19 sites in Texas:

Amarillo, Texas Tech Univ. Health Science Center Amarillo
Corpus Christi, Christus Spohn Health System Shoreline
Dallas, Parkland Hospital
Dallas, UT Southwestern
Edinburg, Doctors Hospital at Renaissance
Edinburg, UT Health RGV Edinburg
El Paso, University Medical Center El Paso
Fort Worth, Texas Health Resources Medical Support
Galveston, University of Texas Medical Branch Hospital
Houston, Texas Children’s Hospital Main
Houston, LBJ Hospital
Houston, CHI St. Luke’s Health
Houston, Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center
Houston, Houston Methodist Hospital
Houston, Ben Taub General Hospital
Lubbock, Covenant Medical Center
San Angelo, Shannon Pharmacy
Temple, Baylor Scott and White Medical Center

Health care and front-line workers will receive the vaccine first. Officials are still working out the timeline but the general public is not expected to get the vaccine until spring 2021 at the earliest.

Dr. Paul Klotman, president of the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, said in a press conference that getting vaccinated is helpful to both individuals and their communities.

"The thing about everyone pitching in, do it for yourself because it will help protect you, but when you get the herd immunity it will help protect people who are unable medically to get the vaccine," Klotman said.

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Weed News

Texas AG Ken Paxton sues Dallas over decriminalization of marijuana

Photo courtesy of US Fish & Wildlife

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The City of Dallas has been sued by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for its efforts to decriminalize marijuana.

According to a release, Paxton has sued the city for adopting a city charter amendment that would decriminalize marijuana-related offenses and prohibit police from enforcing Texas law.

That amendment was Proposition R, or Dallas Freedom Act, which decriminalizes possession of four ounces of marijuana or less. Voters passed the amendment in the November 5 election, with 67 percent voting in favor.

The lawsuit, filed against the Dallas City Council, alleges that Proposition R is unconstitutional and violates Texas drug laws criminalizing any amount of marijuana.

Paxton says that cities can't "pick and choose which state laws to follow." He's proposing a permanent injunction to stop Proposition R from going into effect.

"The City of Dallas has no authority to override Texas drug laws or prohibit the police from enforcing them," says Paxton in a statement. "This is a backdoor attempt to violate the Texas Constitution, and any city that tries to constrain police in this fashion will be met swiftly with a lawsuit by my office.”

Before the recent election, possession of two to four ounces of marijuana could result in a punishment of 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine.

Ground Game Texas, the activist nonprofit that has also helped get marijuana decriminalization on the ballot in elections across Texas, first got the issue on the ballot in July with the necessary 50,000 signatures.

Dallas is not the only city to be sued; Paxton also filed lawsuits against five other cities in Austin, Denton, Elgin, Killeen, and San Marcos in January for their ballots and policies decriminalizing marijuana.

Both Austin and San Marcos had a judge overturn their cases, according to a FOX 4 report.

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