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Texas lawmakers aren’t all eligible for the coronavirus vaccine. Austin’s top health official is trying to get them vaccinated anyway.

WTF – me first
The Texas House of Representatives on Jan. 13, 2021.

The Texas House of Representatives on Jan. 13, 2021.

Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune

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An Austin public health official working to get Texas lawmakers access to the COVID-19 vaccine — regardless of whether they are currently eligible — made a request to a local hospital to administer the shots to members gathering in the capital city for the 2021 legislative session, the official said late Friday.

In an attempt to defuse what he considers to be a public health risk to the city, Dr. Mark Escott, the interim medical director for Austin Public Health, told The Texas Tribune that he asked Ascension Seton hospital system “if they would be willing to vaccinate lawmakers and key staff if they had availability.”

He said he believes five to 10 legislators in both parties have taken advantage of the arrangement in recent weeks. He did not say when he made the request, how Ascension Seton responded or how lawmakers were notified.

The effort by Escott to vaccinate lawmakers was first reported in The Dallas Morning News. He told the newspaper that he made the request to the hospital to allow them access after he was unsuccessful in his attempts to convince the state to include them in the first round of Texans deemed eligible.

“I also told the State and Seton that I felt it was appropriate to include legislators in the current prioritization due to the risk to the community of this gathering and the importance of continuity of government as it pertains to the legislative session,” Escott said in an email. “I’ve been very clear about my recommendation to have legislators vaccinated.”

Ascension Seton Austin officials did not immediately return requests for comment, but told the Dallas Morning News that they agreed to allow lawmakers to sign up for the shot at Escott’s request. They said they were not reserving or holding back doses for them that would otherwise go to members of the public who are currently eligible, according to The News.

The news comes as providers are scrambling for enough vaccines to meet the demands of at least 8 million Texans who qualify for the shot. So far, the state has been allocated just over two million doses and administered more than half of them, according to state and federal numbers.

It was unclear how many of the lawmakers who got the shots also were eligible under the state’s current priority groups, who include Texans over age 65, residents of nursing homes, health care workers, and people with additional illnesses that make them vulnerable to COVID-19.

An Ascension Seton spokesperson told the Morning News that most of those vaccinated were eligible under state guidelines.

The biennial session, which convenes this week, draws hundreds of lawmakers and thousands of staffers, lobbyists and advocates to Austin from around the state for 140 days, and represents the largest gathering the capital city has seen since the pandemic began.

Escott called the session a “two-fold” risk — both to public health in a city “already dealing with an unprecedented surge” and to the ability of lawmakers to govern without being crippled by quarantines, illness and the deadly effects of the virus.

“I’ve been very clear about my recommendation to have legislators vaccinated,” he said in the email.

Escott initially floated the idea during a Dec. 22 meeting with some House Democratic chiefs of staff, who were called to help identify best practices for running offices during the session, which began earlier this week.

During the call, Escott mentioned the possibility of vaccinating lawmakers and staff through Travis County once members arrived in Austin for the session and said he hoped it would become official in the coming weeks, according to a legislative aide who participated on the call but was not authorized to speak publicly.

After the call, House Democratic Caucus executive director Phillip Martin sent the city an email requesting that if and when Escott’s proposal got the green light, Austin Public Health coordinates with the Texas Department of Emergency Management to ensure “that this recommendation is out there and available to everyone …and that one staff per office should receive it as well.”

“It’s a tremendous offer and makes sense both from a continuity of governance perspective, and that the City of Austin and Travis County want to take every step to mitigate the risk presented by the Legislature convening,” Martin wrote in the email, which was obtained by the Tribune. “We just want to confirm the offer is uniformly being made to everyone, and from there each Member and staff can make a decision that is best for them.”

State Rep. Chris Turner, a Grand Prairie Democrat who chairs the caucus, told the Tribune on Friday evening he was aware that Escott had floated the idea of lawmakers and some staff receiving the vaccine during that Dec. 22 call and notified state Rep. Dade Phelan, a Beaumont Republican and presumptive Texas House speaker at the time, and House Administration Chair Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, of what had been said on the call.

But he said he didn’t know of anyone this week who had gotten the vaccine through the arrangement with Escott.

“In the days that followed [that call], DSHS clarified that the vaccines were to begin to be administered to the 1B group, which does cover many members of the Legislature, and I’m glad that many of those members have been able to get the first dose of their vaccine,” Turner said. “Speaking for myself, I will get my first dose of the vaccine when DSHS decides that my age group is eligible.”

The latest news comes hours after state Rep. Joe Deshotel, D-Beaumont, told the Tribune he had tested positive for the virus Thursday after the House gaveled out for the week. Deshotel said he received a rapid test outside the Capitol as he was headed home. His last test for the virus had been on Monday before the Legislature gaveled in for the 2021 session the next day. He did not opt to receive a test before entering the Capitol on Tuesday or Wednesday.

The idea of vaccinating lawmakers has drawn support from some members, even before news that it would be available to them.

Rep. John Cyrier, R-Lockhart, a member of the Texas State Guard and thus eligible for the vaccine already, said in an interview earlier this week that he sees the need for lawmakers to be in a priority group. He had no plans yet to get the vaccine at that point, he said, and did not indicate that he knew about Escott’s efforts.

A few of his own staff members have already contracted the virus, he said, giving him a peek into what might happen if the virus were to spread among members of the House and Senate.

“Don’t you want me there for that vote?” he said, recalling a conversation he had on the issue with a skeptical constituent. “Don’t you want me there in the game for discussion and debate? How would you feel if somebody, a staffer, exposed me to it, and I need to quarantine and I wasn’t in the game? We’re required to be here to debate in person, take those votes.”

Marissa Martinez contributed to this report.

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Priti Patel under fire as 150,000 police records accidentally lost

Fingerprint, DNA and arrest history records deleted and visa system thrown into disarray

Fingerprint, DNA and arrest history records were deleted, which could allow offenders to go free because evidence from crime scenes will not be flagged on the Police National Computer (PNC).

The Home Office said it was working with police to assess the impact of the error, which reportedly occurred by accident during a weekly “weeding” session to expunge data. It said no records of criminals or dangerous persons had been deleted, and that the wiped records were those of people arrested and released when no further action was taken.

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Fingerprint, DNA and arrest history records deleted and visa system thrown into disarray

Fingerprint, DNA and arrest history records were deleted, which could allow offenders to go free because evidence from crime scenes will not be flagged on the Police National Computer (PNC).

The Home Office said it was working with police to assess the impact of the error, which reportedly occurred by accident during a weekly “weeding” session to expunge data. It said no records of criminals or dangerous persons had been deleted, and that the wiped records were those of people arrested and released when no further action was taken.

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‘Extremely Hazardous’ Pesticide Federally Approved For Use On Florida Citrus | WUSF Public Media

The neurotoxin aldicarb is banned in about 100 countries, and is only one of 36 pesticides that the World Health Organization has called “extremely hazardous.” It’s now allowed to be used on Florida oranges and grapefruits.

Source: ‘Extremely Hazardous’ Pesticide Federally Approved For Use On Florida Citrus | WUSF Public Media

2 days after voting to not require masks, COVID-19 shuts down the Missouri House | News Headlines | kmov.com (Karma moving fast)

The Missouri House of Representatives has canceled next week’s session due to rising COVID-19 cases two days after voting down a measure requiring masks and social distancing.

Source: 2 days after voting to not require masks, COVID-19 shuts down the Missouri House | News Headlines | kmov.com

HHS Secretary Azar resigns, says US doesn’t have reserve vaccine stockpile – The Jerusalem Post

“We now have enough confidence that our ongoing production will be quality and available to provide the second dose for people. So we’re not sitting on a reserve anymore. We’ve made that available to the states to order,” Azar said.  Source: HHS Secretary Azar resigns, says US doesn’t have reserve vaccine stockpile – The Jerusalem Post

When Covid Deaths Aren’t Counted, Families Pay the Price | Kaiser Health News

The count has profound implications for families and the country. Omitting covid-19 on death certificates threatens to undercount the toll of the pandemic nationwide. For Davis’ family and others, it can pile financial hardship onto emotional despair, as death benefits and other covid-19 relief programs are withheld. Interviews with families across the U.S. shed light on reasons covid deaths are being undercounted — and the consequences loved ones have endured.

When covid patients die, the “immediate” cause of death is always something else, such as respiratory failure or cardiac arrest. Residents, doctors, medical examiners and coroners make the call on whether covid was an underlying factor, or “contributory cause.” If so, the diagnosis should be included on the death certificate, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Partly because of a lack of training in how to fill them out, “the quality of the death certificates is not good,” said Dr. James Gill, vice president of the National Association of Medical Examiners. And in cases in which people had other chronic conditions, it can be difficult to determine whether covid was a contributing cause of death, he said. That was especially true early on, when reliable testing was not widely available.

Source: When Covid Deaths Aren’t Counted, Families Pay the Price | Kaiser Health News

Marianne Faithfull: ‘I was in a dark place. Presumably it was death’ | Music | The Guardian

‘I really annoyed people somehow. I wasn’t a conventional artist – and they couldn’t handle it’ … Faithfull. After battling Covid-19 for three weeks in hospital, Faithfull went on to finish her 21st solo album – and possibly her last. She reflects on how she might never sing again, her hatred of being a 60s muse and why she still believes in miracles

Source: Marianne Faithfull: ‘I was in a dark place. Presumably it was death’ | Music | The Guardian