Texas Governor Greg Abbott on May 18 ordered all government entities in the state, including school districts, to lift mask mandates by week’s end, though existing guidelines for face-coverings in schools may remain in effect through June 4.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is investigating the death of an Oregon woman and the hospitalization of another in Texas after receiving Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine, state health officials said.
The Biden administration on April 16 said it will invest $1.7 billion to help states and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention fight Covid-19 variants that are rapidly spreading across the United States.
Several U.S. states on March 25 announced broad expansions of their Covid-19 vaccine rollouts, with California opening immunizations to all adults aged 50 and older starting April 1 and Florida making anyone 40 and up eligible from March 22.
The United States crossed 30 million coronavirus cases on March 24, according to a Reuters tally, as states accelerate the vaccination process by lowering age limits.
Alabama’s governor on March 4 extended for another month an order mandating residents to wear face masks to protect against Covid-19, breaking with Mississippi and Texas as the issue again becomes the focus of political debate.
The White House said on March 3 that President Joe Biden hoped Americans would continue to follow coronavirus guidelines such as mask-wearing even as some states, including Texas, lift their restrictions amid the ongoing pandemic.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued the most sweeping rollback of coronavirus restrictions of any U.S. state on March 2, lifting a mask mandate and saying most businesses may open at full capacity by the following week.
The White House is increasing the supply of coronavirus vaccines sent each week to states to 13.5 million doses, and is also doubling the amount shipped to pharmacies to 2 million doses during the week of Feb. 15.
Walmart Inc. is preparing to offer Covid-19 vaccinations in seven more states, as well as in Chicago and Puerto Rico, expanding beyond the two states where the company’s pharmacists are offering inoculations.
