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Urgent Updates
Did winter storm Uri affect COVID-19 vaccine distributions in
Texas?
Yes. According to The Texas Tribune, “this week’s storm
delayed the delivery of hundreds of thousands of doses that were scheduled to
arrive, preventing what might have been 1 million injections by
hundreds of providers this week.”
But the good news, according to the Texas Department of State
Health Services (DSHS), is that almost 600,000 first doses of the vaccine
will arrive this week. The vaccines will be shipped to 563 providers in
230 counties across Texas, including 84,240 doses for large vaccine clinics
in Harris, Dallas, and Tarrant counties supported by the federal government,
according to DSHS.
The state will also order about 360,000 to be used as second
doses for people who are already vaccinated, especially those whose
appointments were delayed by the winter storm, DSHS said in a news release.
What’s the latest regarding future stimulus legislation?
The new stimulus bill, called the “American Rescue Plan Act of
2021,” is moving through the United States House of Representatives.
As of today (February 23), the bill’s general interest
provisions would include a third stimulus check for up to $1,400,
potentially extend federal unemployment aid through August,
and fund further vaccine distribution.
The following explanatory documents for the current version of
the bill are of particular interest to city officials:
-The House Oversight Committee’s Section-by-Section bill
analysis.
-A one-pager explaining the bill’s local government aid
provisions.
-An allocations spreadsheet in Excel format: This
spreadsheet shows the estimated allocation to every city in
Texas. (Larger, CDBG entitlement cities receive funds through that
program, whereas the remaining cities can look to find their expected
allocations, which are population based.
-A reference guide to the local aid in the bill.
Further Updates
Where can I find archived issues of the TML Coronavirus
Updates?
TML Coronavirus Updates are archived by date here and by subject here.
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