COVID Vaccine Roll-Out in Harris County, Texas, and the United States

This morning, the first COVID vaccine dose was administered in the United States, on live television, to a critical care nurse at Long Island Jewish Medical Center named Sandra Lindsay. Around the same time, doses of the vaccine began arriving in Texas by air freight. MD Anderson was the first hospital in Houston to receive a shipment and will start administering the vaccine to its frontline employees on Wednesday.

Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, the vaccine will be free for the vast majority of recipients. Almost 20,000 doses are already here in Houston, and 75,000 more will arrive in town tomorrow. Since each vaccine requires two doses, that is enough to vaccinate roughly 47,000 of the more than 4 million people living in Harris County. While that number seems small, it is over 42% of the 224,250 doses arriving in all of Texas this week.

Of course, more doses will be coming, but the roll out will be too slow to allow even more immediate inoculation of all hospital workers who risk exposure on a daily basis. The limited number of doses in Harris County will be prioritized for certain healthcare workers, and residents of the sorts of long-term care facilities that have been ravaged by the virus nationwide.

This tracks with the statewide plan for Texas, which is to prioritize the vaccination of healthcare workers.

On the national level, the FDA has approved the Pfizer vaccine, which is the one currently being distributed and administered, and is the agency is expected to approve the Moderna vaccine by the end of this week. Though there are some differences, both vaccines require two doses to reach full efficacy, and both vaccines work through the use of messenger RNA, which you may remember from high school biology.

It is impossible to contract the coronavirus from either vaccine, though some patients will experience side effects.

Some confusion may stem from the fact that social distancing, mask-wearing, good hand hygiene, and limited contact with others will have to continue until a large enough swath of the nation is vaccinated. Dr. Anthony Fauci anticipates this will take until next fall, though some epidemiologists have estimated it could even take through early 2022. There are a few reasons for this.

One reason is that the vaccine will protect vaccinated people from becoming gravely ill with Covid, but may not entirely stop vaccinated people from becoming sick.

Another reason is that even if an infected person has been vaccinated and does not become ill, they will probably still be contagious.

Additionally, it is still unclear how long immunity from the vaccine will last.

As they say, every journey begins with a single step. Today, the United States took a giant step towards a return to a world where we can once again hug our families and friends.

To Grandmother's House? Know Before You Go

The CDC urges Americans that travel increases your chance of getting and spreading COVID-19 and staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others from COVID-19. If your holiday plans still include travel or you are considering travel, it is important to understand that depending on your destination COVID-19 restrictions may vary, such as requiring people to wear masks and requiring those who recently traveled to stay home for up to 14 days.

On May 21, 2020, Gov. Abbott issued Executive Order GA-24 terminating Texas air travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. If you are travelling outside of Texas, here are some resources to help guide your decision and plans within and outside of the United States.

 Domestic Travel

The CDC recommends using Travel Planner before traveling. The site offers links to state, local, tribal, and territorial government restrictions. You simply enter a city, zip code, or address to learn more about COVID-19 travel restrictions, guidance, and resources in your destination.

 Additionally, CNN Travel has also created a list of travel restrictions state-by-state which they update periodically due to the ever-changing situation across the country.

Before making your final travel plans, it would be helpful to also know if cases are high or increasing in your destination. The CDC’s COVID Data Tracker provides the latest number of cases by state. 

Finally, you may wish to consult this map, the COVID-19 Event Risk Assessment Planning Tool created at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Enter your geographic destination, narrowing your selection to the county you intend to visit. Use the slider to specify your event size, from 10-5,000 people. The tool will then assess the likelihood of at least one person getting the virus.

One additional metric for gauging your risk of infection is provided here on this chart from the Texas Medical Association COVID-19 Resource Center. It ranks your chances, on a scale of 1 to 10, of getting COVID-19 while participating in a number of holiday festivities. The chart is available in English and Spanish and in grayscale for easy printing.

 International Travel

 The U.S. Department of State maintains a COVID-19 Traveler Information page that has current information on international travel restrictions, advisories, and any required self-quarantine periods. The State Department also offers a U.S. Embassy COVID page with country specific information, such as entry and exit requirements, self-quarantine policies, and current restrictions on movement within the country (e.g., curfews, intercity travel).

For individuals looking to travel to the United States, the CDC has published the following: Travelers Prohibited from Entry to the United States. With specific exceptions, foreign nationals who have been in any of the following countries during the past 14 days may not enter the United States:

• China

• Iran

• European Schengen area (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican City)

• United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland)

• Republic of Ireland

• Brazil

In a time when we are starved for human connection, we are also faced with alarming numbers. In the United States, there were 162,320 newly reported COVID-19 cases on Nov 18, 2020 alone. Recognizing that we all want to celebrate with friends and family in some way and hopefully in a safe way, the CDC offers a Holiday Celebrations page. One tip: Limit the number of attendees as much as possible to allow people from different households to remain at least 6 feet apart (2 arm lengths) at all times. Although the CDC cannot offer a magic number for attendees, in these times, less is definitely more.

 Mask Requirements While Flying

 The CDC issued a “strong recommendation” that all passengers and employees on airplanes, trains, subways, buses, taxis and ride-share vehicles should wear masks to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Surprising to some, there is no formal mask mandate from the U.S. government for travel on airplanes or at airports. The U.S. Department of Transportation previously declined a petition by the largest airline passenger non-profit organization consumer group Flyers Rights to implement one. However, airlines have stepped in and all major U.S. airlines are requiring passengers to wear face masks. As some of these restrictions become tighter, it is advisable to check with your airline for specific instructions and for more information and recommendations on travel visit the CDC’s Travel page.

 From all of us here at the Harris County Law Library, we wish you a safe and happy Thanksgiving.