Edgar Walters, Texas Tribune

Edgar Walters

Texas Tribune

Austin, TX, United States

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Recent:
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Past:
  • Texas Tribune
  • The New York Times

Past articles by Edgar:

COVID-19 vaccines may be coming soon, but most Texans won’t get them for months. Here’s why.

Officials are preparing for the massive undertaking of distributing a vaccine that may require multiple doses and subzero storage temperatures across a state that covers 270,000 square miles and some 170 rural counties. → Read More

New Texas rule lets social workers turn away clients who are LGBTQ or have a disability

A professional organization of social workers called the change "incredibly disheartening," while Gov. Greg Abbott's office said it was necessary to conform with existing state law. → Read More

Medical schools, hospitals and plenty of coronavirus: How Texas became a leading COVID-19 research hub

Two new trials in the Houston area are recruiting participants to study whether giving people infusions of blood from recovered COVID-19 patients can help treat early-stage infections or even prevent people from catching the disease. → Read More

After Ginsburg’s death, high stakes for Texas’ legal challenge to the Affordable Care Act

Experts say the Supreme Court is unlikely to strike down the law in its entirety. Texas’ GOP leaders have yet to produce a promised plan to replace it. → Read More

How a glitchy computer system skewed Texas’ coronavirus data and hampered its pandemic response

Local health officials describe the electronic system as “cumbersome,” “archaic” and “really slow," though its performance has improved since it was upgraded in August. → Read More

Texas physicians are losing money during the pandemic. They want lawmakers to make health insurers pay up.

The Texas Academy of Family Physicians is also asking legislators to expand Medicaid insurance coverage to low-income adults and restore funding for a program that studied racial health disparities. → Read More

Texas coronavirus hospitalizations are at a two-month low, but school reopenings pose new risks

After a late July peak, the number of statewide coronavirus hospitalizations has fallen from about 11,000 per day to about 4,500. Children who are infected are less likely to be hospitalized. → Read More

Coronavirus testing in Texas plummets as schools prepare to reopen

Texas' low number of tests and large percentage of positive results suggest inadequacies in the state's public health surveillance effort at a time when school reopenings are certain to increase viral spread, health experts said. → Read More

Texas hospitals are running out of drugs, beds, ventilators and even staff

Many Texas hospitals are no longer accepting transfer patients in order to maintain space for a surge that’s expected to come. In some parts of the state, it’s already here. → Read More

As Texas reopens, coronavirus cases are increasing while testing misses benchmarks

Texas has seen a modest but steady increase in the growth of new coronavirus cases in the two weeks since some businesses reopened at 25% capacity. Gov. Greg Abbott sees hope in other metrics. → Read More

Texas still won't say which nursing homes have COVID-19 cases. Families are demanding answers.

Citing a state medical privacy law, Texas is refusing to release the names of long-term care facilities where residents have died from COVID-19, even as those case numbers soar and families plead for information. → Read More

Medical offices are struggling during the pandemic. Texas health officials are proposing a $334 million lifeline.

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission sent the request to Gov. Greg Abbott and a panel of state legislators. → Read More

Coronavirus is spreading in Texas nursing homes. But the state won't share the details.

Families and advocates for nursing home residents are calling on Texas officials to release the numbers and names of facilities where coronavirus infection has been reported, as other states have done. → Read More

Texas is urging patients to seek remote health care. Some insurance plans won't pay for it.

As millions of Texans isolate themselves in an attempt to limit the spread of COVID-19, state officials are working to ramp up the use of telemedicine. But many health plans are outside of their regulatory authority. → Read More

Texas hospitals don't have enough beds for coronavirus patients if too many people get sick at once

Texas has about 2.9 hospital beds per 1,000 people — less than one-fourth the rate of South Korea. → Read More

She's a Texas nurse who treats cancer patients — and she can't get a coronavirus test. That's not unusual.

Unless a patient is sick enough to be hospitalized, state criteria for lab testing is difficult to meet. And state officials have yet to say how many Texans in total have been tested. → Read More

Texas' first case of possible community spread of coronavirus highlights lack of testing

Officials said the patient attended a Feb. 28 barbecue at the popular Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, though it's unclear if he had symptoms at the time. → Read More

What can Texas do if a coronavirus outbreak hits?

While Texas has not yet seen “community spread” of coronavirus, U.S. health officials have told states to begin considering special measures in case of a COVID-19 outbreak. → Read More

ACLU sues seven Texas towns for passing local anti-abortion ordinances

The suit takes aim at towns that have declared themselves "sanctuary cities for the unborn." → Read More

Texas is going to court to end Obamacare. It hasn't produced a plan to replace it.

During a legislative session focused on schools and taxes, Texas lawmakers did little to prepare for the possibility that Obamacare will be struck down in its entirety — even as the state leads the charge to have the law declared unconstitutional. → Read More