Past Contributions

• Four years ago, Texas Republicans were the most likely to use mail-in voting. Here’s how that flipped in the last election.

  By Karen Brooks Harper Jan. 11, 2021

  Absentee ballots, which only certain groups of Texans are eligible to use, have traditionally been a tool utilized by the GOP, and in 2016, higher percentages of Republican voters cast absentee ballots than did Democratic voters. Full Story 

• More than two dozen of Texas’ rural hospitals haven’t received any COVID-19 vaccines

  By Karen Brooks Harper Updated: Jan. 8, 2021

  Those lucky enough to be near another provider with shots available are relying on neighborly generosity — encouraged but not mandated by the state — to innoculate front-line workers while they wait. Full Story 

• About 200,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses will be shipped next week to Texas, mostly for large “vaccination hubs”

  By Karen Brooks Harper Jan. 7, 2021

  Some doses will also go to smaller providers, while hubs will set up registration phone numbers and websites to streamline distribution, according to the state health agency. Full Story 

• More vaccines on the way to Texas this week as the state's COVID-19 situation worsens

  By Karen Brooks Harper Jan. 4, 2021

  COVID-19 hospitalizations in Texas are at record levels, while just under half of the vaccine doses shipped to Texans have been given out, according to state numbers. Full Story 

• “We are fighting back”: Texas health care workers receiving vaccines look forward to the end of a tragic year

  By Karen Brooks Harper and Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff Dec. 24, 2020

  The arrival of the vaccine signaled an emergence from what countless health care workers called the darkest time in their careers. Full Story 

• Some Texans are hesitant to get vaccinated for COVID-19. Here's how health officials are countering skepticism.

  By Karen Brooks Harper Dec. 23, 2020

  “Vaccine hesitancy” or “vaccine skepticism” remains a huge challenge for health authorities trying to overcome mistrust by communities of color, the anti-vaxxer crowd and general dubiousness on the part of a traumatized nation. Full Story 

• When health workers at a Rio Grande Valley hospital declined the COVID-19 vaccine, a state senator and law enforcement lined up

  By Vianna Davila, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, and Karen Brooks Harper, The Texas Tribune Updated: Dec. 21, 2020

  So many workers at an Edinburg hospital declined the new COVID-19 vaccine that it offered doses to other medical workers in the region. The vaccine ended up going to nonmedical personnel as well. Full Story 

• Texas’ second round of COVID-19 vaccines earmarked for smaller hospitals and long-term care facility residents

  By Karen Brooks Harper Updated: Dec. 18, 2020

  By the end of the month, the state expects to distribute 1.4 million vaccine doses to hospitals, long-term care facilities and a host of other locations. Full Story 

• Texas officials expect it to take months for coronavirus vaccine to be available to anyone who wants it

  By Karen Brooks Harper Updated: Dec. 17, 2020

  Gov. Greg Abbott said he has not yet gotten the vaccine but will “at the appropriate time." Full Story 

• As COVID-19 vaccine arrives in Texas' hard-hit border areas, experts warn vaccinated people could still spread virus

  By Karen Brooks Harper and Julián Aguilar Dec. 15, 2020

  Heavily Hispanic border regions have seen some of the highest death tolls from the virus. Health experts say people shouldn't let their guard down as vaccinations begin. Full Story