Peterson Regional Medical Center said 39 people tested positive for COVID-19 over the long Christmas weekend, but the sobering news was that 17 of those were vaccinated.
For weeks, the majority of those testing positive through Peterson were unvaccinated, but that changed Monday. Peterson said seven people are hospitalized, including two in the intensive care unit. The hospitalizations have been steady for much of the last week.
Across Texas, there were more than 15,000 new COVID-19 cases, but new hospitalizations remained below 4,000 people. Positivity, however, reached its highest percentage of the pandemic, with more than 21% tested, resulting in positive cases.
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On Monday, the Texas Department of State Health Services issued a statement blaming the federal government for running out of monoclonal antibodies.
"The federal government controls the distribution of monoclonal antibodies, and the regional infusion centers in Austin, El Paso, Fort Worth, San Antonio and The Woodlands have exhausted their supply of sotrovimab, the monoclonal antibody effective against the COVID-19 Omicron variant, due to the national shortage from the federal government," the agency wrote. "They will not be able to offer it until federal authorities ship additional courses of sotrovimab to Texas in January. People who had appointments scheduled this week will be contacted directly and advised. Other monoclonal antibodies have not shown to be effective against the Omicron variant, which now accounts for more than 90 percent of new cases. The infusion centers will continue to offer those antibodies as prescribed by health care providers for people diagnosed with a non-Omicron case of COVID-19."
The exact number of positive cases in Kerr County remains hard to define because of inconsistent reporting from DSHS.
The bigger picture of COVID-19 around the nation:
- Kerrville-based Americana artist Robert Earl Keen announced the suspension of his tour after a member of his band tested positive for the virus. Keen was to play the historic Ryman Theater on Tuesday in Nashville.
- COVID-19 is wreaking havoc on college football bowl games. On Sunday, Miami pulled out of the Sun Bowl against Washington State. On Monday, Boise State, citing a shortage of players, said it was bowing out of the Arizona Bowl against Central Michigan.
- In men's college basketball, 71 programs have paused their seasons due to issues with the virus. Included on the list are Houston, Abilene Christian, Texas Southern and University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley.
- Flight cancellations plagued Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Dallas Love Field, with more than 61 flights delayed or canceled. In San Antonio, the situation was better, with three flights confirmed canceled and 20 delayed.
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