Here we go again. Cases of COVID-19 are on the rise in Texas, thanks to the highly contagious Delta variant, and Governor Abbott announced new measures to combat the trend on Monday. It’s all pretty straightforward.

There are four actions mentioned. Texas will bring in out-of-state medical personnel to ease the nursing shortage. He is directing an increase in vaccination availability across the state and while there is no vaccine mandate, he does encourage Texans to get vaccinated. One particularly important measure is to open additional COVID-19 antibody infusion centers across the state. And, under the heading of deja vu, Abbott is asking hospitals to voluntarily postpone elective procedures.

The Texas Department of State Health Services will utilize staffing agencies to provide medical personnel from out-of-state to Texas health care facilities to assist in COVID-19 operations.

Abbott has asked the Texas Hospital Association to request hospitals to voluntarily postpone elective medical procedures in order to increase hospital capacity for COVID-19 patients.

Abbott will direct the Texas Division of Emergency Management and DSHS to open additional COVID-19 antibody infusion centers in communities across the state. These centers are expected to treat COVID-19 patients who do not need hospitalization with therapeutic drugs that can prevent their condition from worsening and requiring hospital care, according to a release. Per the governor, the centers will also help increase bed capacity in hospitals so that resources are available for the most ill patients. Lubbock’s existing fusion center will expand its capacity this week and DSHS will launch five new centers throughout Texas, starting with San Antonio on Tuesday.

Abbott will also direct TDEM and DSHS to increase vaccination availability across Texas and continue to encourage residents to get vaccinated.

Today I announced new measures to respond to the spread of COVID-19:

* bring in additional medical personnel to staff hospitals

* expand Antibody Infusion Centers to prevent hospitalization of those with COVID

* make it easier to get a vaccination
https://t.co/P3J7pxs90C

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) August 9, 2021

Additional antibody infusion centers will ease the need for hospital beds. With cases surging again, parts of the state are reporting shortages of ICU beds. Hospitals are approaching capacity or at capacity. Some hospitals are putting up tents for the overflow of patients.

According to the latest data from UT Southwestern Medical Center, hospital volumes in North Texas have gone up 99% over the last two weeks. They’ve gone up 346% over the past month. The DFW Hospital Council says COVID patients make up more than a third of the adult ICU patients, and about 95% of them are unvaccinated.

“We’ve got about 75 ICU beds in trauma service area E,” Love said. “Stop and think. That’s 8 million people, that’s getting very low, very dangerous and it’s even lower on the pediatric side.”

Because of space constraints, Texas Health Rockwall is installing an air-conditioned tent to accommodate an extra 10-15 patients. They also closed the North Emergency Department satellite campus to pull staff to their main hospital.

Last Thursday, an 11-month-old baby with COVID-19 was airlifted to a Texas hospital 150 miles away because of a shortage of pediatric beds in the Houston area. She was transported to Baylor Scott & White McLane Children’s Medical Center — Temple and is recovering. Her’s is “an amazing recovery” according to the head of the chief medical officer.

Governor Abbott’s request that hospitals delay elective procedures is troubling. It’s understandable in order to free up medical personnel and equipment, as well as to free up space for COVID patients. Last summer, the governor went further than a request and banned elective surgeries in over 100 counties. The prohibition ended in September. He’s not going that far right now.

In recent days, key coronavirus indicators have spiked to levels not seen since the winter. Texas reported 5,377 new cases on Sunday and 9,027 hospitalizations a day earlier, both on a level that tracks with the last surge during the winter. The state’s positivity rate — the ratio of cases to tests — stood at 18.4% on Saturday, far above the 10% threshold that Abbott has identified as dangerous.

As a result, Texas hospitals have become increasingly strained. Several of the state’s multi-county trauma service regions reported fewer than five intensive care unit beds available this week.

There’s a worry that regular medical exams will fall by the wayside again as they did during the initial outbreak of the pandemic. That can lead to people being diagnosed later than they normally would and delays treatment.

The good news is that the vaccination rate is going up in Texas. The governor’s announcement also included news that the state is extending emergency nutritional assistance benefits for August for those struggling during the pandemic.

Vaccinations started ticking up last month, though Texas continues to lag nationally in percent of people fully vaccinated, which stood at 44.4% as of Saturday.

As part of Monday’s announcement, Abbott’s office said he was directing state agencies to “increase vaccination availability across the state” but did not provide further details.

“Texans can help bolster our efforts by getting vaccinated against COVID-19,” Abbott said in the news release. “The COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective, and it is our best defense against this virus.”

Abbott’s office followed up the announcement with another one saying the state was extending emergency Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamp, benefits for August, aimed at helping families feed themselves during the pandemic. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission is providing “approximately” $267 million in benefits for the month, according to the governor’s office.

Meanwhile, city and county politicians are pushing back on Abbott’s ban on vaccine and face mask mandates. School boards are pushing back, too.

The fallout of Abbott's orders: How Texas government offices cope without mask, vaccine mandates https://t.co/5Cke602tAo pic.twitter.com/QU7aRFhfEZ

— St. John Barned-Smith ⚔️ (@stjbs) August 10, 2021

Most government entities are safely managing to work within the parameters of Abbott’s orders. The Houston Chronicle canvassed 75 state and local agencies last week on current safety practices in place. Thirty agencies responded. They report that they encourage staff to get vaccinated and some request employees share if they are vaccinated, on a voluntary basis. But, there are “outliers” – authoritarian Democrats who run highly populated areas. Some public officials are hesitant to speak out against the governor.

Outliers in terms of responses included big city officials — Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, Fort Bend County Judge K.P. George and top officials in San Antonio, all Democrats — who stated outright that Abbott’s edicts made it difficult to combat transmission of the virus. They felt their hands were tied by uniform restrictions that imperiled the public in regions with high infection rates.

After Turner announced a mask mandate at City Hall, Houston ISD Superintendent Millard House II stepped forward Thursday to say he supported a similar requirement for schools despite Abbott’s ban.

Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee contends Abbott is misusing the Disaster Act. He cautioned that the governor’s power “is not absolute.”

“While he acknowledges that COVID is a health crisis that needs addressing, he then bars measures that would help mitigate this disaster,” the county attorney said in a statement. “The Disaster Act doesn’t allow him to do that, and local county and city officials should be able to take actions needed to stop the spread of COVID — including issuing a mask mandate.”

Prisons with vaccination rates of less than 70% require inmates to mask up. Staff must pass a health screening each day before entering the premises at juvenile facilities.

Abbott’s on the right track. It’s important we learn to live with the coronavirus. Personal responsibility used to be a high priority in Republican political philosophy. COVID-19 isn’t going away, the vaccines will not eradicate it. There will be outbreaks as the virus continues to mutate. Vaccines will prevent deaths and more severe symptoms for those who are infected with breakthrough cases. There will be fewer hospitalizations with more vaccinated people. It’s a personal choice, as Abbott says, to get vaccinated or not. I’m interested to see if rates of vaccinations increase among skeptics when the FDA formally approves the vaccines, likely next month.

Here’s a tweet from the Houston Federation of Teachers going against Governor Abbott’s ban on face masks.

#Houston teachers, school nurses and paraprofessional are fighting for the health and safety of all Houstonians. Join them by wearing your mask and practicing social distancing. We can beat this virus together! @rweingarten @TexasAFT @AJackiew pic.twitter.com/YFnHdrpTPX

— Houston Fed of Tchrs (@HFT2415) August 9, 2021