It will surprise you that Wichita Falls and Abilene (TSA-C and TSA-D) have only 5 and 4 ICU beds available. Bryan/College Station (TSA-N) is presently at only 2, having spent almost all of the past six months at over 90% ICU bed usage. Finally, Laredo (TSA-N) finishes up our list at 5. Over the last two years, we have learned to take Positivity Scores at face value due to lags in the reporting of test results and the current availability of self-testing kits. As I release you into the future, this very important takeaway should be at the center of your weekly checks. Just like you look at the weather report for news on what to wear and how to manage your commuting time, you should look at the hospital report to decide on add a mask to your outfit. Since the site (https://www.dshs.texas.gov/coronavirus/additionaldata/ ) is the source of what CDC obtains on Texas, this should be one of your bookmarks. My favorite tracker, https://covid-texas.csullender.com/?tsa=T , provides this data in a clean format with easy-to-use buttons, legends, and color-schemes that put the data in a statewide context. You can zoom in and get "cards" if you are looking for exact numbers.
Vaccination Status is the next place you need to go before your outing/trip. While hospital status is an indication of how sick the population has been for the last few weeks, the vaccination status will give you an idea of whether you are likely to encounter others who are vulnerable to spread. As shown, https://covid-texas.csullender.com/vaccine/?county=Fort%20Bend ) Wichita and Taylor Counties (for Wichita Falls and Abilene) are less than 50% and I would be very careful to keep my distance in this part of the state. On the other hand, Webb County (Laredo) has over 100% Vaccination Coverage; however, is low on Boosters (18%). I benchmark local conditions based on Fort Bend County - since I live at a place where several county lines come together. There is no telling when I go to the Doctor or to the schools where people live, work, and shop.
My Hospitalization and Fatalities panel of plots have a few more weeks to go before I can do the calculations which compare Omicron Fatality to Covid Hospitalization Ratio to Delta and the 2021 Winter Surge. These results will be posted as an article after these reports will have ended. Figure 1 is the latest version of these. To remind you, the data is not posted until the medical examiners put their state on the date-of-death and certify that it was a Covid-19 fatality. While the law gives 10 days for this evaluation, this can take longer if the hospitals are in surge mode or not. My experience is that data which is less than or equal to 6 weeks old is likely on the low side and results will change as more fatalities are added. While metro counties have an easier time keeping up with the numbers, rural areas can take the longest to be reported.
While we can say that Hospitalizations are equal (Panhandle, Central) to what they were one year ago (see red arrows), six more weeks will be required to see how the fatalities profile compares. Similarly for the Gulf Coast, Border, and North Texas where Hospitalizations are lower now than they were when on March 10, 2021 restrictions were lifted (https://open.texas.gov/uploads/files/organization/opentexas/EO-GA-34-opening-Texas-response-to-COVID-disaster-IMAGE-03-02-2021.pdf .
So, now is the time to make the most of what Spring in Texas has to offer. Whether it is Bluebonnets or birds or beaches, if you don't do it now - I imagine you will be in trouble when the Summer heat returns and potential spread is in the forecast.
