HOUSTON — 8:45 A.M. UPDATE: The mega COVID-19 testing site at Butler Stadium is now open after a short delay due to a power supply issue. Appointments are not required.
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8:15 A.M. UPDATE: COVID-19 testing is delayed at Butler Stadium for the next couple of hours here. HPD officers are turning people away due to a power outage generator issue.
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A new mega site at Butler Stadium in southwest Houston will be able to test up to a thousand people a day.
It's just one way that more help is coming as COVID cases continue to surge. Gov. Greg Abbott asked the feds for more testing.
Looks like the governor's wish might be granted soon, with FEMA stating they'll open six additional testing sites in Texas by next week. One of those will be in Harris County.
Meanwhile, reports from the White House state President Joe Biden is working on other help including Pfizer’s COVID-19 treatment pill.
The president said the U.S. will be ordering 20 million treatment courses of that pill, with half set to be available by June.
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“These pills are gonna dramatically decrease hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19,” the president said Tuesday. “They're a game changer.”
The president added that the federal government is going to ramp up supply over the coming months as more of these pills are manufactured.
With the omicron variant impacting medical staff, causing over a thousand who had COVID to miss work last week at Houston Methodist, Gov. Abbott also asked the feds for more medical workers.
But so far, Houston is not on the list of overrun hospitals who will receive military doctors and nurses.
Gov. Abbott is also suing the Biden administration to try and block the federal vaccine mandate for Texas National Guard troops.