Third Vaccine Approved
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Bulldogs roll UP TO WORTH OF McAllen High advances to Sweet 16 COUPONS round with win over IN TODAY’S ISSUE 1-800-CARCRASH1 800 CARCRASH Flour Bluff. SUPPORTING LOCAL JOURNALISM Page 1C | SportsDay 340 SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2021 $$340SERVING THE RIO GRANDE VALLVALLEYE SINCE 1909 $1.50 ON SUNDAYS ‘They mattered’ J&J | AP A vial of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine in Belgium. Third vaccine approved J&J’s one-dose shot cleared for usage BY RILEY GRIFFIN BLOOMBERG NEWS NEW YORK — Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine was cleared for use in the U.S., making a third shot available that could plug gaps in the na- tion’s immunization campaign as concern grows over an infl ux of virus variants. The Food and Drug Admin- istration said in a statement on Saturday that it had granted an Courtesy Photos emergency-use authorization Top row from left, Amado Garcia, Eustolia Villarreal, Jose Luis Garay, Daria Vera and Alfredo Alaniz. Second row from left, Jose Luis and Guadalupe for the single-dose vaccine for Alanis, Graciela Gonzalez, Lupe Hernandez, Jesse Zuniga and Mary Saenz. Third row from left, Yolanda Guerra, Alberto Ybarra, Pete Torres, Jose Moreno people 18 and older. and Heidi Saenz. Fourth row from left, Enrique Henry Maldonado, Tomas and Graciela Treviño, Alicia Ortiz, Perfecto Salas and Cruz Huijon. See VACCINE | 11A Museum reflects on impact of series 164 new honoring Valley lives lost to COVID-19 Texas virus BY FRANCISCO E. JIMÉNEZ numbers of cases, deaths and effects the pandemic has Bearing Witness series STAFF WRITER hospitalizations, the actual had on local residents, but to in partnership with The toll the virus has had on the paint a more intimate picture Monitor, which together deaths; fewer here have been community may get lost in of the devastation left in the with sister publications 2,629 deaths related the numbers. wake of the coronavirus and The Brownsville Herald to COVID-19 in Chief Executive Offi cer humanize the victims and and Valley Morning Star Hidalgo County Francisco Guajardo of the their families. published the museum’s in hospital Tsince the pandemic struck Museum of South Texas Together with stories about the victims of the region nearly a year History in Edinburg took it MOSTHistory Exhibits the disease. ago. But with near-daily upon himself to look deeper, Coordinator Melissa Peña, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS updates sharing the growing not only to document the Guajardo created the See LIVES | 11A AUSTIN — Texas reported 164 more deaths Friday from the new coronavirus that causes COVID-19, but CO- VID-19 hospitalizations con- After blackouts, will companies keep moving here? tinue to plummet. The Texas Department of State Health Services said the BY MITCHELL SCHNURMAN ral gas supply. state’s COVID-19 deaths totaled DALLAS MORNING NEWS The power outages led to dozens 42,739. The state’s confi rmed of deaths, billions in damages and and probable coronavirus cas- For years, people and companies questions about grid reliability and es rose by 8,103 to 2,640,209. have fl ocked to Texas for economic Texas’ deregulated electric market. An estimated 161,316 of those reasons, from fast job growth to no But prospective newcomers are cases were active Saturday, state income taxes. still touring sites, apparently unde- 88,917 fewer than on Friday, of- Don’t overlook another strength terred by recent events. fi cials said. of Texas’ pro-business climate: “We haven’t had a client say any- Of those active cases, 5,912 abundant, cheap energy. thing negative so far,” said King required hospitalization as of That’s fueled the so-called Texas White, CEO and founder of Site Se- Friday, the state’s most recent miracle, ensuring that essential lection Group in Dallas. total made available. That was services could keep up with the His fi rm was working with a food 1,067 fewer than Sunday and population growth. production company that plans to 273 fewer than Thursday. But Texas will have to rewrite invest $100 million and hire 500 for Over the past two weeks, the the narrative after a brutal winter a new facility. He said offi cials were rolling average number of daily storm left over 4 million residents walking through local locations this Omar Vega | Dallas Morning News | TNS new cases in Texas has fallen freezing in the dark. Nearly 5 mil- week, doing their due diligence. Texas has generally had a reliable electric grid, along with lower rates than the by 3,012.6, a decrease of 27.4%, lion more in Mexico lost power, U.S. average. But a subzero winter storm knocked out almost half the state’s according to fi gures from Johns often due to problems with natu- See BLACKOUTS | 8A electric generation and left over 4 million Texans without power — some for days. Hopkins University. TODAY’S WEATHER | 2A Mostly cloudy HIGH 89 LOW 69 JOBTogether OPPORTUNITIES We Will Persevere. AVAILABLE We Are Here For You. APPLY ONLINE TODAY AT #ValleyUnited An AIM Media Texas LONESTARNATIONALBANK.COM1-800-580-0322 Newspaper Vol. 112, No. 212 www.lonestarnationalbank.com 38 Pages, 5 Sections SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2021 | The Monitor, www.themonitor.com 11A VACCINE two days. Policy makers are eager From Page 1A to get more people immu- The decision comes after nized before virus muta- the U.S. hit a sad milestone tions can take fi rmer hold with 500,000 Americans in the U.S. dead from the virus, and at J&J’s vaccine provided a time when health offi cials less protection against are raising alarms that re- the new variants, trial cent declines in the number data suggested. In Brazil, of new cases may be stalling. the shot was 68% effec- The J&J shot is highly tive against moderate- effective at preventing se- to-severe disease 28 days vere COVID-19, with no after vaccination, while Brendan Smialowski | Pool | AP serious side effects, agen- in South Africa it was 64% A placard is displayed with an image of the late U.S. Capitol cy staff said in a report effective. But across the Police offi cer Brian Sicknick on Feb. 2 at the Capitol Rotunda Wednesday. On Friday, a globe, including in coun- committee of outside ad- tries with emerging vari- in Washington, D.C. visers to the FDA voted ants, the shot successfully unanimously that the vac- prevented all hospitaliza- cine’s benefi ts outweigh tions and deaths. Sources: Investigators any risks. In the week Mathai Mammen, the ahead, J&J is prepared to seen higher rates of virus 43,000-person global trial, head of global research and ship 3 million to 4 million cases and deaths. it was found to be 72% ef- development for J&J’s phar- pinpoint suspect in doses, Biden administra- The authorization fective at preventing mod- maceutical division, said tion offi cials have said. comes as the inoculation erate to severe COVID. in an interview last month “We’re in a race between drive in the U.S. has ac- That is a lower overall ef- that it’s impossible to com- officer’s riot death the virus mutating — new celerated, with more than fi cacy rate than the Pfi zer- pare overall effi cacy levels variants coming out that 70.5 million doses given BioNTech and Moderna between the vaccines, given BY MICHAEL BALSAMO now believe Sicknick may could cause further disease as of Friday, according vaccines, which are based that the trials were carried THE ASSOCIATED PRESS have ingested a chemical — and stopping it,” said Jay to Bloomberg’s Vaccine on technology called mes- out in different locations at substance — possibly bear Portnoy, director of the divi- Tracker. At the same time, senger RNA that primes the different times in the course WASHINGTON — Fed- spray — during the riot sion of allergy, asthma and the rise of new coronavi- body to ward off the virus. of the pandemic. eral investigators probing that may have contributed immunology at Children’s rus variants has increased Each of those was found to “What people fear is get- the death of a U.S. Capi- to his death, the offi cials Mercy Hospital, who sup- the urgency to get more be more than 90% effective. ting sick, so sick they have tol Police offi cer killed in said. ported an emergency au- people vaccinated. Still, all three shots are to go to an emergency the Jan. 6 riot have zeroed The people could not thorization. “We need to get New fast-spreading mu- extremely reliable at pre- room, or hospital, and in on a suspect seen on publicly discuss the details this vaccine out.” tations fi rst reported in venting hospitalizations even die,” he said “This video appearing to spray of an ongoing investigation The clearance marks the U.K., South Africa and and deaths. And J&J’s does vaccine, in a single shot, a chemical substance on and spoke to The Associ- another milestone in an Brazil have appeared in that quickly, with protec- protects completely from the offi cer before he later ated Press on condition of unprecedented global sci- the U.S., while domestic tion against severe disease that kind of fear.” collapsed and died, two anonymity. entifi c sprint. Since the variants spotted in Califor- starting only seven days af- J&J is still testing a two- people familiar with the Sicknick died after de- World Health Organiza- nia and New York are rais- ter vaccination, and ramp- shot regimen in a large, matter told The Associ- fending the Capitol against tion declared the corona- ing new concerns among ing up over the course of global trial that is expected ated Press.