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A lawsuit filed last week in federal court accuses HEB of tripling the price of eggs after a state of emergency was declared in March, the Statesman reports. Seventeen other grocery chains were also named.
An HEB representative emailed Austonia this statement:
"H-E-B denies these meritless allegations. While producers' egg prices did dramatically increase, H-E-B often absorbs such price increases to protect Texans who need eggs. H-E-B lost money on eggs rather than passing the cost increases along to its customers. H-E-B is focused on the health and wellness of our Partners and customers during this pandemic. It is shameful that we have to deal with this baseless lawsuit, filed without even the barest of investigation into our prices. We will continue to focus our efforts on working around the clock to ensure that shelves remain stocked and Texans have access to the groceries they need at the low prices we are proud to offer all Texans."
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(Emma Freer)
More than 120 COVID-19 patients have received the monoclonal antibodies treatment, Regeneron, at the Austin Regional Infusion Center in Montopolis since it opened on Jan. 6.
This comes as good news to John Doucette, a 52-year-old realtor who, for the last six months, has participated in a Regeneron clinical trial conducted by the Austin-based company Benchmark Research.
<p>Each month, Doucette receives a series of Regeneron shots. The goal is that they will help him build immunity to COVID-19, in case he is exposed to it. Because of his job, this is something that he worries about. "My biggest concern is probably contractors, who are working on new construction," he said, "and generally aren't wearing masks." </p><p>Doucette doesn't yet know if he received the treatment, but he feels good about his chances—only 25% of the trial participants received a placebo. He also feels good about the drug itself. Since he enrolled, Regeneron has been used to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/21/covid-treatment-fda-authorizes-regeneron-drug-used-by-trump.html" target="_blank">treat President Donald Trump</a>, who contracted COVID in October, and received an emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.</p><p>"From that standpoint, I'm excited that I did the trial," he told Austonia. "Knowing that it's actually effective." </p><p><strong>Force shield</strong> </p><p>So how do monoclonal antibodies work?</p><p>"If you have a viral infection, you have two potentially effective interventions," said Dr. Mezgebe Berhe, an infectious disease specialist and the principal investigator for a Regeneron trial conducted by Baylor Scott & White Research Institute. </p><p>A vaccine prevents the virus from developing while antiviral medication—such as monoclonal antibodies—helps to neutralize it in patients who have already become ill. </p><p>The Dallas-based BSW Research Institute was the first in the world to enroll a patient in a Regeneron trial, which it did on June 11. Although the trial is ongoing, preliminary data suggests that, if administered to patients in the first few days they are symptomatic, Regeneron reduced the chance of hospitalization and other complications by up to 75%. This, Berhe said, is a best-case scenario.</p><p>Monoclonal antibody treatments offer other benefits.<br/></p><p>For one, Regeneron and a similar medication developed by the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly are synthetic, meaning they are produced in a lab. This makes them easier to come by—and keep in stock—than <a href="https://austonia.com/we-are-blood-convalescent-plasma" target="_blank">convalescent plasma</a>, another antibody treatment used for COVID patients. But unlike monoclonal antibody treatments, convalescent plasma relies on blood donations from recovered COVID patients. "Convalescent plasma is labor intensive," Berhe said.</p><p>Regeneron may also have other applications. The Benchmark trial in which Doucette participated is studying whether monoclonal antibodies help confer immunity to patients who have not yet contracted COVID. </p><p>This could be a critical alternative to vaccination. "There are always people who don't raise a good immune response to vaccines," said Dr. Cynthia Brinson, the principal investigator for Benchmark's Regeneron trial.</p><p><strong>Seeking treatment</strong></p><p>With these early trial results, and a green light from the FDA, monoclonal antibody treatments arrived in Texas amid a worsening surge, which threatens to overwhelm hospitals, and <a href="https://austonia.com/austin-vaccine-rollout" target="_blank">a bumpy vaccine rollout</a>. State and local officials say it is an important tool to help reduce hospitalizations, especially as ICUs across the Austin metro <a href="https://austonia.com/austin-covid-field-hospital" target="_blank">near capacity</a>. </p><p>Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced the opening of the Montopolis infusion center—a pop-up outside of a CommUnity Care clinic—earlier this month. Like other centers around the state, it was established in partnership with various state and local agencies. Area hospital systems have donated Regeneron supplies to ensure steady—and free—treatment remains available.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="cca31ffc525a2e20bcaee21f650f625d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="d30d6" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTQ1NTI0Ny9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NTg5Nzc2Nn0.2Z39IruG9ssGUroCiyoM6z-vNAICjhOIVERilHzo-Lk/img.jpg?width=980"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Austin City Council Member Vanessa Fuentes, who represents District 2 in Southeast Austin, and Travis County Judge Andy Brown tour the Austin Region Infusion Center on Wednesday.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">(Emma Freer)</small></p><p>One week into its operations, the center is treating around 26 COVID patients each day. Paitents must be referred by area physicians or contacted by Austin Public Health and CommUnity Care after receiving a positive test result at one of their sites. The once-time treatment takes about an hour, plus a 30-minute check-in process and an hour of monitoring after. <br/></p><p>Although the center is ramping up its capacity, with a goal of treating 75 patients each day, demand will likely continue to outpace supply. "With uncontrolled spread throughout the community, we expect to keep seeing high demand," EMS System Deputy Medical Director Dr. Jason Pickett said Wednesday. </p><p>Many area hospitals and private infusion centers are also offering monoclonal antibody treatments to COVID patients. The National Infusion Center, an Austin-based trade association, has created a locator tool, which shows 20 such sites within a 30-mile radius. But CEO Brian Nyquist cautions that many may be operating at or near capacity, given the current surge and their pre-existing, non-COVID clientele.</p><p>There are also limitations of who qualifies for monoclonal antibody treatments. Because the drug remains under an emergency use authorization, it is administered only to priority patients, including those populations at highest risk of being hospitalized with—or dying from—COVID. They include the elderly, communities of color and those without insurance. </p><p>Regeneron has been shown to be most effective in the few days after COVID symptoms present themselves, so it is imperative that patients seek out medical care before the window closes. Many patients may wait to see if their symptoms worsen before seeking out testing or medical treatment, but this could preclude them from being a candidate for Regeneron and similar treatments. "If you belong to a high-risk category, don't waste time," Berhe said.</p>
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(Karendesuyo/CC)
After a truly impactful year on the aviation industry, Norwegian Air announced that due to COVID-19 and government advice discouraging travel, it would abandon its long haul flights to focus on its European audience for the time being.
That means Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is losing two European routes: a nonstop route to London and Austin's sole nonstop route to Paris.
<p>"The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected the entire aviation industry," Norwegian Air said in a <a href="https://media.uk.norwegian.com/pressreleases/norwegian-to-focus-on-a-strong-european-network-3064682" target="_blank">press release</a>. "Travel restrictions and changing government advice continue to negatively influence demand for long haul travel, and Norwegian's entire Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet has been grounded since March 2020. Future demand remains highly uncertain. Under these circumstances, a long haul operation is not viable for Norwegian and these operations will not continue."</p>
<p>Norwegian said that instead, it will continue to offer short haul service to its Nordic customers and to key destinations around Europe. The airline said it plans to reassess opportunities in the future, as the world starts to recover from COVID-19.</p>
<p>Norwegian announced in October 2019 that it would offer nonstop service from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport—the only airline at ABIA to do so. The flights were scheduled to take off in May 2020 and were unfortunately never able to get off the ground. </p><p>British Airways will still provide a nonstop route from Austin to London, though service is temporarily suspended.</p>
<p>Norwegian Air CEO Jacob Schram said he doesn't expect customer demand for long haul flights to recover in the near future.</p>
<p>"Our focus is to rebuild a strong, profitable Norwegian so that we can safeguard as many jobs as possible," Schram said. "It is with a heavy heart that we must accept that this will impact dedicated colleagues from across the company. I would like to thank each one of our affected colleagues for their tireless dedication and contribution to Norwegian over the years."</p>
<p>The airline said it will issue refunds to customers that have been affected by the announcement.</p>
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