Here are things to know for Tuesday, Dec. 22:
1. Mother claims her autistic son was abused at Jefferson Elementary School
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A young mother from Houston’s Fifth Ward is angry and concerned for her children and others after she says she witnessed a teacher at Jefferson Elementary School physically abusing her 5-year-old autistic son just as she arrived to pick him up for school.
Renee London, whose 5-year-old son Jayden is part of the Pals Program and is a special needs student, says that Jayden had apparently refused to put his mask on and school officials said he was running around the cafeteria yelling and screaming.
Renee said, apparently, in an attempt to restrain her son, a male teacher had wrapped his hands around her son’s neck and was shaking him and pushing him into the floor to keep him down.
2. Baytown man accused of attacking deputy with steel dog chain
A Baytown man is accused of attacking a deputy Friday with a steel dog chain, according to the Harris County Precinct 8 Constable’s Office.
Thomas Alton Rachal, 34, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on a public servant and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in connection with an attack on a witness.
Officials said Precinct 8 deputy constable M. Self was working an approved off-duty job in the 17500 block of El Camino Real at 12:15 p.m. when Rachal was spotted on the property and inside the Islamic Center, officials said.
3. Here is where vaccine distributions are headed in Texas
More than a half-million doses of coronavirus vaccines are headed to Texas, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
State officials said more than 1,100 providers in 185 counties received the 620,000 doses that were sent to the Lone Star State over the weekend. Officials said 460,500 of the doses will come from Moderna while 159,000 will come from Pfizer.
Nursing homes and long-term care facilities, where more than 120,000 Texans live, should greatly benefit from the next vaccine allotment. Two weeks ago, a panel of medical experts in Austin determined these facilities should take priority after frontline health care workers are vaccinated.
4. Here’s who is eligible to receive the coronavirus vaccine in Texas during next phase of rollout
State health officials are prioritizing seniors and people with serious illnesses in the next phase of the coronavirus vaccine rollout.
Currently, only frontline health care workers and people living in long-term care facilities are eligible to receive the vaccine in what is being called Phase 1A.
In Phase 1B, as it’s being called, the vaccine will be made more widely available to anyone 65 years of age or older and to people 16 years or age or older with at least one chronic medical condition.
5. Trust Index: Did a Tennessee nurse really die after getting the coronavirus vaccine?
Several anti-vaccine social media posts are circulating around the internet claiming the new COVID-19 vaccine made a Tennessee critical care nurse faint shortly after getting the shot.
According to WRCB-TV, six nurses at CHI Memorial Hospital in the Chattanooga area were vaccinated, including critical care nurse Tiffany Dover, who experienced a fainting spell a few minutes after the vaccination.
She was surrounded by CHI Memorial medical personnel who assisted in administering the shot. A press conference from WRCB showed Dover receiving the vaccine when she suddenly dropped down to the floor.