Watch the public briefing live here on Friday at 11:15 a.m.:
Dr. Mark Escott, interim Austin-Travis County Health authority, will be joined by Austin Public Health Director Stephanie Hayden-Howard at 11:15 a.m. to hopefully clear up much confusion regarding vaccine distribution under the state s new hub system.
Every media outlet in Travis County is allowed to ask Escott and Hayden-Howard two questions about vaccines or anything related to coronavirus cases. The American-Statesman plans to ask questions regarding two main concerns raised by readers this week:
How does Austin Public Health select the next person to receive a vaccine appointment among the more than 60,000 qualifying residents who are already pre-registered? Is it done by who pre-registered first, random selection, or residents from a particular zip code?
Echoing Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick s letter this week urging state officials to simplify the coronavirus vaccine rollout plan, Austin-Travis County health leaders on Friday said local residents will continue to be confused and frustrated unless the state intervenes.
Patrick also recommended the state begin by first vaccinating the less than 1.5 million Texans older than 75, then focusing on the fewer than 60,000 teachers and school staff over the age of 65 that way, qualifying residents have an estimated time frame for when they might receive a vaccine. Lastly, Patrick said the vaccine rollout plan could break the remaining qualifying residents into groups by odd or even birth dates.
Major Texas cities, including Austin, will receive tens of thousands of coronavirus vaccine doses this week, as health providers continue to inoculate vulnerable populations.
Meanwhile, Central Texas continuously high COVID-19 hospitalization rates triggered businesses on Sunday to roll back their occupancy rates from 75% to 50%. Elective surgeries have also been canceled.
“It is critically important that everyone follow protective measures at this time,” said Stephanie Hayden, Austin Public Health Director, in a news release Sunday. “Wearing a mask, washing your hands, watching your distance, and avoiding gatherings have been lifesaving measures throughout this pandemic. We will not be able to vaccinate or enforce our way out of the surge already happening, so we need to take it upon ourselves to protect our community.”
Jeffrey Warnken, right, and his wife, Sandra Warnken, who are both pharmacists, organize vaccine paperwork at 38th Street Pharmacy in Austin. The pharmacy ran out of its initial allotment of 200 Moderna vaccine doses this week. “We did not waste one dose,” Jeffery Warnken said. “I didn’t hold any back.” Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune
Rannon Ching, pharmacist for Tarrytown Pharmacy in Austin, got the call at 8 a.m. on Dec. 23: Five hundred doses of the Moderna vaccine were arriving. Get ready.
“I found out two hours before the FedEx guy came,” he said. Ching frantically called some Austin senior care facilities on his way to work. Could his pharmacists come that afternoon?
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Clogged phone lines and ethical dilemmas: Texas health providers scramble to roll out vaccine with little state guidance
3 months 4 days 19 hours ago
Friday, January 08 2021
Jan 8, 2021
January 08, 2021 2:44 PM
January 08, 2021
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News - Local
Source: https://www.texastribune.org/
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Jeffrey Warnken, right, and his wife, Sandra Warnken, who are both pharmacists, organize vaccine paperwork at 38th Street Pharmacy in Austin. The pharmacy ran out of its initial allotment of 200 Moderna vaccine doses this week. “We did not waste one dose,” Jeffery Warnken said. “I didn’t hold any back.” Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune
Rannon Ching, pharmacist for Tarrytown Pharmacy in Austin, got the call at 8 a.m. on Dec. 23: Five hundred doses of the Moderna vaccine were arriving. Get ready.