Page 19 - Mark Escott News Today

Indoor dining capacities can go back to 100 percent and masks will not be required starting on March 10

The rolling average for daily coronavirus hospitalizations has dropped below 30 for the first time since mid-November. APH is still waiting to see impacts from February’s winter storm, though.

The storm delayed about 3,300 vaccine appointments that had been scheduled last week. APH says it’s working to reschedule those appointments and expand hours to catch up.

Austin Public Health officials said Sunday they’re ready to resume their COVID-19 operations, which were largely sidelined due to last week’s extreme winter weather.

Austins and Travis Countys top health leaders have said coronavirus vaccination and testing appointments will remain canceled until conditions from the historic winter weather improve.  Dr. Mark Escott, interim Austin-Travis County health authority, and Austin Public Health Director Stephanie Hayden-Howard usually update the public twice weekly on the latest vaccination efforts and other coronavirus data. However, those meetings were canceled after Escott and Hayden-Howard were called in to r...

Austin Public Health officials said they were forced to cancel all coronavirus vaccine and testing appointments scheduled for Tuesday because of the severe winter weather that has impacted most of Texas.

Local health officials have also had to cancel vaccination appointments because of the extreme weather.

2,300 COVID-19 vaccine appointments for Saturday in Austin have been canceled but new appointments will be scheduled for next week.

APH has started an “equity phone line” to reach people in these groups to help ensure they get vaccinated. Director Stephanie Hayden-Howard said APH is also working with local leaders and organizations to help improve efforts.

Black leaders in Travis County said they worry that Austin Public Health is not taking the right steps to equitably offer vaccines to residents of color after data released by the agency show some populations are grossly underserved.  The dashboard on Thursday showed that Black residents make up 7.6% of Travis Countys total population, but are just 3.4% of Austin Public Healths recipients for the first dose of coronavirus vaccine during the first week in February, the period for the mos...