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An Austin ISD elementary reading teacher gets a COVID-19 vaccine through a partnership with Ascension Seton.
This story has been updated as of Jan. 27 with the latest information.
The Texas Department of State Health Services will allocate 14,750 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to seven providers in Travis County this week. As of Sunday, 7.4% of Travis County residents have received at least one dose, up from just over 6% a week ago.
If you're in the remaining 92.6% and looking for an appointment, nine regional providers are offering updates or waitlist spots for future allotments.
- 38th Street Pharmacy, 711 W. 38th St., Ste. C3
This local pharmacy will contact those who sign up for its COVID-19 Vaccine Contact List as its supply is replenished. It last received an allocation in late December. - Austin Public Health, multiple locations
APH is a designated hub provider and will receive a third batch of 12,000 doses from the state this week, bringing its total supply to 49,300 so far. It has an online pre-registration system, where individuals will be asked to create an account and complete an assessment. If they meet the criteria and appointments are still available, they will be able to schedule an appointment; if not, they will be put on a waitlist. APH is prioritizing people who are 65 years of age and older—or more than 129,000 Travis County residents, Director Stephanie Hayden-Howard said Friday. - Bastrop County, 804 Pecan St., Bastrop
Bastrop County offers a vaccine waiting list here; interested residents may also call 866-268-2289 to access the same service. - Baylor Scott & White Health, multiple locations
Sign up for COVID-19 vaccine updates from BSWHealth, one of the three hospital systems operating in the Austin metro, here. The system last received an allocation in late December. - H-E-B Pharmacy, multiple locations
H-E-B Pharmacy allows eligible members of groups 1A and 1B to check vaccine appointment availability here. - Lamar Plaza Drug Store, 1509 S. Lamar Blvd., Ste. 550
This local pharmacy will contact those who sign up for its COVID-19 Vaccine Interest Form with more information as it becomes available. It received an allocation of 200 doses in early January. - Randalls Pharmacy, multiple locations
Residents interested in scheduling an appointment through the grocery store chain can do so here. Six area locations received a total 700 doses last month. - Tarrytown Pharmacy, 2727 Exposition Blvd., Ste. 105
This local pharmacy has compiled a communication list so it can alert members when its vaccine supply is refilled. However, the provider last received an allocation of 500 doses in late December and has around 40,000 people on its waitlist. - UT Health Austin, 1601 Trinity Ave., Bldg. A
UT Austin students, faculty and staff who qualify as members of groups 1A or 1B can sign up for a vaccine waitlist here. The clinical arm of Dell Medical School received 1,950 doses of the vaccine as part of the latest weekly allocation and is one of two designated hub providers in Travis County. - Williamson County & Cities Health District, 355 Texas Ave., Round Rock
WCCHD is not a provider of vaccines but instead serves as an information hub and safety net. Residents can sign up for the district's vaccine news and updates here.
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Popular
(Pexels)
Austin parents and grocery store shelves are feeling the effects of a nationwide baby formula shortage.
Caused mostly by a February recall due to contamination issues, followed by the Abbott Nutrition factory closure in Michigan, the shortage has left Austin shelves barren. However, earlier this week, U.S. officials announced a plan with the facility to restart production.
In the meantime, local parents in crisis have turned toward the Mother’s Milk Bank to keep their babies fed.
HEB on East 7th has been picked clean of formula and is limiting purchases. (Laura Figi/Austonia)
The milk bank—which takes donations from lactating mothers and dispenses milk to babies in the NICU—has been helping feed upwards of 30 families in need as the formula supply tightens.
According to the bank’s executive director Kim Updegrove, Mother’s Milk Bank has seen an uptick in calls from parents with healthy babies in need of help since the shortage began.
“We aren't used to hearing from families with healthy infants,” Updegrove said. “They're typically very upset, angry, frustrated, sobbing—it's scary to not be able to feed your infants. So in the past few weeks, those calls have been significantly increasing.”
Mothers are only able to donate if they are within a year postpartum, so Updegrove said they are constantly bringing on and retiring donors. While donors had been on a 30% decline leftover from 2021 when the shortage began, Updegrove said the shortage has led to mass community interest and more than 90 prospective donors in just the past few days.
“We and other milk banks are experiencing significant interest from the community—becoming milk donors and helping to turn around this crisis,” Updegrove said. “Every infant needs to be fed, every one of us can relate to that need, and we need to make sure as a community that it happens.”
Whole Foods downtown was also cleaned out of typical formula. (Laura Figi/Austonia)
While you may still be able to find formula at places like Whole Foods—which currently has goat milk, soy and plant-based formula in stock—Updegrove said it might not be what a baby needs.
Updegrove said it is best to buy types that say “infant formula,” as they are FDA approved and will provide the nutrients, vitamins and minerals a baby needs. Plant-based, homemade, non-cow's milk or diluting formula may not provide the same nutritional value.
As the community navigates the shortage, Updegrove said the most important way to help out is to not panic buy or stockpile.
“This is a crisis for families,” Updegrove said. “This is the time for the community to gather together and figure out what everyone can do to help families with young infants.”
(Argo AI)
Next time you’re sitting at a red light in Austin, you may look over and see a car without a person at the driver’s wheel.
Autonomous vehicle tech company Argo AI has brought driverless operations to Austin and Miami, starting out with only company employees using the service. Later on, tests with Lyft and Walmart will carry out ride-sharing and grocery delivery services, with the help of a human safety operator. The company has already made moves on this front in Miami Beach where some Lyft passengers have used its autonomous vehicles with a human operator.
While its platform is designed for integration with multiple vehicle types, the test fleet uses the Ford Escape Hybrid and VW's all-electric ID.Buzz.
The Pittsburgh-based company says this progress on its autonomy platform has been more than five years in the making and boasted about reaching this milestone before others.
"Argo is first to go driverless in two major American cities, safely operating amongst heavy traffic, pedestrians and bicyclists in the busiest of neighborhoods," said Bryan Salesky, Founder and CEO of Argo AI.
Expect to see the autonomous cars on the road during daytime business hours as the tech aims to learn from a diversity of road infrastructure and driving behaviors.
The company, which is testing in eight cities in the U.S. and Europe, has brought its tech to Austin as the company looks to expand in densely-populated cities. In particular, Argo is looking at ridesharing, delivery and logistics companies for integrating its autonomous vehicles into their digital services.
Argo anticipates its service availability to someday cover more than 15 million people in Austin, Miami and Washington D.C.
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