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The new, more-contagious variant of COVID-19 has been confirmed on The University of Texas campus, states a letter by the university sent out to the community on Friday.
"Today, we are writing to let you know that the COVID-19 variant known as B.1.1.7 and first discovered in the United Kingdom has been detected through our proactive on-campus testing, monitoring and sequencing efforts," the letter reads.
The first case of the variant, which originated in the United Kingdom and is known as B.1.1.7, was confirmed by Austin Public Health in Travis County earlier this week.
UT confirmed that the individuals are aware they tested positive for the variant and are self-isolating. Public health workers have already completed contact tracing and advised them to get tested and quarantine.
"Mutations can also give a new variant an advantage, such as helping it spread more easily, allowing it to become the dominant strain in a community," according to the letter. "The university is continually monitoring for variants in its testing operations."
While the vaccines currently being distributed are expected to be effective against the variant, UT will open an additional clinic this weekend from 12 p.m.-4 p.m. to increase COVID-19 testing in the Jester West Fireplace Lounge. You can schedule an appointment here.
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Following the purchase of a converted 34-foot-long van, Addicus' Legacy Dog Rescue's pups headed to their forever homes in style during its maiden voyage last week.
<p>The Austin-based group—which strives to save animals from high-kill shelters and find them forever homes—coordinates dog adoptions, either locally or by transporting them from Texas to waiting homes in New England.</p><p>"We call it 'The Rescue Bus,'" Addicus board member and intake coordinator Mariska Berkley said of the new van. "We send about 60 dogs a month to Connecticut, so we needed a bigger vehicle."</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-height="720" data-rm-shortcode-id="85a1961ebc61b3fc6a45108c2068f845" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTc0OTU5Ni9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY3NjgxMTE0Mn0.QHV6ucs9jTcNwpjXXqWvRDphxqp7VYrKTyGPy8vH7DU/img.jpg?width=980" data-width="960" id="987a1" type="lazy-image"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption..." spellcheck="false">The new van will transport about 60 dogs per month to waiting adopters in Connecticut from Austin. (Mariska Berkley)</small></p><p><br/></p><p>Although the van can transport about 60 dogs, its passenger list will only include 30 dogs to accommodate bathroom breaks every three to four hours, she said. Any more dogs and the stops wouldn't be a practical length of time, Berkley said. Two drivers and a behaviorist, Jan McDonald, will also be on board, with the behaviorist keeping the dogs as happy and content as possible.<br/></p><p>"It's got to be rough on them," McDonald said of the transport process. "They've grown attached to the fosters they had in Texas and we're taking them away from that foster, putting them in a kennel and getting them on the road. That's automatically confusing and stressful for them." </p><p>The bi-monthly road trip from Austin to Glastonbury, Connecticut, is about 1,600 miles and takes two-and-a-half days northbound, or about 50 hours including stops. After dropping off the canine cargo, the human crew spends the night in New England before heading home the following morning.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-height="1428" data-rm-shortcode-id="dd6cad801afbb5c3c79a77aa000f1cdd" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTc1MjA5OC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNjczNDgxOX0.58yiYbAKkgChaLhp1lAS75fsTcLifhRj9yizxZnkpiQ/img.png?width=980" data-width="2000" id="bf4b5" type="lazy-image"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption..." spellcheck="false">Mariska Berkley, a member of the Addicus Legacy Dog Rescue board, coordinated the group's efforts to land a new transport van that's delivering the much-wanted pets to New England from Austin in style and comfort. (Mariska Berkley)</small></p><p><br/></p><p>Addicus was founded a decade ago when school teacher Phillippa Scott decided to drive from her home in Connecticut to Texas to save six dogs from being euthanized at a local shelter, Berkley said. The saved dogs come from facilities' euthanasia lists or have no chance of being adopted; local vets are used to get the dogs healthy before they are put up for adoption, she said.</p><p>The idea to purchase the transport van was born "out of frustration," Berkley, a Spicewood resident, said. </p><p>Prior to buying the van, the nonprofit organization paid private contractors a fee per dog to bring the animals to New England, a challenge for the group, which is funded mostly through donations, Berkley said. Additionally, the transporters were motivated to crowd the vehicles since their fees were tallied by the number of animals transported, stressing the dogs, she said.</p><p>"The only options we had were either a cargo trailer, an 18-wheeler or one of those Hertz vans or little box vans, and they are not outfitted for comfort by any means," Berkley said, adding that the transport vehicles had to be modified with air conditioning.</p><p>Now, the drivers are paid a flat fee, no matter how many animals are on board, she said. </p><p>The limousine was initially built for people and has two air conditioning systems along with a ventilation system, Berkley said. It was previously used by a dog breeder in Oklahoma, who converted the vehicle to haul dogs so she could take them to show. Berkley said she spied the van for sale on Facebook Marketplace and traveled to Oklahoma to bring it back.</p><p>"There is an overflow of dogs in the Texas area—we have a lot of backyard breeders and we have a lot of rural shelters that don't get any help," said Berkley who has worked with Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. </p><p>The demand for adoption is greater in New England than in Texas, and there's less supply of dogs to adopt, she said. Those northern states have more stringent animal cruelty laws and fewer abandoned dogs than Texas, Berkley said. COVID-19 has also caused an "exponential" increase in the number of dog adoptions, she said.</p><p>On its first trip northward, Addicus partnered with Lucky Lab Rescue and transported its dogs in the new vehicle as well.</p><p>Finding a consistent, safe and affordable method of carting rescue animals across the country has long plagued Addicus, Berkley said. The new vehicle will allow the dogs to be cared for properly along their journey, she said.</p><p>"We are trying to revolutionize the way these dogs are being transported within the rescue groups," Berkley said. </p>
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Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 oz Tito's Handmade Vodka
- 2 oz sparkling water
- 1/2 oz coconut sugar simple syrup
- 1/2 oz lemon juice
- 2-4 kiwi slices, peeled
- 2 basil leaves
Directions: Muddle kiwi slices in a shaker tin. Add Tito's Handmade Vodka, syrup, lemon juice, basil and ice. Shake and strain over fresh ice in a glass. Top with sparkling water. Garnish with a basil leaf and kiwi slice.
(Austin Public Health/Twitter)
Eighty-seven providers in Travis County will receive a total of 75,540 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine for the week of March 8 as part of the 13th weekly allocation, a nearly 62% increase compared to last week's. The significant increase is largely due to inclusion of the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which received an emergency use authorization from the FDA last weekend.
The bulk will go to hub providers Austin Public Health and UT Health Austin, the clinical wing of Dell Medical School, as well as to Seton Medical Center, which will receive the largest share of this week's shipment. These three providers will either receive doses from Moderna or Pfizer.
<p>Other providers will mostly receive smaller shipments of between 100 and 500 doses of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, although some will receive initial doses of the Moderna vaccine. Two Travis County providers that will receive doses as part of this week's allocation are not open to the public: the Texas Department of State Health Services' pharmacy warehouse, which will receive 25,700 doses, and the Texas Department of Public Safety, which will receive 1,000. </p><p>A full list of Travis County providers can be found <a href="https://dshs.texas.gov/news/updates/COVIDVaccineAllocation-Week13.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>. </p><div>Although these providers may have doses to administer next week, many are limiting their supply to existing patient waitlists or reaching out to eligible candidates directly. Seton, for example, is reviewing the medical records of existing primary care patients and contacting those who fall into the 1B category <a href="https://healthcare.ascension.org/COVID-19/vaccinations" target="_blank">to schedule appointments</a>. A list of providers with a waitlist can be found <a href="https://austonia.com/austin-vaccine-waitlists" target="_self">here</a>. </div><p>Some providers, however, are starting to anticipate widened eligibility criteria in light of DSHS' announcement earlier this week that school employees and childcare providers now qualify and as state officials mull over the next phase—1C, which will likely include essential workers. APH will debut a weekly School Saturdays vaccine event, targeted at educators who are already registered on the department's waitlist, and UT Health Austin is now encouraging anyone who is interested in receiving a vaccine to sign up <a href="https://redcap.dellmed.utexas.edu/surveys/?s=FNJMNYKH4N" target="_blank">here</a>, Chief Clinical Officer Amy Young wrote in an email to the University of Texas at Austin community on Friday.</p><p>With this latest allocation, Travis County will have received 309,055 initial or single doses. There are approximately 532,468 Travis County residents who qualify for a vaccine as a member of group 1A (healthcare workers and long-term care facility residents) or 1B (people 65 years or older and those with a medical condition) or as an educator or child care provider, according to DSHS data. This accounts for <a href="https://austonia.com/austin-vaccine-eligibility" target="_blank">more than half</a> of the estimated population 16 years of age or older. </p><p>As of Friday afternoon, 157,468 Travis County residents have received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine and 79,209 residents—or around 6.2% of the overall population—have received both doses, according to DSHS.</p><p>Texas will receive more than 1 million initial doses of the vaccine next week. DSHS will allocate 929,320 doses to 1,651 providers across the state, focusing n hub providers capable of widespread community distribution as well as smaller providers serving older adults. This represents a 37% increase compared to last week's allocation and includes 84,240 doses for large-scale FEMA vaccine clinics in Houston and North Texas.</p><p>The federal government will also provide more than 200,000 doses to pharmacy locations and <a href="https://www.hrsa.gov/coronavirus/health-center-program/participants" target="_blank">federally-qualified health centers</a> directly. Participating Texas pharmacies include CVS, H-E-B and Walmart. <a href="https://www.cvs.com/immunizations/covid-19-vaccine" target="_blank">CVS</a> and <a href="https://corporate.walmart.com/media-library/document/covid-19-vaccine-locations-walmart-and-sams-clubs-texas-2-9-21/_proxyDocument?id=00000177-87e1-d0dc-af7f-ffef5a230000" target="_blank">Walmart</a> do not currently list any Austin area stores with vaccine appointments. Participating H-E-B locations can be found <a href="https://vaccine.heb.com/scheduler" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p>DSHS will allocate 676,280 initial doses of the COVID vaccine to 522 providers across the state next week, focusing on hub providers capable of widespread community distribution as well as smaller providers serving older adults. This represents a 37% increase compared to last week's allocation and includes 110,240 doses for large-scale FEMA vaccine clinics in Houston and North Texas. In addition, Texas is ordering 457,000 second doses for people who received their first shot three to four weeks ago.</p><p>Johnson & Johnson's vaccine was found to be around 66% effective against moderate to severe symptoms 28 days after vaccination in a worldwide study. Although the two previously approved vaccines—from Pfizer and Moderna—are around 95% effective, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine offers significant advantages:</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li>It's easier to store and ship because it does not require refrigeration.</li><li>It only requires one shot, which means the same number of Johnson & Johnson doses can vaccine twice as many people as Pfizer or Moderna doses.</li><li>It has proven to be mostly effective against new strains of the disease, which emerged after clinic trials were conducted for Pfizer and Moderna's candidates. </li></ul><div></div><div>The Johnson & Johnson vaccine "is extremely effective at preventing severe disease, hospitalization and death—the goal with any vaccine—and only requires one dose," a DSHS spokesperson wrote in an email to Austonia <a href="https://austonia.com/jandj-vaccine" target="_blank">earlier this week</a>. </div>
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