Do you qualify? APH debuts graphic showing vaccine eligibility

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to include a correction released by APH Feb. 2 that is not reflected in the graphic: "1B-qualified individuals can sign up for an appointment regardless of insurance status."

With a slow rollout process and waitlists that are chock-full, the COVID-19 vaccine distribution effort in Austin is nothing short of confusing. To alleviate confusion around which members of the community Austin Public Health is vaccinating, officials debuted a flow chart to tell you exactly where you are in the chain.

First and foremost, residents over the age of 65 qualify for the vaccine as-is. Those who are over the age of 50 and have an underlying medical condition qualify as well. The last group to qualify must be between the ages of 18-49, have an underlying medical condition and fall into a group that is disproportionately affected by COVID-19. 1B-qualified individuals can sign up for an appointment regardless of insurance status.

Groups that don't fall into those categories will be waitlisted. You can view a list of waitlists here.

With only 12,000 vaccines coming in each week, Austin Public Health Director Stephanie Hayden-Howard said it could take up to 16 weeks to get the first dose of vaccinations to the 188,825 people who are registered with APH and qualify for the vaccine. The other 343,514 people currently registered in the APH vaccination system will wait even longer unless the county begins receiving larger allocations of doses each week.

Hayden-Howard also said Austin Public Health has begun reaching out to people for their second dose of the vaccine. However, because the allocation of second doses is based on how many people received their vaccines within each county, Travis County residents who traveled outside of the jurisdiction to receive their first vaccination will not be eligible to receive their second vaccination through APH.

Residents who may have received their vaccination elsewhere will be asked to return to the same location for their second dose.

Home vaccinations will also be available later this month for seniors and those with disabilities.