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(Emma Freer)
Austin City Council Member Vanessa Fuentes, who represents District 2 in Southeast Austin, and Travis County Judge Andy Brown tour the Austin Region Infusion Center earlier this month.
The COVID-19 therapeutic infusion center in South Austin is expanding.
The pop-up center opened outside of the Montopolis CommUnity Care location on Jan. 6 with nine infusion chairs and monoclonal antibody treatments donated by area hospitals. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Monday that the center will now offer 33 infusion chairs, thanks to additional support provided by the Texas Division of Emergency Management.
<p>"These treatments are essential in our fight to keep hospitalizations down and save lives," Abbott said in a statement. </p><p>The <a href="https://austonia.com/austin-covid-antibodies" target="_blank">intravenous treatments</a> are administered to high-risk COVID-19 patients in the early stage of the disease in an effort to help neutralize the virus and prevent hospitalization. Patients must be referred by area physicians or contacted by Austin Public Health and CommUnity Care after receiving a positive test result at one of their sites. </p><p>Austin's three hospital systems—Ascension Seton, Baylor Scott & White Health and St. David's HealthCare—are referring eligible patients to the infusion center, according to a joint statement issued on Monday. </p><p>Since opening, the center has treated 279 patients, most of whom are 65 years of age or older, at a rate of around 26 per day. Austin-Travis County Interim Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott said Friday that the goal is to increase the daily capacity to as many as 75 patients.</p><p>The Montopolis center is administering the monoclonal antibody treatment Regeneron, one of two such medications that have received emergency use authorizations from the FDA. The other—from the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly—is also administered via IV. The entire treatment process takes about two-and-a-half hours, with an hour-long infusion plus time to check-in and monitoring afterward.</p><p>With wider treatment, the Austin area may start to see a meaningful reduction in the number of patients hospitalized with COVID. "You have to treat about 10 people to prevent one hospitalization," said Dr. Jack Bissett, an infectious disease specialist affiliated with Ascension Seton.</p><p>Although the moving average number of daily COVID hospital admissions in the Austin metro has fallen over the last two weeks, it remains squarely in the Stage 5 risk category—the highest according to Austin Public Health's risk-based guidelines. There are currently 26 low- and moderate-acuity COVID patients being treated at the alternate care site downtown, which is intended to relieve pressure on hospital ICUs.</p><p>Preliminary study data reveals that monoclonal antibody treatments are most effective in the few days after COVID symptoms present themselves, so experts recommend that patients seek out testing and medical care early, which could lead to referral. </p><p>"If you belong to a high-risk category, don't waste time," said Dr. Mezgebe Berhe, an infectious disease specialist and the principal investigator for a Regeneron trial conducted by Baylor Scott & White Research Institute.<br/></p>
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Amid the possibilities that Austin voters could reinstate the city's camping ban and the implementation of a statewide ban, Austin Mayor Steve Adler said the current plan is failing.
Austin City Council repealed the camping ban in 2019, after advocates said it criminalized homelessness. Adler told the Austin American-Statesman on Thursday that the approach "is not working," but added that going back to the previous ban also didn't address the city's homelessness issues.
<p>Save Austin Now, a local campaign led by Travis County GOP Chairman Matt Mackowiak, submitted more than 24,000 signatures to the city clerk's office on Tuesday in support of a petition to reinstate the camping ban. If validated, it will be included on the May 1 ballot, where Austin voted will determine the ban's fate.</p>
<p>The group previously attempted to get the same petition included on the Nov. 3 ballot, but the city clerk ruled their submissions were invalid due to duplicate signatures and other problems. </p>
<p>Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has been a vocal critic of the City Council's decision to overturn the camping ban, said he will soon announce a statewide plan to address homeslessness, including a ban on public camping, during a press conference on Thursday. </p>
<p>Abbott called Austin "the front door for the state of Texas" and said such a ban is important for the city's appeal to visitors. </p>
<p>Austin City Council overturned the city's ban on public sitting, panhandling, lying and camping in August 2019. Although a majority of council members and many advocates supported the decision, it prompted intense pushback. Local business owners, the Austin Police Association and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott criticized the decision,which they said risked public health and safety.</p>
<p>Council members revisited the issue in late 2019 and voted to limit where camping is allowed, banning it from sidewalks, near houses and homeless shelters, and outside of businesses during operating hours.</p>
<p>But the policy has maintained its lightning rod status.</p>
<p>Windsor Park resident and former Libertarian candidate for the Texas House Kevin Ludlow posted a video showing the homeless encampment behind his home <a href="https://austonia.com/austin-homeless-problem-camp" target="_self">last August</a>, where it was viewed tens of thousands of times. Although the city sent a crew to clean it up, Ludlow said it as only <a href="https://austonia.com/windsor-park-homeless-camp-returns" target="_self">a short-term fix</a>.</p><p>More recently, former Council Member Jimmy Flannigan, who supported overturning the camping ban, lost in a runoff to now-Council Member Mackenzie Kelly, who <a href="https://austonia.com/austin-city-council-runoff-results" target="_self">opposed the decision</a>. </p>
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Greg Casar in 2019. (Greg Casar/Facebook)
Greg Casar lobbied City Hall for the first time 10 years ago. Recently out of college and working as the policy director for the Workers Defense Project, a progressive advocacy group, he joined construction workers in a six-hour thirst strike on a hot day in late June. The next month, Austin City Council passed an ordinance requiring rest breaks at construction sites.
Despite this success and other workers' rights gains, Casar said he was disillusioned with the council's response. Former Mayor Lee Leffingwell wouldn't respond to meeting requests. Former council members told him, if he really cared about social justice and workers' rights, he should focus on the Texas Legislature rather than City Hall. "That attitude needed to change," he told Austonia during a recent interview.
<p>After a grassroots campaign fueled by volunteers and pizza, Casar was elected to his first city council term in 2014, serving on <a href="https://austonia.com/austin-strong-mayor" target="_self">the inaugural 10-1 council</a> and as the first-ever direct representative for Northeast Austin's District 4. Since then, he has gone from lobbying council as an outsider to advocating for Austin's working-class residents on the dais, where many consider him the most progressive member of the state's most liberal city council.</p><p>"It's not just about any one elected official," he said. "It's about really trying to shift the culture."</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-height="1366" data-rm-shortcode-id="bafa8a9207e7c494d1c4954ab84db3eb" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTUwNjI1Ny9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1Nzg2MjE1OX0.I4bOWam1jSfNAOOozAtGorYx-eKsgkzhgcajcHg0oog/img.jpg?width=980" data-width="2048" id="6440c" type="lazy-image"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Greg Casar campaigns for the District 4 seat on City Council in 2014. (Greg Casar/Facebook)</small></p><p><strong>Leading the charge</strong><br/></p><p>Casar, 31, was born in Houston to parents who had emigrated from Mexico. He was active in the immigration reform movement in 2006, carrying on that work while a student at the University of Virginia, where he <a href="https://www.c-ville.com/Living_Wagers_hopeful_new_administration_means_fair_wages/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">lobbied the administration</a> to implement a fair wage for all of its employees. He moved to Austin in 2010 to work for WDP. </p><p>Since joining Austin City Council as its youngest elected member, Casar has been the architect of many of its most progressive policies, which have often led to conflict with state officials and, sometimes, his own council colleagues. </p><p>Casar sponsored legislation to mandate paid sick leave, which passed in Austin but was thwarted by the state, and to overturn the city's public camping ban, which led to intense pushback from local business owners, residents, Gov. Greg Abbott and many of the candidates who ran for council last fall. He remains sanguine in the face of these outcomes. </p><p>"It's been really important to see Austin community members demand at Austin City Hall that we serve as an example of what progressive and good governance can look like," he said. "We're constantly hindered by the state … but that makes it all the more important to do the work two or three times harder. They can't preempt everything we do."</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-height="1056" data-rm-shortcode-id="f6eb247a7f06513c8dea7b230218f92f" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTUxMTU1NC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NDI4NDc0OX0.jFUz57xwDyljE6X-Zlxw1VDyt3yRenVCWQLvtCs7aBI/img.png?width=980" data-width="1592" id="cc727" type="lazy-image"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">(Greg Casar Campaign)</small></p><p>Casar knows how to build consensus. Amid a contentious, years-long effort to rewrite the city's land use code, he introduced the Affordability Unlocked program, which removes barriers to affordable housing throughout the city and received unanimous approval in 2019. He also crafted a plan to cut the Austin Police Department budget and set aside additional funds for further consideration in the wake of mass protests against police violence and racial injustice; council voted unanimously in favor of it last August.<br/></p><p>This was the cornerstone of Casar's argument for why he should serve as mayor pro tem, a largely ceremonial role that could be useful in a future race for mayor—or some other higher office. He announced his interest and the support of four of his colleagues last month. "Based on another contentious election cycle, it is clear that we must continue to advance our shared values—but the only way forward is to bring the whole community forward with us in new and different ways," he wrote on <a href="https://austincouncilforum.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1383" target="_blank">the City Council message board</a>. </p><p>The next week, however, Alison Alter announced she was also gunning for the role, arguing that it should be held by a woman given the council's current makeup: eight women and three men. In response, Casar said he would support a woman from the Eastern Crescent. Natasha Harper-Madison, who represents East Austin's District 1, threw her hat in the ring, and Casar seems poised to endorse her. </p><p><strong>Core values</strong> </p><p>From his perch on the left of the council's ideological spectrum, Casar may not seem like a natural consensus builder. But he emphasizes that most Austinites can agree on core values, even as they may disagree on specific legislation.</p><p>Take police reform and homelessness. </p><p>While campaigning last fall, Casar said most of his constituents could agree that the city needs to protect civil rights, reform policing to be less militaristic and keep Austinites safe. So he is focused on policies that meet these three requirements. "If someone's goal is faster 9-1-1 response, our shared strategy should be that our mental health responder program is launched quickly and effectively," he said, which would help supplement police resources and avoid the increasingly common occurrence of officers shooting people with severe mental illness.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<a href="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzM3NzE2Ny9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNDg4NzU2Mn0.l8H7_tj9aFGqAH67zQ8YoB-83WvIDuxMm9oCOh9lHVM/img.jpg?width=980" target="_blank"><img alt="huston tillotson protest" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e1d7dee95f9c1474f6c67147aa41dfe4" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="9cce0" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzM3NzE2Ny9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNDg4NzU2Mn0.l8H7_tj9aFGqAH67zQ8YoB-83WvIDuxMm9oCOh9lHVM/img.jpg?width=980"/></a>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Austinites participate in a Black Lives Matter protest last June. </small>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">
(Emma Freer/Austonia)
</small>
</p><p>Although Casar was reelected in a landslide, earning more than two-thirds of the vote in his district, other jurisdictions are less united. Jimmy Flannigan, who also championed police budget cuts and other reforms, lost in a runoff to District 6 Council Member Mackenzie Kelly, who was endorsed by the local police union.<br/></p><p>Still, Casar opposes the notion that recent council debates over policing were divisive. "I had tens of thousands of Austinites contact my office alone," he said. "In some ways, the city was more united than ever in calling for change."</p><p>Alter and Kathie Tovo voted against overturning the homeless camping ban, a move that Kelly also opposed, and many Austinites were dissatisfied with the council's response overall. But Casar believes most people can agree that investing in more permanent supportive housing will help get people off the streets. "We can have a collective goal of getting people housed, whether the concern is more the public aesthetics of the city, which is legitimate," he said. "Or the human crisis of someone living, and potentially dying, on the street." </p><p>With the police cuts approved, there are also dollars to be spent toward this purpose. "2021 has to be the year where we finally make really significant inroads on addressing homelessness," Casar said.</p><p><strong>On deck</strong> </p><p>So what's on Casar's agenda for his third term? </p><p>In addition to police reform and protecting civil rights, he is focused on the pandemic. Last year, the council approved more than <a href="https://app.powerbigov.us/view?r=eyJrIjoiYTkwOGZmYzItODEyNC00ZDA5LWE4YTMtZDFmN2NiNWQxYjU4IiwidCI6IjVjNWUxOWY2LWE2YWItNGI0NS1iMWQwLWJlNDYwOGE5YTY3ZiJ9" target="_blank">$128 million in economic relief</a> to residents, businesses and nonprofits. This included direct cash and rental assistance, including to residents who did not qualify for federal relief due to their immigration status, as well as eviction protections.</p><p>Now the challenges are different. As the one-year anniversary of Austin's first reported COVID-19 case nears, Casar is focused on ensuring there is back rent assistance for residents who may face eviction once the current protections expire and connecting those who are unemployed to jobs, including positions created by taxpayer-funded bond projects and Project Connect. </p><p>He is also working to lobby the state to allocate more vaccine supply to Austin Public Health, rather than to private clinics and pharmacies, a shift the Texas Department of State Health Services has since indicated it supports. "We need to have an equitable and mass vaccine distribution strategy," he said.</p><p>As business leaders and city insiders speculate about Casar's political future, he remains focused on his role as a council member.</p><p>"As the pandemic surged in the city, it became really clear to me that local government was going to be more important than ever," said Casar, who contemplated running for the Texas Senate seat vacated by Kirk Watson. "I didn't know back then that we would soon be in the largest protest movement in American history, with the Black Lives Matter marches over the summer, but I have never felt that this job was more worthwhile than it was in 2020, so I feel I made absolutely the right choice to stay." </p>
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'It feels surreal': Austin vaccine recipients feel relief, and guilt, as they get their shots
20 January
(Tom Madison)
Six weeks into the federal COVID-19 vaccine rollout, the number of Ausinites who have received a shot—or two—is growing, with recipients reporting immense relief and sharing happy selfies.
<p><span style="background-color: initial;">But it's not all smiles. As many encounter long waitlists, tech glitches and mixed messages in search of a shot, some who have received the vaccine feel guilty. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: initial;"></span>Austonia spoke to six individuals about their vaccine experience, including how they found their appointments, whether they experienced any side effects and how being vaccinated has affected their lives. </p><p><br/></p>
Carly Hatchell, 25
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTUwNzk1NC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MjE1ODcyM30.1Z8vDzZp-2FpKTXQAGAS4PE3Zmy5i7IGq5LBhTFQwvU/img.png?width=1200&coordinates=0%2C420%2C0%2C420&height=800" id="ec5ec" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="784f573e7e59226846176634e901f648" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1200" data-height="800" />(Carly Hatchell)
<p>Like most early vaccine recipients in Texas, Carly Hatchell is a frontline healthcare worker. As a psychiatric research associate at Dell Medical School and Dell Children's Medical Center, she received her shot from UT Health Austin, the medical school's clinical arm, which was the first provider in Travis County to receive doses from the state.</p><p>Hatchell received her first shot on Dec. 18, during the initial week of the rollout, and her second shot earlier this month. "I was very clear on my decision," she told Austonia. "Public health is a big interest to me. I actually served as a contact tracer earlier on in the pandemic."</p><p>Other than some soreness in her arm, she didn't experience any other side effects.<br></p><p>Hatchell described her vaccine experience as bittersweet, mostly because although she is now protected most people around her are not. "I have parents (in Houston) who are retired and older, and I know it's really difficult for them," she said. "I kind of wish I could share my dose with them."</p><p>Until most people are vaccinated, Hatchell is planning on operating as though she isn't. "I do feel confident that I am at less risk," she said. "But I haven't reduced my precautions just because we don't yet have the data (about long-term protections)."</p>Tom Madison, 43
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTUwODE0Ni9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0OTg4MTkzMX0.Iy6vqa1O2lVbX-0wE1pmCFn6zBYgxDUJfop9XNu60GM/img.jpg?width=980" id="6e343" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0c8732e6c36a94506fc53df3dd2ce2d7" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="480" data-height="600" /><p>Tom Madison is a lieutenant in the Austin Fire Department and the husband of Austin City Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison, who has lupus and is a breast cancer survivor, putting her at high risk of death from COVID.</p><p>Because of Madison's job, where he runs the risk of exposure on every shift, he moved out of <a href="https://austonia.com/austin-fire-coronavirus" target="_blank">his family's home in March</a>. Now that he has received both shots of the vaccine, he feels safer—but is still cautious. </p><p>"I'm still staying in the trailer next to the house," he said. "So we're still social distancing from one another because (Austin-Travis County Interim Health Authority) Dr. (Mark) Escott told my wife that we should do it until she gets vaccinated." </p><p>In the meantime, Madison has helped administer vaccines at the Delco Center, where Austin Public Health has hosted mass distribution events. "It was a huge operation," he said. "People waited in line for hours. When they go in there, they were so appreciative. It was nice to see."</p>Nancy Kahn, 64
<p>Nancy Kahn is a nurse who works for a very small company that wasn't able to provide her access to a vaccine. So she began searching for an appointment anywhere she could find one, including a pharmacy in New Braunfels that she heard had one vial—with 10 doses—for healthcare workers. After waiting on the phone for an hour, she snagged a spot at Austin Regional Clinic. "I got lucky," she said. </p><p>Kahn's husband falls in the 1B group as someone who is over 65 years old and who has had cancer twice. So far, she has enrolled him in three waitlists. "He's number 3,000 at one place. He's 600 at another place," she said. "At ARC, I don't know what number."</p><p>Still, Khan is optimistic. "I've got a sister in Arizona and a brother in Illinois," she said. "There's no talk of 1B (eligibility in those states). So it could be worse."</p>Stephanie E., 35
<p>Stephanie E., who works for a law enforcement agency with a no-media policy and asked that her last name not be used, was surprised when her employer offered her a vaccine because she has worked from home the entirety of the pandemic. "There was a lot of guilt," she said. "But I'm also 35 weeks pregnant now. It's not likely they were going to give my dose to a teacher or anything, so I went ahead and did it."</p><p>E.'s midwife and maternal-fetal medicine doctor told her they couldn't encourage or discourage her from getting vaccinated because of the limited data. But she wasn't concerned. "If Dr. Fauci gets it, then it seems safe," she said, adding that she feels better about her upcoming hospital stay—when she'll give birth—knowing that she has an extra layer of protection.</p><p>Now vaccinated, E. hasn't let down her guard. With three kids at home, including an 11-month old, she and her husband continue to be cautious, avoiding visits with even extended family. "They're going to meet two babies at once," she said.</p>Capri Conlon, 29
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTUwNzk2NC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2ODI3MTkyNH0.yLnRFz4NuS0DXcco02pQngPC-2cP_LW2N7oAWuset4Q/img.jpg?width=1200&coordinates=0%2C635%2C0%2C635&height=800" id="2c42c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d4c1cb0bcd2dd03ece42f6e712bcd37d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1200" data-height="800" /><p>Capri Conlin is a nurse practitioner for Dell Children's Hospital. Last month, her employer sent out a sign-up link to all eligible employees, but Conlin's name was accidentally left off of it. Luckily, it was a quick fix and she received her first shot on the same day as Hatchell, in mid-December. "There's finally a light at the end of the tunnel," she said after receiving her second shot. "It feels surreal." </p><p>Conlin's patients are children and most of them are immunocompromised. As a result, she has changed her way of life to ensure she doesn't put any of them at risk of contracting COVID-19. </p><p>"Getting the vaccine, it just felt like a big relief," she said. "I just know going into my patients' room I'm not putting them at risk anymore."</p>Lynne Wiesman, 61
<p>Wiesman is a professor at Austin Community College, where she teaches American sign language interpreting. Before the pandemic, she also worked often as an interpreter in area hospitals. </p><p>Although the state of Texas did not include interpreters in group 1A, a local agency successfully advocated for interpreters to be prioritized in Travis County because of their work on the front lines. </p><p>As a result, Wiesman was able to make an appointment to get vaccinated after someone shared the number for a triage nurse at ARC on a private FB page for interpreters. "I do anticipate going back to (work in) hospitals," she said. </p><p>But first Wiesman needs her second shot, which is scheduled for early February. "They've assured us (there will be enough doses)," she said. "That's the only thing that I have a slight concern about." </p><p>Wiesman opted out of taking a photo of herself having received the vaccine. She says she didn't want to rub it in the face of less privileged people who wish to be vaccinated. </p>From Your Site Articles
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