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Gov. Greg Abbott hits pause on economic reopening as COVID-19 surges in Texas and Austin
As COVID-19 cases continue to hit all-time highs, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has paused and taken a step back on the reopening of the Texas economy.
Video by Ethan Hunt
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(Austin Regional Clinic)
Travis County's COVID-19 operations are playing catch-up on a week's worth of canceled vaccine appointments.
Austin Public Health's vaccine and testing appointments were halted for over 7 days due to the historic winter storm that swept over Texas. By the time operations resumed on Sunday, APH had 7,000 first doses and 7,500 second doses unused from the week of Feb. 7 as well as 12,000 second doses from Feb. 14 to catch up on; 3,300 patients had appointments canceled starting Feb. 13.
<p><br/></p><p>Luckily, Austin Public Health Director Stephanie Hayden-Howard said that no vaccine doses were lost during the weeklong winter storm even as locations lost power.</p><p>"In one of our locations the power and the backup generator went out," Hayden-Howard said. "Thank goodness to the EMS and Fire Department folks. They were able to pick up our staff and get us to where we were able to move all of our vaccines."</p><p>As the department looks to recover, APH has extended hours and days of operation for its current locations. APH is still prioritizing those looking to get second doses, although the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/faq.html" target="_blank">CDC</a> has recently said that second doses are still effective no matter the time in between vaccinations. </p><p>Normal operations at all of APH's sites resumed on Monday. Hayden-Howard said that APH will be able to complete 37,000 vaccinations this week. Those whose appointments were canceled will be contacted by email or phone to reschedule.</p><p>Hayden-Howard said she understands the week ahead will be difficult but that the department will make sure everyone receives their missed doses.</p><p>"We understand this week is going to be challenging because we are essentially folding in everyone from last week," Hayden-Howard said. I know we're always asking for patience, but we're just wanting folks to know that we will provide your vaccine to you."</p><p>Travis County Judge Andy Brown and three other area judges have teamed up to plan the Austin area's first-ever mass vaccination event this weekend. More information on the upcoming project can be found <a href="https://austonia.com/travis-county-vaccine-drive-thru" target="_self">here</a>.</p><p><span></span>The department has currently distributed 56,000 total COVID-19 vaccines.</p><p>Before the winter storm, many became frustrated that second doses were not being shipped into the county on schedule. The Texas Department of Health and Human Services has responded by stating it will automatically ship second doses four weeks after the first dose is distributed in order to ease scheduling issues. The state determines how many second doses will be given to APH.</p><p>Because of the weeklong interruption, the COVID data collected during the winter storm may not accurately reflect the community's actual state of emergency. As a result, the city will not change its risk-based guidelines from Stage 4 restrictions that were in place before the winter storm.</p><p>Hayden-Howard announced that a new <a href="https://centraltxvaccs.org/" target="_blank">website</a> has also been created for Central Texas vaccine information. The website was partially created by Travis County staff and will provide information on vaccination hubs, vaccine providers and volunteer opportunities.</p>
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Austin Water lifted the boil water notice for all customers midday Tuesday. The local utility submitted water quality testing to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which confirmed that tap water meets all regulatory standards and is safe for consumption.
Austin Water previously lifted the notice for four of its nine zones on Monday. The notice went into effect on Wednesday evening after a power outage at the Ullrich Water Plant and low pressure system-wide occurred after a series of historic winter storms swept over Texas.
<p>Over a hundred public water mains burst or broke, as well as "tens of thousands" of similar events on private property, such as residences and businesses, Director Greg Meszaros said during a Monday press conference. "There is still a lot to do to repair water pipelines that were damaged by the freezing weather, but customers should old experience occasional impacts from that work," he added in a statement on Tuesday. <br/></p><p>According to Austin Water, once the notice is lifted, residents should:</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li>Run all cold water faucets for one minute. </li><li>Flush automatic ice makers, make three batches of ice and discard. </li><li>Run water softeners through a regeneration cycle.</li></ul><div>Emergency outdoor water use restrictions remain in place to ensure that adequate water supply is available to customers. Until they are lifted, customers may not:</div><ul class="ee-ul"><li>Use water for irrigation or testing of irrigation equipment</li><li>Wash vehicles, including at commercial car wash facilities</li><li>Wash pavement or other surfaces</li><li>Add water to a pool or spa</li><li>Conduct foundation watering</li><li>Operate an ornamental fountain or pond </li></ul><div>Austin Water also reports that its entire system is <a href="https://austintexas.gov/article/operational-updates" target="_blank">back to normal operations</a>, which no zones experiencing low pressure or outages.</div>
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Travis County hosted a second pilot drive-thru vaccination event at the Precinct 4 constable's office on Feb. 6.
Nearly a year into the COVID-19 pandemic and eleven weeks into the vaccine rollout, Travis County is getting its first mass drive-thru vaccine event.
Travis County commissioners voted unanimously to set up the operation this weekend—which will focus on CommUnityCare's existing patient network, which is largely uninsured or underinsured, as well as regional school district staff who qualify as members of the 1B group—at their meeting on Tuesday. The effort is a collaboration between four Central Texas counties, including Bastrop, Caldwell and Hays.
<p>The event, which is still being planned and for which there is not yet a set date, aims to vaccinate 3,000 people from the four participating counties. It will be held at the Circuit of the Americas and will only be open to patients with appointments made after being contacted by CommUnityCare or the school distrcits. Commissioner Brigid Shea described the outreach process as: "Don't call us, we'll call you."</p><p>The effort is the result of a series of letters sent to state and federal agencies on Feb. 12, the Friday before a series of winter storms devastated Texas. Travis County Judge Andy Brown—along with his bipartisan counterparts in Bastrop, Caldwell and Hays counties, CommUnityCare President and CEO Jaeson Fournier and Ascension Seton President and CEO Andy Brown—requested 50,000 vaccine doses on a weekly basis to scale up administration efforts in the region.</p><p>"Our goal is to vaccinate at least 800,000 people from all across our area by July 1, 2021. That requires roughly 50,000 vaccines a week starting in early March," they wrote. "Grocery stores, health clinics, pharmacies, and other vaccination sites will be a necessary part of this work. However, they alone will not be sufficient." </p><p>In response, the Texas Department of State Health Services allocated 3,000 doses to Ascension Seton for the drive-thru event, which Brown sees "as a test run of ramping it up at a larger location with the hope that we'll get a lot more to do more." The COTA location is "optimal," he added, because of its "turnkey availability" and proximity to the surrounding counties. </p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CJ3tQRJn2Qa/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CJ3tQRJn2Qa/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank"> <div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style=" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;"> View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div></div></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div></a><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CJ3tQRJn2Qa/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Travis County Judge Andy Brown (@traviscojudge)</a><br/></div></blockquote> <script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script></div><p>The event will build on Travis County's previous pilot drive-thru clinics, which occurred on Jan. 9 and Feb. 6. The county, in partnership with CommUnity Care and Ascension Seton, vaccinated 641 people during the first event, exceeding their goal of 600 because the pharmacy team was able to draw extra doses. The second event, which provided second doses, served 660 people. Over the course of the two events, Travis County was able to shorten the average time spent—from entering the drive-thru line to leaving after observation—from 46 minutes to 19 minutes. "It was an incredibly successful effort in terms of efficiency and safety," Brown said.<br/></p><p>With this event approved by commissioners, county staff are working on planning. "We are working feverishly at this point to make this a success," Travis County Emergency Services Executive Chuck Brotherton said.</p>
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