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Leslee Bassman
Leslee Bassman is a seasoned journalist and has made a career out of reporting on community issues in Austin and western Travis County. An attorney by trade, she transitioned into the newspaper business to keep citizens better informed about their local government and events.
Bassman is the recipient of two National Newspaper Association awards and authored a book, “The Rotary Club of Austin Celebrates One Hundred Years of Service Above Self.”
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Raji Parameswaran and Kendra Wright are two vaccine helpers, otherwise known as vaccine angels.
That necessity breeds invention is never more true than in today's world, with regular Joes and Janes inventing creative measures to help their neighbors navigate the state's COVID-19 vaccine distribution process. And the results have been nothing short of "heavenly."
<p>Tarrytown resident Barbara Ritchie placed her name on five different COVID-19 vaccine lists. She qualifies for phase 1B—older individuals and those with chronic health conditions—in the vaccine distribution effort as <a href="https://dshs.texas.gov/coronavirus/immunize/vaccine.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">designated by the Texas Department of State Health Services</a>. Group 1A consists of first responders and healthcare workers.</p><p>As with many other<a href="https://austonia.com/texas-fair-share-vaccine" target="_self"> Austinites seeking a vaccine within the state's inadequate supply</a>, Ritchie became frustrated searching for a time slot to get the vaccine, hitting "refresh" and "next" on websites for an hour and a half, with no luck. While on her community's Nextdoor site, she found someone who helped her get a vaccine jab earlier this month. But she noticed numerous Nextdoor members asking for help to navigate the vaccine application process while others offered advice, a system she called "disorganized" and "haphazard." Ritchie was determined to find a more efficient way. </p><p>"I thought, 'Here are people who need help and here are people who are willing to help, why not try to put together a list of (those) people?'" she said.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-height="825" data-rm-shortcode-id="c9361fc0914494eeb788e7eb3239ef3b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTY0MjI4Ni9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNzMwNzAxNX0.7iit_kJXEOEEvSAG7lnr9d3wxV43TG-PXsrXcV9EFOA/img.png?width=980" data-width="750" id="57172" type="lazy-image"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Barbara Ritchie coined the name "Scheduling Angels" after being helped by someone to schedule a vaccine appointment. (Barbara Ritchie)</small></p><p><br/></p><p>A former IT project manager, Ritchie coordinated a <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1YpPagv-9P-iJxhLc71c_eVeozALTADSCRQjd49nLrVQ/edit?fbclid=IwAR18nHmHpOOw8Z9oRuPmepMZ6_SacD9CXXuPQ-jyrziRQP3-Q4VYoY1aOoM#gid=0" target="_blank">database of contact information for community members</a> who needed assistance finding a vaccine appointment as well as those offering to help, focusing on West Austin and Travis County neighborhoods including Rollingwood, West Lake Hills, Lost Creek, Tarrytown, Pemberton Heights and Balcones. </p><p>"The woman who helped me, when she got the appointment, I said to her, 'You are such an angel,'" she recalled. "That's how I felt. I started calling (the helpers) Scheduling Angels. Now everybody calls them that."</p><p>On Feb. 5, Ritchie posted the list on Nextdoor, along with three simple rules for communication, nearly tripling the number of "angels" on the list in less than a week. This week, she has up to 40 angels on her list. </p><p>"Some of them have children at home and jobs, they have lives, but they still find time, even if it's one or two people, to help," she said of the group's volunteers. "They do it out of the goodness of their heart."</p><p>With the program up and running—Nextdoor/General/Update-SchedulingAngels—Ritchie receives about 100 emails per day. Although she's online to respond to questions and provide updates, she leaves the scheduling up to the "angels."</p><p>"Unfortunately, because there's so much more demand than there are people available to help, schedules are filling up fast," Ritchie said. "Still, it's clear that there's a need for this kind of help for people and, particularly, for people over 70 (years old) because they didn't grow up with technology."</p><p>As with Ritchie, Rosedale residents Jim Robinson, 74, and his wife, Lana Norwood, 68, were among many Austinites who are frustrated trying to find COVID-19 vaccine openings in Central Texas's limited supply.<br/><br/>The couple took to social media and one of several Nextdoor sites seeking help on access to a shot. The method proved successful, with Robinson hastily hopping on his computer once news of a vaccine clinic posted. Both have now received their vaccines.</p><p>"Because of (the) post, we were able to get to the computer quick enough to get a couple of appointments," Robinson said. "I've seen a block of appointments go within 20 or 30 minutes. If a post is 30 or 40 minutes old, you might as well forget it."</p><p><br/></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-height="1752" data-rm-shortcode-id="3a4c3d078178131185c0fdf858cfd19e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTY0MjMxOS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2NjA1NDM3Nn0.ygiX_eEiVqD7YMMVZy15L3AnrAhHAlPF-xJi8XoJTb0/img.png?width=980" data-width="3624" id="6094a" type="lazy-image"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption..." spellcheck="false"><a href="https://nextdoor.com/g/7frlwevii/" target="_blank">Nextdoor</a> has been outlet for vaccine news and helpers in the midst of a rocky rollout. </small></p><p><br/></p><p>South Austin resident Raji Parameswaran said she's voluntarily spent the past few weeks helping others get vaccine appointments. Her "clients" have ranged from a local college professor to a retired judge who performs drive-through wedding ceremonies. She established six 200-member WhatsApp groups to disseminate news of vaccine openings and created vaccine hub accounts for seniors, sometimes making appointments for them.</p><p>"This has become my day job," Parameswaran said. A consultant by trade, she said that work has fallen by the wayside in light of the 10-12 hours per day she spends helping others get access to what could be lifesaving measures.</p><p>After assisting her elderly mother and father get their vaccines, she spread word of her success to friends who had parents in town, inundating her with others also hoping to nab a spot. Parameswaran's calendar soon filled up—solely by word of mouth—and she enlisted a few "amazing" friends to join her team to help, Parameswaran said.</p><p>"They feel very alone, very scared and anxious," she said of the seniors she helps. "All of these people, they're just delightful people. Everyone has a story."</p><p>As the proprietor of <a href="https://www.saffire.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a company involved in ticketing concerts and large scale events</a> put on hold during the pandemic, Bee Cave's Kendra Wright turned to her software and organizational skills to create a COVID-19 <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1YpPagv-9P-iJxhLc71c_eVeozALTADSCRQjd49nLrVQ/edit#gid=0" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">vaccine resource spreadsheet</a> and <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfK-1kxGaEeiJ7_TwJaSs4HxdpXY72KpmxzaQ_aO4SPxlDz3Q/viewform?gxids=7628" target="_blank">1,000-person email list</a>. She updates those tools as she tracks changes in the distribution process. Like Parameswaran, she uses WhatsApp to communicate vaccine availability in real time.</p><p>"It's just one of the more rewarding things I've ever done in my life," Wright said. </p><p>After her parents, one of whom lives in an assisted living facility, received COVID-19 vaccines last month, Wright said she felt a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders and "wanted everyone to feel this feeling." Initially, she reached out to help seven acquaintances who qualified for the vaccine, researching the best route to find shots for them. Then she assisted 11 more applicants. Soon, she was texting with numerous vaccine groups at a time and currently has about 40 volunteers on board, none of whom Wright met prior to the endeavor. </p><p>"It just got so big so fast," Wright said. "It's gone viral and we've helped now thousands of people get vaccines."</p><p>She's instituted a "100 Club" within her network to acknowledge volunteers who have found at least 100 vaccines for individuals, adding that its membership includes "quite a few people."</p><p>Although the program began in the West Austin suburbs, through her volunteers, Wright has reached out to East Austin schools and churches to assist vulnerable communities. The most affected ZIP codes of COVID-19 have been <a href="https://austonia.com/inequities-in-austin-vaccine" target="_blank">on or straddle the east side of town</a>, and residents may lack a computer to access online registration systems or the time to do so.</p><p>"I'm trying to give people hope," Wright said. "I'm trying to help them sort out the complexities of finding a vaccine."</p>
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Tony Iglesias (middle) has been helping people stuck on the icy hillside in front of his home, including psychiatric nurse Logan Adams (left), who was then given a ride to the hospital by Jeff Carpenter (right).
As Central Texans grapple with freezing temperatures, some neighbors have been elevated to 'Snow Angel' status, taking life-saving measures to rescue total strangers from troubles caused by the winter storm.
Need a smile? Read on.
<p><strong>Nathan Burch and Charlotte Bryant </strong></p><p>With his four-wheel drive vehicle equipped with snow tires, Lakeway resident <a href="mailto:NCBurch91@gmail.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Nathan Burch</a> and his girlfriend Charlotte Bryant, drove carefully to Target in South Austin on Monday to replenish their food supply. While there, he overheard survival stories from shoppers, prompting Burch to post an offer to help others on various social media pages. Although he only expected a few people to reach out, within 30 minutes, he received more than 200 responses.</p><p>"It blew my mind how many people were without power," Burch said.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-height="878" data-rm-shortcode-id="341f83366f098ca653d0f22fdf935e4a" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTY2MTU1OS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY3MjM0NzM0Nn0.lxqcJ8bkaKib-x5Tf-so06Q83yRtDMy0OEe5gr9vKus/img.png?width=980" data-width="946" id="0cdde" type="lazy-image"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption..." spellcheck="false">Nathan Burch drops off food for a stranded resident in the Lakeway area Tuesday. (Nathan Burch)</small></p><p><br/></p><p>His efforts included a detoured, two-hour drive to take a stranded motorist across town; helping a caregiver deliver prescription medicine and food to her patients; transporting an elderly resident from her cold house; and driving a nurse from the Sweetwater community off Texas 71 to her job at St. David's North Austin Medical Center only to pick up another nurse at the same hospital and take her home after an extended shift. For Burch, these heroic measures have kept him up most of the night, getting home around 3:30 a.m. and rising at 7 a.m.</p><p>Despite being laid off from a boat charter company on Lake Travis, he declines payment.</p><p>"It feels good to be able to help people," Burch said. "I call it 'paying it forward.'"</p><p>A Hurricane Katrina survivor, he explained that he knows only too well about doing without during an emergency. </p><p>"I know what it's like to not have adequate transportation; I've been without power before," Burch said, choking through tears. "I've seen some people without things. I know what it's like to be stranded."</p><p><strong>Tony Iglesias</strong></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image image-crop-3x2">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-height="800" data-rm-shortcode-id="58bce2f2a7836703daa9644236d01e6f" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTY2MTU4Mi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY3ODA2NTYyN30.tLG19mKxBFgC5bCY_Ri28VaSzODVhwWGg62Sbakw-Dg/img.jpg?width=1200&coordinates=0%2C281%2C0%2C743&height=800" data-width="1200" id="985e3" type="lazy-image"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Tony Iglesias has helped many including a Lexus out of the icy hillside in front of his home. (Tony Iglesias)</small></p><p><br/></p><p>Westminster Glen resident Tony Iglesias said he's had a front-row seat to vehicles spinning out of control on the icy hillside in front of his home. One of those victims was a nurse at a psychiatric hospital in downtown Austin, trying to get to work to relieve his comrades who have been taking double shifts. Finding the nurse in his car, Iglesias invited him in and he became his guest for a couple of days until a truck could get him past I-35. </p><p>"I admire the commitment of the essential workers, what they would go through to try and get to where they could be of most good," Iglesias said.</p><p><strong>Sarah Gosztonyi</strong></p><p>And as Central Texas is no stranger to northern transplants, those neighbors who are used to combatting winter storms have stepped up to help. A native of Pennsylvania, Austin Lake Hills-resident Sarah Gosztonyi, said she's used to this type of winter weather that Austinites rarely experience. Using her four-wheel drive Porsche, she has pulled out stuck truck drivers from the snow and helped stranded residents get to safety.<br/><br/>"We're young, we're completely capable and we can drive in the snow, and we're not concerned about it," she said of herself and her two team members at Aura, the security technology company the trio founded. "So we just want to help everybody we can."</p><p><strong>Clint and Kat Turner</strong></p><p>Without power in their home, North Austinites Clint and Kat Turner spent the past few days driving, helping people needing groceries or gas, from Mueller up to Pflugerville. </p><p>"We figured if we could get around and go help, then we might as well instead of sitting in our cold house," Clint Turner said.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-height="1340" data-rm-shortcode-id="0903fa94805ca9ac4fec5a4070e3f85e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTY2MTYyNS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2NzgwNzE4NH0.Vi9p9Xn1lsKxcnIpGkCRF7TzkIgBgiD1gQ_E1LIqFAQ/img.png?width=980" data-width="1096" id="b295a" type="lazy-image"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Clint and Kat Turner buying groceries to donate. (Turners)</small></p><p><br/></p><p>In lieu of accepting money for their troubles, the couple asked for contributions to go toward buying groceries for <a href="https://helpinghandhome.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Helping Hand Home For Children</a>. Amassing about $1,000 to date, <a href="mailto:clint@awaylandco.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Clint </a>and Kat Turner shopped Wednesday to stock up the nonprofit's pantry before the next round of bad weather.</p><p><strong><span></span>Victoria Winburne and Lynn Brown</strong></p><p>The Homestead residents Victoria Winburne and Lynn Brown live on a wooded acre-and-a-half parcel. When they realized the grocery stores were out of firewood, they collected woodpiles from their property, creating bundles to help others keep warm and offering their tract up should residents have further need. Neighbors responded, rolling up wagons and carts to make use of the kindling, including young families new to the area.</p><p>"Here's the deal," said Winburne whose house also lacked power. "It's just a small thing but when you think about what extra you might have and who might benefit, it's not a hard leap to make. It's good to give. It's good for the person receiving and it's good for the person giving."</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image image-crop-custom">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-height="1617" data-rm-shortcode-id="5c33e96234c9892efd4fea377ae0d774" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTY2MTYxNC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NDg3Mzk5Mn0.8_hBqNFcAARISxlY-K1cZa43D8mOHpPLYlklIm078Nc/img.jpg?width=1504&coordinates=0%2C397%2C0%2C1&height=1617" data-width="1504" id="4d42e" type="lazy-image"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">(Victoria Winburne)</small></p><p><br/></p><p>Some of that firewood may have made its way to Kiki Long's western Travis County home she shares with her 72-year-old disabled mother, boyfriend and three small dogs. With the power out and no firewood left, Long took extreme measures into her own hands.</p><p>"We ended up burning our bed frame in the fireplace to keep warm," she said. </p><p>After Long posted that action on social media, local neighbors dropped off two bundles of firewood on her doorstep.</p><p>"It was really touching how random people I didn't even know reached out to me so quickly to bring us firewood so we didn't have to burn anymore furniture," she said.</p><p>As for the bed frame? "At this point, we're fine without it," Long said, adding the mattress is lying on a box spring on the floor. "Just to keep my mom and my dogs warm, I would have done more than that."</p><p><strong>Group 12:31</strong></p><p>Michael Dahlhauser created Facebook group "12:31" on Feb. 8, not too long before the winter storms hit. The effort—referencing bible scripture Mark 12:31, love your neighbor as yourself,"—is aimed at linking folks who need help with others who can provide that assistance within the Lake Travis community for small things such as putting together furniture or loading a moving truck.<br/></p><p>The timing was perfect.</p><p>"Who would have thought that would be put to the test the way it has been the last few days," Dahlhauser said of the group that includes motorists with trucks, chains and four wheel drives who are able to make deliveries, save stranded motorists, provide space heaters and firewood to others as well as lodging. "This is quite literally a community effort."</p><p>With the harsh weather, the site sprang into action, including Johnathan Paul Wojtewicz, a native-Austinite and former United States Marine who could put to use his extensive disaster training. Since the weekend, his assistance has ranged from providing a family, including a three-month-old baby, with firewood to taking a woman to the hospital after she fell on slick ice, fracturing her arm. And bringing her back home again when she was released.</p><p><span></span><strong>Strangers</strong></p><p>With the grocery stores packed, Lakeway resident Robert Ferguson drove his pickup truck yesterday to a Valero gas station off RM 620 for supplies. However, when he reached the register and swiped his credit card, the purchase was declined due to a fraud alert. The line of shoppers behind him soon started to grow as he tried the card again. The next thing Ferguson heard was a man in the back of the line calling out, "I've got it," paying his $42 tab.</p><p>Ferguson said he turned around and thanked the gentleman, telling him, 'God bless you.'</p><p>"It was just a surprisingly nice thing that somebody did," he said.</p><p>Similarly, Marianne Odhner, Cuernavaca resident, was worried about her ex-husband Mark Odhner, who lives nearby. A diabetic, he ran out of insulin on Monday. Travis County Emergency Services District No. 10, also known as the CE-Bar Fire Department, gave him a ride to the hospital emergency room for care but he still came home without the essential medicine. So, Odhner asked for help on her Nextdoor site. A neighbor in a nearby development offered up an extra vial and another resident drove the insulin over in a Jeep.</p><p>"Everyone's just being so kind," she said. "It makes you feel happy."</p>
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Central Texans line up at a drive-through clinic for COVID-19 vaccines at Kelly Athletic Stadium in Round Rock. (Bob Daemmrich)
Westlake-area resident Joan Skerry said she and her sister were excited to receive their first Moderna COVID-19 vaccines at a First Medical Response of Texas pop-up clinic on Jan. 2, held in the Dripping Springs Fire Department's parking lot. However, when their second shot deadline came and went last Saturday, Skerry feared the two would have to start the vaccine regimen anew.
<p>Due to a misunderstanding about saving part of their vaccine allotment for the second booster shot the vaccine process requires, First Medical <a href="https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/confusion-over-guidelines-delays-2nd-covid-19-vaccine-doses-for-1800-central-texans/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">used up all of its shipment on first vaccines </a>and didn't have any more doses left for the second round, co-owner Edwin Reyes told Austonia.</p><p><br/></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-height="1000" data-rm-shortcode-id="9cdc1eb3edc6d67024d8832d5610bd14" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTYwNDQ1Mi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2Njg5NjA2MH0.7QfdhRUJkTk7i6-4Kvn_Bo7hvrsd0jNTLOXZ94jXGzg/img.jpg?width=980" data-width="1500" id="578a9" type="lazy-image"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption..." spellcheck="false">Edwin Reyes, owner of First Medical Response in front of his operations trailer, last month. (Jordan Vonderhaar)</small></p><p><br/></p><p>Almost a week overdue, Skerry's sister managed to get a second vaccine elsewhere before Ascension Seton contacted her with a slot that she gave to Skerry. Both qualify as 1B recipients—consisting of older individuals and those with chronic health conditions—for the vaccine, the second phase in the distribution effort <a href="https://dshs.texas.gov/coronavirus/immunize/vaccine.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">designated by the Texas Department of State Health Services</a> after first responders and healthcare workers in group 1A. Skerry is 72 years old and her sister is 66 years old. </p><p>"I was so relieved when (Seton) called me that I started crying—not my usual behavior," Skerry said of the news that she would receive a booster shot. "So my story has a happy ending."</p><p>First Medical worked with government officials and state representatives to finally secure the 1,800 vaccines needed to provide those first vaccine recipients with their second vaccines, scheduling a clinic Friday for distribution, Reyes said. </p><p>However, some residents aren't so lucky and are still on the hunt for a second dose, including those who received an initial dose from clinics that were able to extract 11 doses from a vial allocated for 10 doses. There's no assurance they can take out extra doses to coordinate with those individuals who received the "extra" doses the first time. </p><p>Jeffrey Warnken, pharmacist and co-owner of <a href="https://www.38thstreetpharmacy.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">38th Street Pharmacy,</a> is one of those providers. He drafted a second dose waitlist that contains 25 to 30 individuals qualified under 1A or 1B as of Feb. 3.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-height="716" data-rm-shortcode-id="31d29f631a8659d878ee4317d9d38bf8" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTYwNDQ3My9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY3MzE3NzgyNX0.s5lpcG8dsEC33m0-amipFQsuKsRjQz6rdDgbrxbbeFk/img.png?width=980" data-width="970" id="89154" type="lazy-image"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Pharmacist/Co-owner Jeff Warnken (38th Street Pharmacy)</small></p><p><br/></p><p>Warnken said his pharmacy recently administered seven first doses to people with the understanding that they could not be assured of receiving a second dose from his facility. He thinks finding second doses will continue to be a problem until more vaccines become available. </p><p>"Instead of wasting it, it's better to give somebody a first dose with the possibility of not giving them their second dose because a half is better than zero," he said, adding that a single dose provides some immunity to the disease although the extent of that immunity is unknown. The protection from a single Moderna COVID-19 vaccine dose could range from 50% to 80% immunity after four weeks, Warnken said. </p><p>He's hopeful the pharmacy will get more vaccines in, especially with President Joe Biden's plan for the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/feds-send-covid-19-vaccines-pharmacies-a351bbc776eb3acd27dc3d951c4f4e81" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">federal government to distribute vaccines directly to retail pharmacies</a> like his facility.</p><p><a href="https://www.tarrytownpharmacy.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tarrytown Pharmacy</a>'s Pharmacist-in-Charge Rannon Ching also maintains a 1,300-name<a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSddFVwUelyl80zz-Ya5ZbIWmL3bUshLH0t9t2AScHeJqawwiw/viewform" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> second dose waitlist</a> for individuals looking for a Moderna booster. Because some individuals were able to find their first shot at independent locations, the opening of larger vaccine hubs have stranded those vaccinated by smaller sites that, as with Ching, haven't received additional doses in weeks.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-height="1944" data-rm-shortcode-id="59fb6b73dcb75de61843d3379dfb8277" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTYwNDQ3Ni9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxODA5Mzk2MH0.sqWm_LaGJT_leMkbHK5x5T0GAwU8rk1hbb4ivlwQUK4/img.jpg?width=980" data-width="1971" id="d7173" type="lazy-image"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Pharmacist-in-Charge Rannon Ching (Tarrytown Pharmacy)</small></p><p><br/></p><p>He said he views those who aren't matched with a second dose <a href="https://austonia.com/vaccine-frenzy" target="_self">fighting for that booster along with </a>everyone else in the fight for a vaccine.</p><p>"The good thing about second doses is, once you give them, that's it and you don't have to coordinate for another dose," Ching said. "Second doses lend themselves well to those extra doses we pull out of the vial because those aren't accounted for and won't be accounted for to get second doses four weeks later."</p><p>His waitlist also includes individuals who want to make sure they have a "backup plan" in case something happens to their designated second vaccine and recommended first vaccine recipients return to their initial provider for the booster. </p><p>Austinite Leslie Lindzey, who received her first dose of the Moderna vaccine on Jan. 14 at Austin ISD's Delco Activity Center, isn't sure if she should pursue other options for her second dose. As of Feb. 4, she hadn't received word on scheduling her booster.</p><p>Although the vaccine hub isn't giving out second doses to individuals who didn't have their first vaccine through <a href="https://covid19.austintexas.gov/s/?language=en_US" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Austin Public Health</a>, spokesperson Jen Samp said the department will be reaching out to first vaccine recipients for their second dose. As of Feb. 3, she said APH was waiting on news from DSHS regarding the second doses.</p><p>"We don't want to contact folks if we don't have the vaccine," Semp said about the second doses. "Once we secure the vaccine, we'll be contacting (them)."</p><p>On Jan. 21, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/info-by-product/clinical-considerations.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">updated its recommended interval </a>for the two Moderna vaccines to include the scheduling of a second dose to be administered up to 42 days following the first dose if it isn't feasible to be timed at its recommendation of 28 days.</p><p>"The 28 days is not a deadline," Samp said. "It is merely an expectation that you should wait at least that amount of time before you get your second one."</p>With the two-dose Moderna vaccine and similar Pfizer vaccine in distribution, pharmaceutical maker<a href="https://www.jnj.com/johnson-johnson-announces-submission-of-application-to-the-u-s-fda-for-emergency-use-authorization-of-its-investigational-single-shot-janssen-covid-19-vaccine-candidate" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> Johnson & Johnson submitted an application Thursday to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration requesting Emergency Use Authorization for a new single-dose COVID-19 vaccine</a>. The company stated in a news release that it expects to be able to ship that vaccine immediately after it is approved. Maybe that will end the two-dose conundrum?<p><br/></p><p><strong>More on the vaccine: </strong></p>
<h2><a href="https://austonia.com/austin-vaccine-tourism" target="_self">Austinites are willing to travel for a COVID-19 vaccine—but it's not that easy</a></h2>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTU5ODQ1MS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyODA4NjAwMn0.ty6pyTlcbSe0CGfMYqUZcYKRqvPbne7mjsajxoLObRA/img.jpg?width=980" id="4e8dc" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="01f69db31489ca75997afa225152a288" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Vaccines administered in Texas surpass total case count
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Vaccine frenzy: Surging waitlists, concert ticket-style protocols frustrate Austinites seeking shots
28 January
Zach Beyer administers the COVID-19 vaccine to Ed McMenemy as central Texans lined up at a drive-through clinic on Jan. 21. (Bob Daemmrich)
Austin health coach Jessica Clay has been trying to help an elderly friend find a COVID-19 vaccine—spending hours checking vaccine websites, logging in and refreshing the pages—in hopes that an appointment slot will open up.
<p>She said she's well aware that once portals open up for appointment slots—such as <a href="https://www.hillcountrymemorial.org/covid-19-updates/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hill Country Memorial Hospital's Jan. 25 noon registration portal</a>— they are full within minutes. With an appointment finally scheduled this week, Clay told her friend "she feels like she won the lottery."</p><p>Clay's experience with the area's COVID-19 vaccine frenzy isn't an isolated one. </p><p>The Texas Department of State Health Services has been in charge of <a href="https://dshs.texas.gov/coronavirus/immunize/vaccine.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">distributing the first phase</a> of vaccines that includes healthcare workers and nursing home residents in 1A, as well as the 65-and-older community and those with chronic or serious illnesses in 1B. The vaccines are sent to larger hubs, such as local public health departments, and smaller distributors such as pharmacies to inoculate qualifying individuals per state guidelines.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-height="1000" data-rm-shortcode-id="b680f111c9927df780cde4c64ccfcb76" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTU0Njg3MS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MzkzMTQ0OH0.5Uv-JtNOQsVOFDxMSOysjSHhpH4Cf1bBxbW9ZGIPQq4/img.jpg?width=980" data-width="1500" id="d327a" type="lazy-image"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption..." spellcheck="false">Medic DJ Longoria organizes medical supplies to administer the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to healthcare workers at the AISD Performing Arts Center on Jan. 14. (Jordan Vonderhaar)</small></p><p>And, that's where the fun begins.<br/></p><p>A <a href="https://www.haysinformed.com/" target="_blank">Hays County </a>spokesperson likened the<a href="https://hayscountytx.com/2021/01/22/covid-19-vaccine-appointments/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> distribution practice</a> to "trying to get concert tickets," with tens of thousands of people who think they qualify under 1B vying for a small number of available vaccine appointments. The county posted 1,950 appointments for each of the past three weeks and she said the online appointments for its Jan. 25 clinic filled up within 25 minutes of the portal's opening.</p><p>Travis County's vaccine hubs are coordinated by <a href="https://www.austintexas.gov/aph-vaccine-reg" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Austin Public Health</a> via its online or phone sign-up program. Per an APH spokesperson, with about 60,000-70,000 of the total 160,000 pre-registered individuals being 1A or 1B as of Jan. 18, the wait can be frustrating.</p><p>APH isn't the only game in town, with other smaller distributors catching the eye of individuals seeking pandemic protection.</p><p>Jeffrey Warnken, pharmacist and co-owner of <a href="https://www.38thstreetpharmacy.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">38th Street Pharmacy</a>, said his business vaccinated healthcare workers and a few 1B individuals with the 200 doses he received Dec. 28. Weeks before news of the pharmacy's first vaccination clinic was posted, residents began calling to get on its waitlist, with staff fielding 100-200 phone calls hourly before the list transitioned to online. </p><p>"We're still a pharmacy and we still have patients we have to take care of, getting their routine medicine," Warnken said. </p><p>With a 25,000-30,000-person waitlist that includes unvaccinated 1A individuals, he recommends qualified applicants put their name on every COVID-19 vaccine waitlist they can, including nearby counties. However, he cautioned that large vaccination hubs aren't for everyone, especially the elderly who may have to stand in line for hours waiting for a shot, with independent pharmacies, such as 38th Street, able to get vaccine recipients in and out within 25 minutes.</p><p>"We aren't all big like CVS and Walgreens, but we are capable and loyal to our patients, and ready to get this done," agreed pharmacist Dorinda Martin who, with husband Jim Martin, co-owns three <a href="https://martinswellness.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Martin's Compounding and Wellness pharmacies</a>. Two of those facilities have already distributed 200 doses of the vaccine to healthcare workers and long term care residents.</p><p>Martin said she expects to get second doses for those vaccine recipients next week "but there is no guarantee of anything" and they've been ordered for quite some time. As of Jan. 26, the group's waitlist had 25,000 names, and Martin said her emotions have run the gamut from excitement to frustration to impatience over the process.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-height="1600" data-rm-shortcode-id="c54c7c0b8c12b183fbbce2e25b8db89c" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTU0Njk4MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNjk1MzM2NH0.sEY4XCpByylnIvlYtmghkmYto7KU2OqpaJlGwLDHsbU/img.jpg?width=980" data-width="2400" id="99e77" type="lazy-image"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption..." spellcheck="false">Central Texans line up at a drive-through clinic for COVID-19 vaccines at Kelly Athletic Stadium in Round Rock. (Bob Daemmrich)</small></p><p><a href="https://www.tarrytownpharmacy.com/pages/covid-vaccine" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tarrytown Pharmacy</a> distributed the first and second rounds of the 500 doses it initially received Dec. 23, said Pharmacist-in-Charge Rannon Ching, with most of those vaccines going to healthcare workers, staff and nursing home residents. He said he squeezed out about 20 additional doses after drawing 11 doses from some vials instead of 10 doses, with those going to a few 1B individuals.<br/></p><p><a href="https://aurorx.com/" target="_blank">Auro Pharmacy</a> owner Sovit Bista said he received 100 doses during the first week of January but, as with Ching, was able to eke out another 10 doses from the vials, inoculating 110 nurses, dental staff and cancer or chronic disease patients. He's got a long way to go to whittle down his 3,000-plus vaccine pre-registration list and so does Ching, with a waitlist that's upwards of 40,000-50,000 individuals. </p><p>Mirroring Warnken's words, Ching said, "My advice to people is wherever you can get a shot, go get one."</p><p>Heeding that suggestion, West Austin resident Joan Skerry, who is over 65 years old, received a COVID-19 vaccine in early January from independent provider <a href="https://austonia.com/businesses-switch-industries" target="_self">First Medical Response</a> that was conducting a pop-up clinic stationed in the parking lot of the Dripping Springs Fire Department.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-height="1000" data-rm-shortcode-id="60bf440ab87a423da25eff6a70f2117f" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTU0Njc3OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNjMzMDg0N30.rxAr6oEHlefeCNV1dWRnyI5nxwF_bIUJtoDdMjhBPsQ/img.jpg?width=980" data-width="1500" id="31c0d" type="lazy-image"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption..." spellcheck="false">The First Medical Response Trailer in the parking lot of the Oak Hill Goodwill store on Jan 15. (Jordan Vonderhaar)</small></p><p><br/></p><p>Seventy-year-old Spicewood resident Carol Birsa may trek to Houston to get hers. Helped by daughter Jennifer Gabriel in Florida, Birsa is frustrated despite being listed on up to 20 vaccine pre-registration lists, measures that Gabriel calls "a dead end." Others are garnering support and information on social media sites including <a href="https://nextdoor.com/g/7frlwevii/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Nextdoor portals</a>.</p><p>"There doesn't seem to be one central source," Gabriel said. "You can't sign up with one place and they get to you on the list. There doesn't seem to be anything like that happening."</p><p>Providers, such as <a href="https://familyhospitalsystems.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Family Hospital Systems</a>, Williamson County's sole designated hub for COVID-19 distribution, said they are working to improve the process, especially when it comes to reining in unqualified applicants who can sometimes take doses that should belong to those in the priority distribution phases.</p><p>The group held 1A/1B vaccine clinics in Cedar Park and Georgetown earlier this month, administering an average total of about 3,300-3,500 shots daily for six days, Director of Communications Jen Stratton said. Family Hospital System's waitlist tops 100,000 names and she said folks showed up at the Cedar Park site at 8:30 p.m. requesting extra doses. She said she couldn't confirm or deny that non-appointment individuals received vaccines at the clinic and the group is employing measures to ensure that groups 1A and 1B are served first.</p><p>"Our goal at Family Hospital Systems, per directive of the Department of State Health Services, is to ensure that no vaccine doses get wasted," Stratton said. "We are doing the very best that we can with the supply that we are given." </p><p>Most distribution providers are optimistic the program will eventually improve.</p><p>"Take a step back, be patient and we will get as many people vaccinated as possible in the soonest time possible," a Hays County spokesperson said. "It's going to take time and it will evolve."</p>
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