Austin News

Austin Public Health has received its largest allocation of COVID-19 vaccination doses to date as part of a statewide program to pilot regional COVID-19 vaccine hubs.

Austin Public Health received 12,000 vaccines. This represents, however, less than 1% of the area’s population. Those doses will go to individuals who fall into the state’s Phase 1A and 1B criteria. This includes community health care workers; individuals living in long-term care facilities; Austin residents who are 65 and older; and those who have underlying health conditions that increase their risk.

When Austin Public Health receives the vaccine shipment this week, it will administer vaccines to those in Phase 1A, focusing on residents of long-term care facilities that are not enrolled in the federal pharmacy program. It will administer those vaccinations through a closed clinic.

Since October, Austin Public Health has worked to create a plan to distribute vaccines in underserved areas, along with a coalition of partners. It has worked to identify clinic locations to administer the vaccinations in the hardest hit communities and to find sites that are indoors, have a large seating area to monitor vaccine recipients, ample parking, connections to transit, and that can accommodate dozens of stations to administer the vaccine.

“While this pilot allocation is the largest given to us to date, it is important to note that it is still not nearly enough to cover everyone who will want the vaccine in our community,” Austin Public Health Director Stephanie Hayden said. “There is an estimated 200,000 residents without traditional health insurance over the age of 16 that may need to be vaccinated by a safety net provider, like Austin Public Health. We have a long road ahead, but we are excited to take the first step toward vaccinating those most vulnerable to this pandemic.”

 Austin Public Health will launch a COVID-19 vaccine registration system for area residents. The system will have the ability to contact individuals to encourage them to schedule an appointment if and when Austin Public Health is allocated additional vaccine. A phone line will also be available for those without internet access.