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I'M GOING TO HAND IT OFF TO JUDGE BROWN.
AND THANKS FOR WRITING US TO, TO BE PART OF YOUR MEETING THIS MORNING.
UM, WE'RE CALLING THE CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL CALLED MEETING FOR THE COVID BRIEFING TO ORDER MEANING BEING HANDLED, UH, UH, UH, REMOTELY.
AND BY WAY COLLEAGUES, I PUT THE, ON THE MESSAGE BOARD, THE RULES THAT ANDY HAD PUT FOR THE COMMISSIONER'S REPORT JUST BASICALLY COPIED THEM OVER.
SO I THINK EVERYBODY'S SEEN THAT.
THE ONE THING I DID NOT MENTION IS THAT IT'S THE CUSTOMARY PRACTICE OF THE COURT TO TAKE COMMENT EVEN ON DISCUSSION ITEMS. SO THAT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THAT'S HOW WE'LL BEGIN THIS MORNING.
UH, JUDGE, I TURNED THE MEETING BACK OVER TO YOU.
AND THANKS EVERYONE FOR BEING HERE TODAY.
IT'S REALLY GREAT THAT OUR TWO GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES ARE COMING TOGETHER.
EVEN IF IT'S UNDER THESE, UH, TRYING CIRCUMSTANCES, UH, WHETHER YOU LIVE IN LAKEWOOD, PFLUGERVILLE, LAGO VISTA MAIN, OR SUNSET VALLEY, CREEDMORE, ALBURY BRIARCLIFFE OR AUSTIN, UH, THE VIRUS IS IMPACTING ALL OF US.
IT IMPACTS OUR FAMILIES, OUR FRIENDS, OUR COLLEAGUES, OUR LOCAL BUSINESSES, AND IT'S OUR DUTY AS PUBLIC SERVANTS TO, TO WORK TOGETHER.
SO I'M GLAD TO BE HERE WITH OUR FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES, MAYOR ADLER, AND THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL AND THE COMMISSIONERS GOMEZ, SHADE TREVELYAN AND HOWARD, OUR TASK AT HAND COULD NOT BE MORE IMPORTANT.
WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND WE CAN SAVE LIVES BY WORKING WELL TOGETHER.
UM, SO WE'RE GOING TO GO TO THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD.
NATE, DO YOU, DO WE HAVE ANY CALLERS OR ON THE LINE JUDGE, WE ARE CURRENTLY SCREENING ONE CALLER TO DETERMINE WHICH ITEM THEY'RE CALLING IN ON.
I ASSUME IT IS THIS ITEM, BUT WE ARE STILL CONFIRMING.
SO WHILE NATE, THE SCREENING THAT I'LL JUST LAY OUT KIND OF THE ORDER OF THE MEETING THAT WE'RE WE'RE, WE'RE OPERATING UNDER.
SO TO ENSURE THE EFFICIENT USE OF DR.
S SCOTT AND DIRECTOR HAYDEN'S TIME, AND TO MANAGE THE LENGTH OF THE BRIEFING, WE NEED TO LIMIT OURSELVES TO ONE QUESTION IN THE ORDER BELOW, AND I'LL BASICALLY CALL THE ORDER FOR THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT.
AND THEN THE MAYOR WOULD DO THE SAME FOR THE CITY COUNCIL.
AND THEN IF TIME PERMITS, WE COULD HAVE A SECOND ROUND OF QUESTIONS, BUT THE BASIC PART IS LET'S EACH ASK ONE QUESTION, UH, LET, LET, UH, DR.
SCOTT AND DIRECTOR HAYDEN RESPOND AS THEY SEE FIT, AND THEN, SO THAT EVERYBODY GETS AN EQUAL CHANCE TO SPEAK TODAY.
SO WE'RE GOING TO GO WE'LL, WE'LL DO THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT FIRST BY, UH, AND THEN, THEN THE COUNTY JUDGE, AND THEN IT WOULD BE THE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS AND THEN THE MIRROR.
AND THEN WE WOULD CLOSE THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING BY THE MAYOR, AND THEN I WILL CLOSE IT BY, UH, FOR THE COUNTY.
UH, NATE IS THAT COLOR SCREEN, JUDGE.
WE HAVE SCREENED THE COLOR AND THEY'RE NOT CALLING ABOUT THIS ITEM.
THEY'LL CALL BACK IN, IN THIS NEXT SESSION.
SO THE FIRST BRIEFING, SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE THE TWO BRIEFINGS, LET THEM GIVE THEIR BRIEFING, AND THEN WE'LL GO TO THE QUESTIONS AND THE, YOU KNOW, THE FIRST QUESTION, I GUESS, BASED ON OUR ORDER WOULD BE COMMISSIONER GOMEZ, JUDGE, IF I MAY, SIR, I JUST WANTED TO LET EVERYBODY KNOW I'M HAVING TO JUMP OFF THIS MEETING AT 10 O'CLOCK.
UM, SO I WON'T ANY QUESTIONS THAT I MIGHT'VE HAD, I'LL ASK, UM, SEPARATELY FROM TODAY AND THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE.
THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER POOL.
S SCOTT, IF YOU ARE ALL SET, LET'S GO AHEAD AND HEAR YOUR BRIEFING.
I'M GOING TO SHARE MY SCREEN AND I HOPE THAT YOU ALL HAVE RECEIVED MY SLIDES IN ADVANCE AGAIN.
UH, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS BOTH COMMISSIONER'S COURT AND CITY COUNCIL, UH, ON THIS COVID 19 UPDATE.
UH, WHAT I'M SHOWING YOU HERE, UH, IS THE UPDATE ON OUR NEW CONFIRMED CASES IN TRAVIS COUNTY.
UH, YESTERDAY REPORT IS 686 NEW CASES WITH A MOVING AVERAGE OF 663.
THAT'S A 60% INCREASE, UH, SINCE A MONTH AGO ON DECEMBER THE 18TH.
UM, OUR RECORD HIGH NEW CASES MOVING AVERAGE WAS ON SUNDAY AT 701 THAT I'LL TALK MORE ABOUT THE POSITIVITY AND, AND WHAT THE, THIS WEEK IS LIKELY TO BRING IN A FEW MORE SLIDES.
UH, THIS SLIDE IS SHOWING AN UPDATE OF THE NEW ADMISSIONS TO THE HOSPITAL.
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KEY INDICATOR, UH, FOR OUR, OUR, UH, RISK-BASED STAGING.UH, THE ADMISSIONS YESTERDAY WAS 78 IS A MOVING AVERAGE OF 88.
THAT'S A 76% INCREASE SINCE LAST MONTH.
UH, I'M HAPPY TO SAY THAT WE HIT OUR PEAK NINE DAYS AGO.
UH, SINCE THEN WE'VE SEEN SOME OSCILLATIONS BETWEEN ABOUT 83 AND 88.
UH, SO AGAIN, THIS IS A, A GOOD SIGN.
IT'S NOT GOING DOWN YET, BUT IT'S AT LEAST FLAT, UH, WHICH I THINK INDICATES THAT, THAT OUR, OUR COMMUNITY IS RESPONDING.
THEY ARE ACTING IN A MORE PROTECTIVE WAY AND THAT WE ARE DECREASING TRANSMISSION, UH, SUCH THAT WE'RE AT LEAST FLAT AT THIS STAGE IN TERMS OF THOSE NEW ADMISSIONS.
THIS GRAPH IS SHOWING THREE THINGS.
IT'S THE BLUE IS THE HOSPITALIZATION.
SO TOTAL HOSPITAL BEDS BEING UTILIZED FOR COVID-19.
THE ORANGE ARE ICU BEDS AND THE GRAY ARE THE VENTILATORS BEING UTILIZED.
UH, YESTERDAY WE REPORTED 602, UH, HOSPITALIZATIONS WITH A MOVING AVERAGE OF 602, UH, THAT INCLUDED 10 INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE LOCATED IN OUR ALTERNATE CARE SITE AT THE AUSTIN CONVENTION CENTER.
UM, THAT MOVING AVERAGE OF HOSPITALIZATIONS IS A, IS A RECORD HIGH.
UH, AND WE ARE, UH, 97% ABOVE WHERE WE WERE A MONTH AGO IN TERMS OF HOSPITALIZATIONS NOW.
BUT AGAIN, IT'S STARTING TO FLATTEN OUT A BIT IN TERMS OF TOTAL HOSPITAL BEDS BEING UTILIZED, THE ICU NUMBERS YESTERDAY, ONE 76 WITH A MOVING AVERAGE OF ONE 83, THAT'S UP 101%, UH, IN THE LAST MONTH.
UH, AND WE REACHED OUR RECORD HIGH AND THE MOVING AVERAGE ON SATURDAY.
UH, SO AGAIN, IT'S NOT GOING UP.
IT'S, IT'S FLATTENING OUT OF BED, WHICH IS A GOOD SIGN AS WELL.
OUR VENTILATOR USE ONE OH SIX YESTERDAY WITH A MOVING AVERAGE OF 104.
THAT'S AN INCREASE OF 112% FROM A MONTH AGO.
AND AGAIN, THAT MEASURE ALSO APPEARS TO BE FLATTENING OUT SIGNIFICANTLY.
NO, WE LOOK AT THE JURISDICTIONS IMPACTED THAT.
SO THOSE THAT ARE ABOVE THE 15, NOT PERCENT FOR SEVEN CONSECUTIVE VEGAS IN TERMS OF HOSPITALIZATIONS FOR COVID-19, UH, THESE JURISDICTIONS ARE AROUND THE STATE OF TEXAS ARE, ARE STILL IMPACTED.
WHAT WE'RE SEEING THOUGH IN, IN MANY OF THE METRO JURISDICTIONS IS SOME FLATTENING OF, OF THE, UH, THE INCREASE AND OUR LOCALLY, THE TOTAL HOSPITAL BEDS BEING UTILIZED HAS BEEN RELATIVELY FLAT AROUND 16 TO 16 AND A HALF PERCENT OVER THE PAST SEVERAL DAYS.
OTHER JURISDICTION, METRO JURISDICTIONS ARE SIMILAR.
UH, SO AGAIN, THERE, IT APPEARS THAT THERE'S A SLOWING STATEWIDE, UH, WHICH MAY PUT US IN A BETTER SITUATION AGAIN, UH, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE TOTAL NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS HOSPITALIZED FOR COVID IN OUR TRAUMA SERVICE AREA, TSA, OH, IT'S ABOUT 22% OF ALL THE HOSPITALIZATIONS ARE FOR COVID-19 RIGHT NOW.
UH, BUT AGAIN, THAT, THAT NUMBER HAS BEEN STABLE AS WELL.
UH, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE IMPACT ON A PROJECTIONS FROM THE UT MODELING CONSORTIUM, WE CAN SEE THAT THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT FLATTENING OFF OF THE PROJECTIONS FOR THE ADMISSIONS TO THE HOSPITAL.
SO AGAIN, UH, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, THIS IS VARIABLE.
THIS IS BASED UPON, UH, THE ADMISSIONS AS WELL AS MOBILITY DATA.
UH, LAST WEEK WHEN I RECORDED THIS, WE WERE POINTED IN A SIGNIFICANT UPWARD DIRECTION AND A INDICATION OF, UH, POTENTIAL FOR RAPID INCREASE IN ADMISSIONS TO HOSPITAL BECAUSE OF THIS FLATTENING THAT WE'VE BEEN SEEING IN TERMS OF ADMISSIONS, THE PROJECTIONS GOING FORWARD TO THE MIDDLE OF FEBRUARY ARE FLAT.
AGAIN, THEY'RE NOT GOING DOWN SIGNIFICANTLY AND QUICKLY, UH, BUT THIS INDICATES TO US, IF WE CONTINUE THOSE PROTECH PROTECTIONS, IF WE CONTINUE TO, UH, STAY HOME WHEN WE CAN TO WORK VIRTUALLY, IF WE CAN, IF WE CHOOSE TO GO OUT TO WEAR A MASK DISTANCE, PAY, CLOSE ATTENTION TO OUR, OUR HAND HYGIENE.
SO WASHING OUR HANDS FREQUENTLY, WE CAN PUSH THIS DOWN EVEN FURTHER, LIKE WITHIN THE SUMMER, AND HOPEFULLY PUT US IN A BETTER SITUATION IN TERMS OF THE ABILITY TO, UH, EASE THOSE RESTRICTIONS AS WE MOVE DOWN IN, IN STAGING, NO INDICATION RIGHT NOW, AT LEAST IN THE MIDDLE OF FEBRUARY THAT WE'RE GOING AND TO BE GETTING OUT OF STAGE FIVE.
BUT AGAIN, THAT COULD CHANGE IF, IF THOSE PROTECTIVE MEASURES CONTINUE AND ARE ENHANCED, WE SEE A SIMILAR PATTERN FOR THE HOSPITALIZATION.
SO THE TOTAL HOSPITAL BEDS BEING UTILIZED, UH, AGAIN, UH, THIS PROJECTION JUST SHOWS A SLIGHT INCREASE OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS LEADING INTO FEBRUARY AND THE, AND SOME FLATTENING.
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MUCH BETTER CIRCUMSTANCE NOW THAN JUST A WEEK AGO, IN TERMS OF THE PROJECTIONS WE SEE SIMILAR THE PROJECTIONS FOR, FOR ICU CARE AGAIN, UH, GETTING CLOSE TO THAT 200 MARK AND THEN RIDING THAT 200 LEVEL, UH, THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF DAY, FEBRUARY.SO AGAIN, A BETTER NEWS THAN I HAD LAST WEEK, UH, BUT SIMILAR TO THE OTHER PROTECT, UH, THE OTHER PROJECTIONS THAT I PROVIDED YOU, UH, OF THE PAST 11 MONTHS, THIS IS DEPENDENT UPON US AS A COMMUNITY, CONTINUING THE PROTECTIVE ACTIONS THAT ARE RESULTING IN THIS DECREASING, UM, IN HOSPITALIZATIONS.
THIS WAS A UPDATE OF OUR GRAPH OF HOSPITALIZATIONS BASED ON AGE GROUP.
UH, YOU CAN SEE FROM THIS GRAPH THAT WE'VE SEEN SOME INCREASES IN OUR 60 TO 69 AND 70 TO 79 AGE GROUP.
NOW WE HAVE SEEN A DECREASE IN OUR 80 PLUS AGE GROUP, UM, AND A SLIGHT INCREASE IN OUR 10 TO 19 AGE GROUP, WHICH IS THE THIRD LINE FROM BOTTOM, THE GRAY LINE.
UH, AGAIN, TOWARDS THE BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE IMPACT OF NUMBERS OF INDIVIDUALS HOSPITALIZED, AS WHAT WE'RE SAYING HERE, UH, OVERALL, YOU CAN SEE LAST WEEK, WE HAD A SLIGHT DECREASE IN TOTAL HOSPITALIZATIONS MOVING FROM 545 TO 537, A SLIGHT DECREASE IN THE 80 PLUS AGE GROUP IN TERMS OF HOSPITALIZATIONS, UH, BUT SLIGHT INCREASES IN TERMS OF THE 60 TO 69 AND 70 TO 79 AGE GROUPS.
YOU CAN SEE THAT WE CONTINUE TO HAVE A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS, UH, IN THE 20 TO 29 AGE GROUP AND 10 TO 19 AGE BETWEEN THEM 43 ADMISSIONS TO THE HOSPITAL.
YEAH, AGAIN, THIS TELLS US THAT THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT DISEASE TRANSMISSION IN THOSE AGE GROUPS IN ORDER TO LEAD TO VOLUME OF, OF, UH, OF HOSPITALIZATION.
UH, SO AGAIN, THIS IS WHILE WE'RE REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT PROTECTING OUR OLDER AGE GROUPS THAT SIT THOSE 60 PLUS INDIVIDUALS, THIS DISEASE CAN STILL IMPACT YOUNGER PEOPLE.
AND, UH, AND WE ALL NEED TO BE CAREFUL AND, AND ENSURE THAT WE'RE TEACHING OUR CHILDREN, ENSURING THAT OUR CHILDREN ARE, ARE FOLLOWING THOSE, THOSE PROTECTIONS AS WELL.
THIS GRAPH IS SHOWING THE HOSPITALIZATIONS, UH, WEEK OVER WEEK BASED ON RACE AND ETHNICITY.
UM, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE, UH, THE WHITE NON-HISPANIC GROUP, THIS IS THE, UH, THE BLUE LINE AT THE TOP, AND THAT REPRESENTS 47% OF THE ADMISSIONS TO THE HOSPITAL LAST WEEK, A 38.2% IN OUR LATIN X COMMUNITY, THE GREEN LINE, THE GRAY LINE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SCREEN, OUR AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY 10.7%.
NOW, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE NUMBERS OF INDIVIDUALS IN EACH AGE GROUP OR ANYTHING, UH, RACE AND ETHNICITY, WE SEE THERE HAS BEEN A DECREASE SINCE LAST WEEK IN OUR LATIN X COMMUNITY, ONE 95 TO ONE 82, UH, INCREASE IN OUR WHITE NON-HISPANIC FROM TWO OH EIGHT TO TWO 24, A SLIGHT DECREASE IN OUR AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY, 59 TO 51, AND RELATIVELY STEADY IN OUR ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY 16 LAST WEEK, OR SORRY, 16 FROM TWO WEEKS IN 14 FOR LAST WEEK.
UH, SO ABOUT THIS IS, THIS IS A SLIDE THAT MAKES ME VERY HAPPY.
UH, AND, AND WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT HERE IS OUR, OUR PERCENT POSITIVITY WEEK OVER WEEK, UH, FOR THE LAST 12 WEEKS OR SO, UH, ONE THING I WANT TO MENTION ABOUT THIS DATA IS YOU CAN SEE THAT THE POSITIVE ACTIVITY RATES FOR MOST WEEKS HAVE DROPPED SLIGHTLY.
NOW, THIS IS BECAUSE THIS DATA RELIES ON TESTING FEEDS FROM, UH, PARTICULAR TESTING ENTITIES.
WE ADDED ANOTHER ONE LAST WEEK, WHICH ADDED 75,000 TESTS SINCE MAY THE FIRST.
UH, SO YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE HAS BEEN A DROP IN THE OVERALL POSITIVITY AS A RESULT OF THAT ADDITIONAL DATA DOUBLE.
WHAT WE SEE IS THAT THE, UH, THE DATA PRESENTED LAST WEEK, 16.2% HAS DROPPED TO 12.8% FOR LAST WEEK.
AND THIS IS WITH MORE THAN 20,000 TEST RESULTS IN ALREADY FOR LAST WEEK.
UH, SO THIS IS A CERTAINLY A POSITIVE INDICATION THAT THINGS MAY BE SLOWING SIGNIFICANTLY.
UH, AGAIN, WE HAVE TO CONTINUE THIS PUSH A WHILE 12.8% IS, IS BETTER, BETTER THAN LAST WEEK.
WE WANT TO GET IT BELOW 5% AND PARTICULARLY BELOW 3%.
SO WE HAVE MORE WORK TO DO, UH, BUT THE WORK THAT FOLKS ARE DOING, THE SACRIFICES THAT, THAT PEOPLE ARE MAKING THE CHOICE TO DO VIRTUAL EDUCATION, UH, VIRTUAL WORK IS PAYING OFF.
AND, UH, AGAIN, WE HOPE TO SEE THAT CONTINUE TO THE FOLLOWING.
WE'RE LOOKING AT THE IMPACT OF POSITIVITY ACROSS RACES
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AND ETHNICITIES, UH, THAT IS THIS GRAPH.UH, AGAIN, WE SEE SIGNIFICANT DECREASES IN MANY OF THE RACES AND ETHNICITIES THAT I'M SHOWING YOU OUR LATIN X COMMUNITY AND THE GRAY BAR IN THE MIDDLE OF THE, OF THE, UH, OF THE CLUSTER IS 19.7% LAST WEEK.
UH, SO A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE THERE, OUR AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY THAT 12.3% ALSO SIGNIFICANT DECREASE.
THE GREEN BAR IS OUR, UH, AMERICAN INDIAN, ALASKA NATIVE THAT GROUP HAD A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE TO 16.1%, UH, OUR ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY 8.9% AND ARE WHITE NON-HISPANIC 10.4%.
UH, SO AGAIN, UH, CERTAINLY A BETTER PICTURE FOR MANY OF OUR COMMUNITIES OF COLOR, UH, FOR THE DATA LAST WEEK, WE STILL HAVE A LONG WAYS TO GO TO PUSH IT BELOW THE RED DOTTED LINE OF THE GREEN DOTTED LINE, REPRESENTING 5% AND 3% MARK, LET ME LOOK IT UP POSITIVITY BASED ON AGE GROUP.
UH, AGAIN, WE CAN SEE THAT THERE HAS BEEN DECREASES ACROSS THE BOARD IN TERMS OF, OF THE POSITIVITY.
UNFORTUNATELY, UH, THE POSITIVITY IS HIGHEST AMONGST THOSE THAT ARE MOST LIKELY TO NOT BE SEVERELY IMPACTED FROM COVID-19.
SO WE CAN SEE THAT OUR 80 PLUS AGE GROUP, UH, IS LEADING POSITIVITY, 16% ARE 70 TO 79 AGE GROUP, 15.6%.
UM, SO AGAIN, UH, EVERY AGE GROUP OVER THE OVER 40 NOW IS OUTPACING THE COMMUNITY POSITIVITY.
SO AGAIN, WE'VE GOT MORE WORK TO DO, AND THIS IS A REMINDER THAT, THAT WE ALL, AS A COMMUNITY HAVE A DUTY TO PROTECT THOSE WHO ARE OLDER IN, IN, UH, IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND THAT MEANS IF YOU'RE GOING TO VISIT OR INTERACT WITH INDIVIDUALS, PARTICULARLY OVER THE AGE OF 60, YOU NEED TO ENSURE THAT YOU ARE USING DISTANCE.
YOU ARE MASKING, YOU'RE WASHING YOUR HANDS AND YOU'RE AWARDING A RISK FOR EXPOSURE YOURSELF.
OKAY, WELL, WE LOOK AT THE, UH, THE POSITIVITY AMONGST OUR SCHOOL AGE, UH, INDIVIDUALS, WE CAN SEE THAT THERE HAS BEEN A SIGNIFICANT DROP AND THE POSITIVITY RATES.
SO HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, UH, HIGH SCHOOL AGE STUDENTS, 17.9% MIDDLE SCHOOL, 15.6% ELEMENTARY, 11.7% IN PRESCHOOL, UH, 12%.
AGAIN, THIS IS POSITIVITY AMONGST THOSE TESTED.
UH, SO THIS SAYS A REPRESENT THAT THAT 12% OF PRESCHOOLS ARE INFECTED.
THESE ARE OF THE ONES TESTED, UH, BUT AGAIN, SIGNIFICANT DECREASES.
UH, BUT ONCE AGAIN, THIS WEEK, WE SEE THAT OUR MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL AGE STUDENTS ARE OUTPACING THE POSITIVITY AND THE REST OF THE COMMUNITY.
NOW, THIS IS ENOUGH TO HAVE OUR, UH, LONG-TERM CARE FACILITY, UH, UH, CASES 225 IN THE LAST 14 DAYS, 481 IN THE PAST 28 DAYS CAN, THIS IS UPDATED BY FACILITY ON A WEEKLY BASIS AT OUR, UH, AUSTIN, TEXAS.GOV FORWARD SLASH COVID 19 WEBSITE FOR FOLKS WHO WANT ADDITIONAL DETAIL, UH, ONCE AGAIN, THE BEST WAY TO PROTECT OUR, OUR MOST VULNERABLE MEMBERS, OUR COMMUNITY, OUR ELDERLY, NOT LIVING IN LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES IS TO DECREASE POSITIVITY IN THE REST OF THE COMMUNITY.
SO AGAIN, FROM THESE NUMBERS, IT'S CLEAR THAT WE HAVE MORE WORK TO DO ABOUT 240 OF OUR TOTAL DEATHS HAVE BEEN, UH, ASSOCIATED WITH, WITH THESE FACILITIES.
UH, ONCE AGAIN, WE REMAIN IN STAGE FIVE, WHICH IS OUR HIGHEST, UH, STAGE RISK.
UH, JUST WANT TO, AS A REMINDER, RE UH, UH, REMIND FOLKS THAT GATHERINGS OUTSIDE OF THE HOUSEHOLD, OR ARE DISCOURAGED, UH, PEOPLE SHOULD NO VOID DINING AND SHOPPING IN PERSON AND LIMIT THOSE TO ESSENTIAL TRIPS, UH, AS NECESSARY, UH, AVOID NON ESSENTIAL TRAVEL.
AND, UH, AND WE'RE RECOMMENDING OUR BUSINESSES CONTINUE TO, UH, TRANSITION THERE, THEIR, UH, THEIR SPACE TO CONTACTLESS, NOT TAKEAWAY DELIVERY, UH, AND DRIVE THROUGH AS THE, AS THE PRIMARY OPTIONS FOR, FOR THAT, UM, JUDGE AND MAYOR COMMISSIONERS.
TALK ABOUT ONE OTHER THING BEFORE I TRANSITIONED OVER TO, UH, TO DIRECTOR HAYDEN, UH, THIS WEEK, AS MANY OF YOU SAW IN THE MEDIA, UH, THERE WAS A DISCUSSION ABOUT MY RECOMMENDATION, UH, THAT OUR LEGISLATORS, OUR STATE LEGISLATORS BE VACCINATED.
SO I WANT TO TOUCH ON THAT A LITTLE BIT AND, AND STATE THAT, THAT I CONTINUE WITH THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THE WHY'S BEHIND THAT RECOMMENDATION.
SO WHEN I LOOK AT THE CDC DATA, UH, AND THE MODELING FOR HOW TO ROLL OUT, UH, THERE'S SOME CONFLICTING INFORMATION ON
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ONE HAND, IF WE FOCUS ON INDIVIDUALS OVER THE AGE OF 65 AS OUR PRIMARY TARGET FOR VACCINATIONS, IT DECREASES MORTALITY ONE TO 4%.IF WE THINK FOCUS ON INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE MORE LIKELY TO SPREAD DISEASE, IT DECREASES TRANSMISSION BY ONE TO FIVE, 5%.
NOW, THIS IS WHY THE CDC HAS ROLLED OUT THE
SO THEY, THE DECISION REGARDING THE LEGISLATURE WAS FOR A COUPLE OF REASONS.
NUMBER ONE, WE HAVE A UNIQUE EVENT WHAT'S HAPPENING IN OUR JURISDICTION IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, IN TRAVIS COUNTY.
AND THAT IS A LEGISLATIVE SESSION, WHICH BRINGS FROM AROUND THE STATE OF TEXAS, UH, TO ONE PLACE.
NOW WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE NOW WHO ARE GOING TO BE IN CONTACT FOR SIX MONTHS, AND THAT REPRESENTS A RISK FOR A SUPER SPREADING EFFECT.
UH, THE OTHER CONCERN IS FOR CONTINUITY OF GOVERNMENT, AND WE HAVE TO RECOGNIZE THAT ESSENTIAL GOVERNMENT SERVICES MUST CONTINUE, AND THAT COVID-19 REMAINS A THREAT TO THOSE ESSENTIAL GOVERNMENT SERVICES.
UH, SO I STAND BY THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS.
MY HOPE IS THE STATE WILL PROVIDE A SPECIFIC ALLOCATION FOR THAT PURPOSE, BUT AS FAR AS THE CITY AND COUNTY IS CONCERNED, WE ARE GOING TO FOCUS SOME OF OUR RESOURCES, A SMALL, UH, THE AMOUNT OF RESOURCES, UH, FOCUSED ON THAT CONTINUITY OF GOVERNMENT PLAN.
UH, WE'RE GOING TO PRIMARILY FOCUS ON THE ONE BIG GROUP, BUT THIS WILL INCLUDE, UH, ELECTED OFFICIALS, CITY AND COUNTY.
UH, THIS WILL INCLUDE OUR, OUR COUNTY AND STATE JUDGES, UH, WHO FALL INTO THAT ONE BIG CATEGORY, AS WELL AS KEY STAFF, UH, WHO FALL INTO THAT ONE BIG CATEGORY.
UH, WE WILL CONTINUE THAT WITH OTHER GOVERNMENTAL SERVICES AND, UH, DIRECTOR HAYDEN.
I THINK IT'S GOING TO TOUCH ON SOME OF WHAT WE'VE ALREADY DONE, UH, BUT PERHAPS SOME OF WHAT WE, WE SEE ALSO BEING UTILIZED, UH, THAT ARE THAT KIND OF GOVERNMENT FUNCTION, UH, HOW WE'RE GONNA UTILIZE VACCINE FOR THAT IN THE FUTURE WITH THAT, I'LL PASS IT OVER TO DIRECTOR VADEN.
UM, I HAVE, UH, WE'VE GOT A BAD SIGNAL, TIFFANY HAYDEN POWER, UM, UM, AND THERE'LL BE A TRANSITION.
AND SO, UM, JUST PLEASE BE PATIENT, AS YOU HEARD ME, BAM, YOU WERE BREAKING UP.
WE HAD A BAD CONNECTION THERE.
DIRECTOR HAYDEN, CAN YOU TRY TALKING AGAIN? WELL, IT HELPED WITH HER BANDWIDTH IF SHE STOPS HER VIDEO, OTHERWISE THE SOUND IS NOT USABLE.
I THINK YOU'RE MUTED DIRECTOR HAYDEN, UH, JUDGE I'LL, I'LL MENTION ONE OTHER THING WHILE, WHILE DIRECTOR HAYDEN GETS, UM, GETS REESTABLISHED.
UH, I WANT TO MENTION THAT, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE ALSO EXPECTING, UH, THE ASTRAZENECA VACCINE TO, UH, TO RECEIVE AN EUA EMERGENCY USE AUTHORIZATION BY THE FDA, UH, UH, AROUND THE END OF THE MONTH.
UH, AND THERE WAS, THERE'S SOME CONFUSION AND CONTROVERSY ABOUT THE ASTRAZENECA.
THAT'S ALL I WANT TO TOUCH ON THAT QUICKLY.
UM, I, I I'VE HEARD FROM, YOU KNOW, RUMORS FROM THE COMMUNITY THAT IT'S, IT'S LESS EFFECTIVE.
AND I WANT TO SAY THAT WE DON'T HAVE THE, THE COMPLAINANT HAD A, THAT YET FOR ASTRAZENECA.
UH, BUT IT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THE ASTRAZENECA END POINTS OF THE TRIAL WERE DIFFERENT FROM THE MODERNA AND PFIZER.
SO MODERNA AND PFIZER, UH, END POINTS WHERE IF SOMEBODY DEVELOPED SYMPTOMATIC OR DEVELOPED SYMPTOMS AND TESTED POSITIVE, THAT WAS COUNTED AS A CASE.
UH, SO THE, THOSE TWO PRODUCTS ARE 90%,
[00:25:01]
95% EFFECTIVE AT PREVENTING SYMPTOMATIC INFECTION.THE ASTRAZENECA PRODUCT HAD A DIFFERENT PROCESS.
SO BASICALLY THEY TESTED INDIVIDUALS ON A REGULAR BASIS TO TRY TO DETECT THE PRESENCE OF INFECTION.
SO WHEN, WHEN THE TRIAL SAY THEY'RE 62% OR 90% EFFECTIVE THAT 62% OR 90% EFFECTIVE AT PREVENTING INFECTION AT ALL, UH, SO IT'S A DIFFERENT END POINT AND IT ACTUALLY MAY BE A BETTER INPOINT IN TERMS OF THE OVERALL EFFICACY.
UH, SO THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE'LL BE LOOKING FOR IN THE PACK OF THE BASIN, UH, TO THE FDA FOR, FOR THE EMERGENCY USE AUTHORIZATION.
UH, BUT IT, IT, AGAIN LIKE THE OTHERS, UH, APPEARS TO BE VERY PROMISING AND IT MAY EVENTUALLY PROVE TO BE A, AN EVEN BETTER VACCINE.
I DON'T SEE DIRECTOR HIDDEN BACK ON THE SCREEN YET.
CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES, WE CAN HEAR YOU.
WE WANTED TO COME THIS MORNING AND, UM, AND KIND OF WALK THROUGH SOME INFORMATION ABOUT THE, ABOUT THE VACCINE.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS WE WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU IS, IS THAT WE KNOW THAT, UM, WE'RE GOING, GONNA NEED TO REACH APPROXIMATELY 70% OF THE TRAVIS COUNTY, UM, WOULD NEED TO RECEIVE THE TWO DOSES OF THE VACCINE.
WHAT WE KNOW IN COMPARISON TO, UM, H ONE N ONE, UM, AS WELL AS OUR EARLY ON TESTING, UM, THE, THE VACCINE WILL, WILL COME IN VERY SLOW.
UM, AND SO WE, WE CANNOT REALLY EMPHASIZE AS THAT, UM, HOW THE VACCINE IS GOING TO COME IN AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO BE SLOW.
UM, AND SO WHEN WE WORK ON EIGHT ONE INWARD, WE VACCINATED ABOUT 30% OF OUR COPY OF RELATIONS.
AND SO, UM, OUR, THAT, UM, PROVIDERS, PHARMACIES, UM, PHYSICIAN OFFICES, ETC.
UM, THEY, THEY, THEY, THEY PROVIDED VACCINES TO OVER 300,000 PEOPLE WHERE AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH ONLY PROVIDED VACCINES TO ABOUT 32,000, UM, FOLKS BACK THEN, UM, WE KNOW NOW WE HAVE MORE PROVIDERS, UM, THAT HAVE REGISTERED WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE HEALTH SERVICES.
UM, AND SO THE PLAN IS THAT WOMEN AND VACCINES ARE COMING REGULARLY.
UM, WE KNOW THAT, UM, SEVERAL OF THEM HAVE SAID THAT THEY HAVE THE ABILITY TO BE A HUB AS WELL.
AND SO, UM, I'M SURE MOST OF YOU HAVE BEEN HEARING THE LANGUAGE THAT AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH IS.
AND SO, UM,
OH, STEPHANIE, STEPHANIE WERE HAVING TROUBLE UNDERSTANDING YOU.
CAN YOU TURN OFF YOUR VIDEO? HI,
[00:30:04]
DID WE LOSE STEPHANIE AGAIN? OKAY.CAN YOU HEAR ME BETTER? CAN YOU GO BACK PLEASE? GOOD MORNING.
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? I TURNED OFF MY VIDEO.
CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES, THAT'S BETTER.
UM, AND SO APPOINTMENTS ARE RECOMMENDED.
STEPHANIE, CAN YOU GO BACK? WE MISSED THE LAST SEVERAL MINUTES OF WHAT YOU WERE DOING.
UM, SO ESSENTIALLY THE DEFINITION OF A HUB IS A PROVIDER THAT HAS THE ABILITY TO VACCINATE SEVERAL PEOPLE IN A DAY.
ALSO, YOU MUST BE WILLING TO WORK WITH OTHER NEIGHBORING COUNTIES, UM, SMALLER NEIGHBORING COUNTY.
SO THAT'S LIKE HAYES AND BASS DROP, UM, AND POTENTIALLY WILLIAMSON FOR US BECAUSE WE THINK ABOUT THE, THE EMSA.
UM, AND SO THAT IS THE DEFINITION OF, OF A HUB.
AND, UM, AND SO OTHER PROVIDERS ARE DEFINITELY SIGNING UP TO BE A HUB AS WELL IN TRAVIS COUNTY.
WE, WE KNOW THAT, UM, AS, AS A BEST PRACTICE, WE ALSO NEED TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE, UM, LARGE-SCALE DISTRIBUTION SITES.
UM, BUT ALSO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE MULTIPLE SMALL SCALE, UM, SITES AND APPOINTMENTS ARE RECOMMENDED AND WE ARE ONLY WORKING OFF OF APPOINTMENTS.
AS YOU ALL KNOW, UM, WE HAVE, UM, BEEN USING THE AUSTIN SALESFORCE PORTAL THAT HAS BEEN THE PORTAL.
UM, WE HAVE USED THIS ENTIRE TIME.
UM, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT, YOU KNOW, SEVERAL, UM, YOU KNOW, FOLKS HAVE HAD, ARE HAVING SOME CONCERNS, UM, WITH THE PORTAL, THE PORTAL, UM, ITSELF.
AND SO, UM, WE HAVE, UM, EMPLOYED SOME CODING, UM, AND, AND DATA FOLKS.
UM, WE ARE WORKING WITH A NEW DEVELOPER.
UM, BUT I THINK THE OTHER THING TO KEEP IN MIND IS, IS THAT, UM, THE POTENTIAL USE OF, OF ANYONE IN TEXAS, UM, IS A REALITY FOR US.
AND SO, UM, WE HAVE OVER 166,000 ACCOUNTS THAT HAVE BEEN CREATED AND, UM, UM, 60,000 OF THEM QUALIFY FOR THE VACCINE.
AND WHEN WE SAY QUALIFY, WE MEAN PEOPLE THAT ARE 65 YEARS OF AGE, OLDER, UM, OR 64 YEARS OF AGE AND YOUNGER WITH AN EXCEPTION EXISTING, UM, UNDERLYING HEALTH CONDITION AND NOT HAVE INSURANCE.
UM, WE ARE GOING TO BE PUTTING TOGETHER OUR DEMOGRAPHIC DATA THAT WE WILL SHARE ON OUR WEBSITE, UM, WITH THE REST OF, UM, OUR DASHBOARDS.
ONE OF THE COMMON THINGS THAT WE HAVE BEEN HEARING IS, IS THE PASSWORD ERRORS AND THE KIND OF THE MALFUNCTION, WHAT WE HAVE BEEN PUTTING OUT TO THE PUBLIC AS A SOLUTION.
UM, IF YOU WOULD, FOR YOUR USERNAME, IF YOU WOULD, IF YOUR EMAIL IS JOHN DOE AT HOTMAIL THAT AT HOTMAIL, YOU WOULD WANT TO ADD DOT APH.
AND SO, UM, SO IF FOLKS ARE REACHING OUT TO YOU, WE, WE HAVE PUT THAT OUT TO THE PUBLIC.
WE WILL CONTINUE TO PUT THAT OUT TO THE PUBLIC, BUT BASICALLY THEY WILL NOT HAVE TO RESET THEIR PASSWORD.
THEY WILL ONLY HAVE TO ADD A P H TO THE END OF THEIR USAGE.
IS THERE A NAME? AND THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO LOG IN.
NOW THERE IS CONFUSION ABOUT APPOINTMENTS VERSUS VACCINES.
AVAILABLE, IF THERE ARE NO APPOINTMENTS, WE DON'T HAVE ANY OTHER VACCINE.
WE ONLY WOULD BE APPOINTMENTS WHEN, WHEN WE HAVE VACCINES TO ACCOMPANY THEM.
AND SO, UM, THERE THERE'S, THERE'S TIMES LIKE WE DID, UM, ON YESTERDAY WE RELEASED, UM, APPOINTMENTS AND, UM, WITHIN TWO HOURS, THOSE APPOINTMENTS WERE GONE.
AND SO, UH, ONCE APPOINTMENTS ARE OUT THERE, UM, VERY QUICKLY, BECAUSE AS YOU CAN SEE,
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YOU KNOW, WE HAVE 60,000, SO PEOPLE THAT ARE ELIGIBLE, UM, AND SO THEY'RE GOING TO QUICKLY BE, UM, GET THOSE APPOINTMENTS.THE, THE OTHER, UM, WE ARE WORKING ON IS, IS, UM, THERE'S BEEN A LITTLE LEVEL OF CONFUSION WHERE FOLKS HAVE BEEN GOING, GOING TO, UM, TESTING AND SCHEDULING TESTING.
UM, AND, AND, AND, AND FOR THEM, THEY HAVE, THEY FELT LIKE THEY SCHEDULED A VACCINE APPOINTMENT.
AND SO, UM, OUR STAFF ARE WORKING, UM, TO MAKE THAT MORE PRONOUNCED.
UM, SO, SO FOLKS WILL NOT HAVE ANY CONFUSION.
AND SO WE'RE GOING TO BE WORKING WITH OUR, UM, WITH OUR COMMUNICATIONS FOLKS, SO WE CAN GET THE WORD OUT ABOUT THESE CHANGES THAT ARE GOING TO OCCUR THIS WEEK.
UM, BUT RIGHT NOW, IF FOLKS ARE HAVING ANY PROBLEMS THAT APH, UM, ADDING THAT, THAT APH TO THE ENTER THEIR NAME THAT WILL WORK TODAY, UM, SLIDE THREE, UH, DIRECTOR HAYDEN, UH, JUST A REALLY QUICK COMMENT I'VE HEARD FROM PEOPLE THAT, UM, THE, UM, THE LANGUAGE THAT INSTRUCTS THEM TO ADD THAT DOT APA AT THE END, UM, DOESN'T SHOW UP IN THE ERROR MESSAGE AND THEY HAVE TO LOOK IN OTHER PLACES ON THE SITE.
SO IF YOU'RE HAVING PEOPLE RECODED, IF IT CAN BE PART OF THE INSTRUCTION WITH THE ERROR MESSAGE, THAT WOULD HELP.
UM, THIS IS JUST AN UPDATE ON WHAT, UM, AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH HAS RECEIVED.
WE, UM, AS YOU ALL KNOW, EVENTUALLY WE RECEIVED 1300 VACCINES AND THEN WE, UM, RECEIVED, UM, 12,000 ON THE 11TH AND ON THE 18TH FOR THIS WEEK.
AND, UM, BY SATURDAY WE ARE PROVIDED 12,600 VACCINES.
UM, WE ARE, UM, UM, PRIORITIZING, UM, EDUCATIONAL STAFF FOLKS THAT ARE WORKING IN, UM, PUBLIC PRIVATE, UM, AND CHARTER SCHOOLS.
UH, WE STARTED THAT, UM, PROCESS YESTERDAY AND WE WILL CONTINUE THAT EFFORT THIS WEEK.
AND SO THE REMAINING DOSES, UM, WILL BE DISTRIBUTED TO THE COMMUNITY THIS WEEK.
UM, WE ARE WORKING WITH, UM, SEVERAL PARTNERS, UM, ONE, UM, WE ARE, UM, WORKING ON PLANS TO, UM, BE ABLE TO LOOK AT LARGE SCALE, UM, EVENTS IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND, UM, AND THEN WORKING WITH A, UM, A PARTNER ON THAT, UM, THAT DOES EVENT PLANNING.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE HAVE, UM, PARTNERS THAT ARE GOING TO BE MAKING SOME CALLS FOR US, UM, TO CALL EVERYONE, UM, AND PROVIDE SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, INCLUDING, UM, THE, THAT APH AT THE END OF YOUR USER NAME WITH THE SECOND DOSE.
UM, JUST AS A REMINDER, UM, YOU WILL NEED TO GO BACK TO THE PROVIDER THAT PROVIDED YOUR INITIAL, UM, DOSE NOW WITH THE EVENT THAT WAS IN DOVE SPRINGS.
UM, WE WILL BE REACHING OUT TO THOSE PATIENTS.
AND SO, UM, SO WE WILL, UM, ADD THEM TO THE PROCESS OF PROVIDING THAT SECOND DOSE.
UM, THE LAST THING IS, IS THAT WE, UM, ARE, ARE ROLLING OUT OUR EDUCATION PROCESS AND OUTREACH, UM, TO BE ABLE TO GET ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OUT, TO HARD TO REACH POPULATIONS.
AND SO, UM, WE HAVE EIGHT VENDORS THAT WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF FINISHING THEIR CONTRACTS AND, UM, AND THEN FROM THERE, UM, THEY WILL CONTINUE TO ASSIST US IN ALL AREAS, ESPECIALLY EDUCATION AND OUTREACH.
UM, AT THIS TIME I'M GOING TO TRANSITION OVER TO, UM, TO SPENCER CORNER.
HAYDEN AND I FIRST WANT TO RECOGNIZE, UH, DIRECTOR HAYDEN AND DR.
S SCOTT AND THE INCREDIBLE WORK OF OUR CITY AND COUNTY STAFF FROM THE BEGINNING.
WE'VE HAD GREAT COOPERATION AND COORDINATION BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE COUNTY.
AND I ALSO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE SUPPORT AND COLLABORATION FROM ALL OF YOU AS OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS AND FROM THE NUMEROUS PARTNERS THAT WE WORK WITH.
BUT AS YOU KNOW, WE HAVE 1.3 MILLION PEOPLE IN TRAVIS COUNTY ALONE.
AND AS STEPHANIE MENTIONED, VACCINE PROVIDERS WOULD NEED TO VACCINATE 70% OF THE POPULATION WITH TWO DOSES OF THE VACCINE TO ACHIEVE OUR HERD IMMUNITY.
WE ARE WORKING TO GET THESE VACCINES OUT AS FAST AS WE CAN.
AND LAST WEEK I'M PROUD TO SAY THAT AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH WITH OUR PARTNERS,
[00:40:01]
UH, PROVIDED ALL 12,000 DOSES THAT WERE GIVEN TO US TO BE ADMINISTERED.BUT I WANT TO REMIND EVERYONE THAT JUST LIKE THAT COVID-19 TESTING ROLLOUT, THERE WERE CHALLENGES IN THE BEGINNING, AND IT WAS ALSO A SLOW PROCESS.
AS WE LEARN MORE INFORMATION FROM THE FEDERAL AND STATE LEVEL, WE'VE MADE CHANGES AND IMPROVEMENTS, BUT THIS VACCINE WAS ONLY APPROVED A MONTH AGO.
AND IN THIS, OUR UNDERSTANDING THAT AS ADDITIONAL VACCINE WILL TRICKLE IN FOR THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, UH, WE WILL CONTINUE TO RAMP UP OUR EFFORTS, BUT IT'S CRITICAL THAT WE MANAGE EXPECTATIONS BOTH WITH OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR IMPORTANT PARTNERS.
AS STEPHANIE HAS SAID, WE HAVE TO PRIORITIZE THE VACCINE FOR PEOPLE THAT ARE OVER 65 AND PEOPLE FROM RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORITY GROUPS, BUT WE'RE COMMITTED TO CONTINUE THIS WORK, TO KEEP OUR COMMUNITY SAFE.
WE ASKED FOR YOUR PATIENCE AND CONTINUED SUPPORT DURING THIS ENTIRE PROCESS.
AND WITH THAT, UH, MAYOR AND JUDGE, WE WILL TURN IT BACK TO YOU FOR QUESTIONS FROM THE GROUP.
I THINK THE JUDGE WAS GOING FIRST, JUDGE, THANK YOU.
UH, I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO COMMISSIONER GOMEZ AND THEN I'LL CALL HIM THE NEXT, THE REST OF THE COMMISSIONERS.
AFTER THAT, THE QUESTION THAT I HAVE IS, UH, BASED ON THE, THE QUESTIONS THAT I GET FROM, FROM THE PUBLIC, UH, IS, UH, SINCE WE'RE, WE'RE WE KEEP SAYING, UH, THROUGHOUT THE PRESENTATIONS THAT WE'VE HAD ON THESE GRAPHS THAT WE'RE, UH, PRIORITIZING PEOPLE OVER 65, UH, THE, THE ONE, A, THE ONE B, AND NOW WE'VE ADDED ONE C, BUT IT APPEARS TO, UH, TO FOLKS THAT WE KIND OF GET OFF OF THAT, THAT, THAT PRIORITY LIST, ARE WE REALLY STICKING TO IT OR ARE WE KIND OF, YOU KNOW, GOING BACK AND FORTH BECAUSE IT REALLY CONFUSES PEOPLE.
UH, I'M CERTAINLY HAPPY TO START IN DIRECTOR AND MAY WANT TO JUMP IN, BUT THE VAST MAJORITY OF A VACCINE IS GOING TO ONE A AND ONE B GROUPS.
UH, AGAIN, UH, WE HAVE THE CIRCUMSTANCE OF THE NEED TO, UH, ENSURE OUR CONTINUITY OF GOVERNMENTAL OPERATIONS.
SO WE ARE FOCUSING SOME OF THE RESOURCES, UH, ON PEOPLE LIKE TEACHERS.
UM, WHEN WE LOOK AT, AT THE, MY RECOMMENDATION FOR THE, THE LEGISLATURE, UH, THAT WAS NOT APH VACCINE THAT WAS UTILIZED AGAIN, WE'VE NOT RECOMMENDED THAT THE STATE ALLOCATE, UH, RESOURCES FOR THAT PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
UH, BUT YOU KNOW, W WE'RE GOING TO HAVE CIRCUMSTANCES, UH, THERE, YOU KNOW, PROVIDERS, AGAIN, WE'VE GOT 350 PROVIDERS, UH, PROVIDING VACCINE IN TRAVIS COUNTY, OR THAT HAVE SIGNED UP FOR IT.
UH, THERE ARE GOING TO BE OTHERS WHO FALL OUTSIDE THAT GROUP, AND GENERALLY THAT HAPPENS, UH, BECAUSE ONCE YOU, ONCE YOU TO THALL THE VACCINE AND YOU'VE, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE PULLED IT UP IN SYRINGES, YOU'VE GOT TO USE IT IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.
UH, SO WHAT WE'RE SAYING IS THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE CIRCUMSTANCES WHERE PROVIDERS HAVE EXTRA, THEY'VE GOTTEN THROUGH, UH, THEIR, THEIR DOSES THAT WERE SCHEDULED, THEY'VE, UH, IDENTIFY ADDITIONAL DOSES AVAILABLE IN THE VIAL.
UH, THE MATERNAL GENERALLY HAS 10 DOSES, UH, IN OUR VACCINATION OF, OF TEACHERS YESTERDAY.
UH, MANY OF THOSE VIALS HAD 11, SOME HAD 12 DOSES.
SO SOMETIMES AT THE END OF THE DAY, YOU'VE GOT, YOU'VE GOT EXTRAS AND IT'S A PRIORITY TO GET THOSE OUT AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
UH, APH HAS ADDITIONAL PEOPLE THAT WE CAN CALL WHO FALL WITHIN THAT ONE BIG GROUP.
UH, SO THEY'RE SCURRYING TO ENSURE THAT IT GETS AN ARMS INSTEAD OF BEING WASTED NOW, BUT I DO HAVE CONFIDENCE THAT THE VAST MAJORITY OF VACCINE, UH, IN OUR COMMUNITY IS GOING TO ONE A AND ONE B.
OKAY, THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER SHEA.
UM, AND AS USUAL, THANKS TO DR.
SCOTT AND DIRECTOR, UH, HAYDEN.
UM, I HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
UM, DO WE KNOW HOW MANY TOTAL DOSES ARE BEING SENT TO THE COMMUNITY? UM, PREVIOUSLY WE'VE HEARD SOMETHING LIKE 350 PROVIDERS.
WE'RE GETTING SCATTERED A LOT MONTHS.
UM, BUT DO WE KNOW HOW MANY TOTAL DOSES ARE BEING SENT TO THE COMMUNITY AND IS THE STATE CONTINUING, I'M SORRY, THIS REALLY INEFFICIENT AND FRANKLY BROKEN PROCESS OF SCATTERING DOSES AMONG PRIVATE PROVIDERS WHO DON'T HAVE THE CAPACITY FOR SIGN-UPS, WHO, UM, DON'T EVEN HAVE GOOD PHONE SYSTEMS. I THINK WE'VE ALL HEARD STORIES OF, OF DOZENS AND DOZENS OR MORE OF PEOPLE CALLING THROUGH ALL THE LISTS OF THE PROVIDERS THAT ARE ON THE STATE MAP AND, AND FREQUENTLY CAN'T EVEN
[00:45:01]
GET THROUGH ON THE PHONE.AND ONCE THEY DO, THEY'RE TOLD NOTE EITHER THAT'S ONLY FOR OUR, UH, CURRENT PATIENTS OR CALL HEB.
SO, UM, IS THE STATE STILL DOING THAT? AND, AND IF THEY ARE, CAN WE JUST AGREE AS A COMBINED BODY TO REQUEST THAT THE STATE SIMPLY SEND A UNIFIED ALLOTMENT TO A HUB, WHICH I ASSUME WE COULD CREATE FAIRLY EASILY WITH BASTROP AND HAYES SOUNDS LIKE WILLIAMSON'S ALREADY FORMING A HUB.
UM, BUT THERE'S GOT TO BE A MORE EFFICIENT WAY TO DO THIS THAN WHAT THE STATE HAS BEEN DOING.
SO ARE THEY STILL SENDING THESE SCATTERED ALLOTMENTS ALL OVER THE 350 PROVIDERS, OR HAVE THEY CHANGED THAT PROCESS? AND IF SO, WHEN WILL WE EXPECT TO SEE MORE? AND I, MY SECOND QUESTION HAS TO DO WITH, UH, ANY INDICATION WE'RE GETTING FROM, UM, THE THANK GOODNESS NEW ADMINISTRATION IN WASHINGTON, WHERE BIDEN HAS ANNOUNCED A PLAN TO HAVE A HUNDRED MILLION VACCINES IN THE FIRST HUNDRED DAYS.
SO PRESUMABLY THAT WOULD CHANGE OUR CALCULATION ON HOW MANY DOSES WE EXPECT TO RECEIVE.
SO THOSE ARE MY TWO GENERAL QUESTIONS.
SO COMMISSIONER I'LL, I'LL START BY BY SAYING, YOU KNOW, I THINK THE STATE IS, IS WORKING HARD TO, TO PIVOT, AND WE'VE SEEN THAT HAPPEN.
UH, THE INITIAL ALLOCATION WAS TO HOSPITALS AND A LOT OF DIFFERENT GROUPS NOW, AND THEY'VE REALLY FOCUSED THEIR EFFORTS NOW ON THESE HUBS, UH, AS DIRECTOR HAYDEN SAID, IT'S NOT JUST ONE HUB, BUT MULTIPLE HUBS.
SO GROUPS THAT CAN DO A THOUSAND OR 2000 VACCINES A DAY, UH, WE'VE SEEN AN ALLOCATION TO WILLIAMSON COUNTY.
WE'VE SEEN ALLOCATION TO HAYES COUNTY.
UH, SO I, YOU KNOW, I, I, I LIKE WHAT THE STATE IS DOING NOW IN TERMS OF FOCUSING THE MAJORITY OF VACCINE ON THOSE VALVES.
AND SO I THINK THAT THE PLAN RIGHT NOW REALLY IS TO GET OUT LARGE VOLUMES QUICKLY SO THAT THE HUBS MAKE SENSE, BUT AS WE GET THROUGH THOSE LARGE NUMBERS, UH, THEY ARE GOING TO PROBABLY NEED A TRANSITION BACK TO, UH, TO SMALLER PLACES, PLACES THAT, THAT PEOPLE HAVE EASIER ACCESS TO PLACES THAT THEY NORMALLY GO FOR FOR THEIR VACCINE.
SO I THINK THAT WE'RE GOING TO SEE SOME SHIFTING, UH, IN, IN ALLOCATIONS AS WE GO INTO THE SPRING, BUT I THINK THEY'RE DOING A GOOD JOB NOW OF, OF REFOCUSING THE EFFORTS ON THE HUBS.
OUR HOPE IS THAT, THAT WE CAN INCREASE THE VOLUME OF VACCINE AVAILABLE.
AS DIRECTOR HAYDEN SAID, WE'VE GOT MULTIPLE ENTITIES, UH, CAPABLE OF DOING THOUSANDS A DAY, AND OUR PARTNERS AT HEB AND I HAVE GREAT INFRASTRUCTURE IN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PROCESSES.
UH, THEY CAN DO THOUSANDS A DAY, A AUSTIN REGIONAL CLINIC, THOUSANDS A DAY, UH, OTHERS, YOU KNOW, CVS WALGREENS, UH, IN, IN OTHER PLACES, UH, UTE A DELL MEDICAL SCHOOL HAS DONE A GREAT JOB OF, OF LARGE VOLUME ALLOCATIONS.
AND SO AGAIN, OUR HOPE IS THAT WE CAN HAVE MULTIPLE LARGE CUBS THAT IN TRAVIS COUNTY AND AROUND TRAVIS COUNTY TO START TO GET THROUGH HIGH VOLUMES OF FOLKS.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER PAVILION.
UM, THANK YOU FOR THE WORK THAT'S BEEN DONE, DR.
ASCOT AND, AND, UH, AND ALSO, UM, UH, DIRECTOR HAYDEN.
WE APPRECIATE THE, UH, THE COMMITMENT THAT YOU'VE SHOWN THE WORK WITH US.
UM, A QUESTION REALLY, UH, PIGGYBACKS ON SOMETHING THAT YOU JUST SAID, DR.
ASCOT, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THE PRIMARY INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, FOR PROVIDING SHOTS AND PROVIDING HUBS IS THE, IS, IS KIND OF THE AFFLUENT PART OF TOWN.
SO MY QUESTION IS, WHAT SPECIFICALLY ARE WE DOING, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE PARTS OF TOWN THAT HAVE NOT BEEN INVESTED IN ECONOMICALLY, BUT HAVE OTHER HUBS LIKE SCHOOLS, FOR EXAMPLE, LIKE COMMUNITY CENTERS, LIKE CHURCHES, FOR EXAMPLE, WHAT SPECIFIC PLANS ARE WE PUTTING IN PLACE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PARTS OF TOWN THAT DO NOT HAVE A SOLID ECONOMIC INFRASTRUCTURE WE'LL ACTUALLY SEE, UH, WE'LL SEE OPPORTUNITIES FOR VACCINES AS WELL, BECAUSE THEY ARE A LOT OF OUR TITLE, ONE SCHOOLS THAT ARE SERVING NOT ONLY TEACHERS, BUT STUDENTS IN THAT AREA.
HOPEFULLY WE'LL BE LOOKING AT RETIREES AND, AND, UH, PEOPLE WHO ARE ON FORMS OF PUBLIC ASSISTANCE AS WELL, SO THAT ALL OF THE HUBS ARE NOT IN THE AFFLUENT PART OF TOWN AND ALL OF THE, ALL OF THE, UH, LESS AFLOAT PARTS OF TOWN, UH, WON'T HAVE IMMEDIATE READY ACCESS.
WELL, WHAT ARE WE DOING TO DEVELOP SPECIFIC PLANS AND USING RESOURCES LIKE THE EXPO CENTER AND CHURCHES AND, AND OTHER ENTITIES, PUBLIC ENTITIES THAT EXIST IN THOSE AREAS?
[00:50:01]
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE DONE IS, IS WE HAVE IDENTIFIED SEVERAL LOCATIONS, UM, IN THE EASTERN CRESCENT, UM, THAT HAVE THE ABILITY FOR US TO, UM, EITHER HAVE A LONG TIME PRESENCE AT THAT LOCATION.UM, AND OR, UM, THAT HAVE THE ABILITY FOR US TO, UM, SET UP HOW WE'VE DONE IN THE PAST WITH, WITH FLU VACCINES.
AND SO, UM, MEANING MAKING SURE THAT, UM, AS WE LOOK AT THE DATA AND LOOK AT, UM, SPECIFIC ZIP CODES WHERE WE KNOW WE HAVE MORE PEOPLE OF COLOR, UM, AND WE HAVE, UM, MORE FOLKS THAT REALLY NEED THAT ACCESS IN THEIR COMMUNITY.
AND SO THAT IS A PART OF OUR PLAN.
UM, AND WE'VE IDENTIFIED SEVERAL OF THOSE.
UM, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS IS, YOU KNOW, IT'S DEFINITELY KEY IS, IS THAT, YOU KNOW, KNOWING THE VACCINE IS COMING IN, UM, AND THAT WE CAN COUNT ON IT BECAUSE WE, WE DON'T WANT TO SET UP A FACILITY AND OPEN IT UP AND WE DON'T HAVE A VACCINE TO PROVIDE, SO THOSE RELATIONSHIPS HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED.
UM, AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO, TO WORK WITH, UM, THE VARIOUS PARTNERS, WHETHER IT'S THE, THE SPECIFIC SCHOOLS OF TITLE ONE SCHOOLS, UM, AND, UM, AND FAITH BASED, UM, CHURCHES, ET CETERA, WE'RE PREPARED TO WORK WITH YOU AND HELP YOU REACH INTO THOSE COMMUNITIES.
UM, JUST, UH, REACH OUT TO US AND WE'LL, AND WE WILL SHARE OUR NETWORK WITH YOU COMMISSIONER TRIVANTAGE I JUST WANT TO ADD ON, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I, I THINK WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA SEE A SHIFT IN HOW WE APPROACH IT AS WE MOVE INTO THE SPRING.
UH, AGAIN, THE ISSUES FOR JANUARY AND FEBRUARY ARE GOING TO BE PRIORITIZATION AND, AND GETTING IT OUT TO FOLKS WHO, WHO NEED IT THE MOST, UH, GETTING IT OUT TO OUR CENTRAL WORKERS, MARCH, APRIL, MAY, IT'S GOING TO BE A DIFFERENT CHALLENGE.
THE CHALLENGE THEN IS GOING TO BE GETTING MORE PEOPLE TO WANT AND SIGN UP FOR THE VACCINE.
AND I'M PLEASED WITH THE FACT THAT WE'VE GOT MORE THAN 160,000 SIGNED UP, BUT WE NEED TO VACCINATE, YOU KNOW, 800, 900,000.
UM, SO AGAIN, OUR, OUR, OUR CHALLENGES ARE GOING TO SHIFT AS WE GO INTO THE SPRING, AND THAT'S WHY WE NEED TO CONTINUE THIS EFFORT.
I CONTINUED THE DISCUSSION REGARDING THE IMPORTANCE OF VACCINE, PARTICULARLY FOR OUR COMMUNITIES OF COLOR THAT HAVE BEEN SO DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED.
UH, WE EXPECT THAT, THAT THOSE COMMUNITIES WILL, WILL BE MORE CHALLENGED, UH, TO GET VACCINE INTO ARMS. UH, SO WE'RE, YOU KNOW, DIRECTOR HAYDEN AND HER TEAM HAS DONE A GREAT JOB OF, UH, PRE PLANNING MESSAGING AND TALKING ABOUT HOW WE'RE GOING TO ADJUST STRATEGY BASED UPON NOW THE EXPECTED SHIFT IN THOSE CHALLENGES.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER HOWARD.
MY QUESTION DEALS WITH MESSAGING AND I WANTED TO BRIEFLY WELCOME STEPHANIE HAYDEN TO, TO THE HOWARD CLAN.
AND, UM, NOTE THAT THE MESSAGE SHE SENT TO US IS THAT SHE HAS A NEW LAST NAME, AND I'M JUST DELIGHTED THAT, UH, SHE'S ADDING HOWARD TO HER NAME.
UM, SECOND, SOME OF US GOT A, UH, A LETTER FROM OUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER, LIKE AUSTIN REGIONAL CLINIC THAT THEY NO LONGER HAD VACCINES AND THAT WE SHOULD LOOK TO AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH.
AND SO COULD YOU CLARIFY THE MESSAGE TO THE COMMUNITY ABOUT THE PRIORITY, UM, WITH THE VACCINES THAT WE HAVE AT AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, THAT THEY ARE STILL FOR FOLKS WHO DON'T HAVE ACCESS OTHERWISE, OR WON'T HAVE ACCESS OTHERWISE, OR WHO ARE UNINSURED, IF THAT IS STILL THE CASE? UM, YES.
UM, YES, COMMISSIONER, UM, THAT IS STILL THE CASE.
UM, WE ARE, WE ARE TARGETING 65 YEAR OLD, UM, FOLKS, 65 YEARS OR OLDER, YOU CAN HAVE INSURANCE.
UM, THAT'S NOT A PROBLEM FOR YOU TO HAVE INSURANCE AT THAT AGE.
WHAT WE ARE TARGETING THOUGH, IS PEOPLE THAT ARE UNDER 65, SO 64 YEARS AND OLDER, THAT STILL ALL OF THEM STILL FALL INTO ONE B, UM, AND THAT THEY DON'T HAVE INSURANCE.
UM, I THINK IT'S, IT'S UNFORTUNATE, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, UM, PROVIDERS HAVE SENT THAT TYPE OF COMMUNICATION FORWARD, UM, BECAUSE, UM, ALL OF THE PROVIDERS WE DID SHARE WITH THEM, UM, OUR, OUR TARGET POPULATION.
[00:55:01]
AND SO WE CAN FOLLOW UP WITH THEM AND REALLY TRY TO DO SOME, SOME JOINT, UM, MESSAGING, BECAUSE I THINK THAT WOULD BE BENEFICIAL FOR US JUST TO WORK TOGETHER.SO, UH, I'VE GOT A QUESTION HERE THEN WE'LL PASS IT AFTER THIS, TO THE CITY COUNCIL IN THE MIRROR, UM, DIRECTOR HAYDEN, WE AND DR.
WE KNOW OBVIOUSLY THE BIGGEST BARRIER TO GETTING THE VACCINE IS THAT WE JUST DON'T HAVE ENOUGH IN OUR COMMUNITY, BUT AT THE SAME TIME AS COMMISSIONER SHAY POINTED OUT, BIDEN HAS STATED THAT HIS GOAL IS TO GET A HUNDRED MILLION IN A HUNDRED DAYS.
SO WE DO NEED TO BE READY FOR THAT.
IF, IF THAT DOES HAPPEN, UM, I WANT TO THANK YOU, ESPECIALLY DIRECTOR HAYDEN FOR ALL THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING TO MEET THE INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT NEED OF GETTING VACCINES INTO THE FOLKS WHO ARE AT GREATEST RISK IN OUR COMMUNITY, BUT I'M HEARING FROM THE COMMUNITY THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THIS GENERALLY, BUT THEY WANT SOME TRANSPARENCY AROUND HOW THE VACCINE IS GETTING OUT, HOW ARE WE DISTRIBUTING IT? AND SOME REASSURANCE THAT WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO MASS VACCINATE WHEN THAT TIME COMES.
AND FOR ME, I THINK WE CAN DO THIS BY CREATING A WEBSITE THAT WORKS, THAT PROVIDES GOOD, EASILY UNDERSTANDABLE INFORMATION AND HOLDS US ALL ACCOUNTABLE TO THE PUBLIC.
AND SO I'VE ASKED THE COUNTY STAFF TO WORK WITH YOU AND THE CITY STAFF TO STAND UP A WEBSITE, AND I'VE SEEN A PROTOTYPE OF IT.
I THINK IT LOOKS GOOD AND WILL BE HELPFUL.
UM, BUT I'D LIKE THAT WEBSITE TO PROVIDE A CENTRAL SITE TO ACCESS ANY VACCINE PROVIDERS IN THE REGION FOR BOTH INSURED AND UNINSURED PEOPLE TO ALLOW PEOPLE TO SIGN UP TO VOLUNTEER.
BECAUSE I KNOW FROM HAVING RUN A SMALL PILOT DRIVE-THROUGH VACCINATION CLINIC WITH CONSTABLE MORALES AND OTHERS, TO SEEING THE DELCO CENTER, MORE VOLUNTEERS THAT ARE, HAVE SKILLS THAT WE NEED WILL HELP.
UM, I'D LIKE THE WEBSITE TO SHOW HOW MANY VACCINES HAVE BEEN GIVEN OUT AND WHERE, AND TO WHOM THEY'RE GOING.
WE HAVE SOME OF THE MOST ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES IN THE WORLD.
AND I KNOW I TALKED TO MAYOR ADLER ABOUT THIS.
HE'S WILLING TO CONNECT US TO THOSE FOLKS.
AND AS COMMISSIONER TRILLIAN SAID, THE ENTIRE COURT, ALL OF US HERE IN THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT, WE'RE COMMITTED TO DOING WHATEVER WE CAN TO SUPPORT YOUR EFFORTS EITHER WITH OUR COUNTY TEAM OR TRYING TO ENGAGE THE PRIVATE SECTOR ALONG WITH THE MAYOR TO SUPPORT THESE EFFORTS.
SO THESE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE CAN DO TO HELP THE COMMUNITY KNOW WHAT WE'RE DOING AND HELP INFORM DECISIONS IF WE NEED TO CHANGE TACTICS OR TO GET THE VACCINE OUT FASTER OR MORE EQUITABLY.
AND SO I'D LIKE TO KNOW WHAT'S, WHAT IS THE BIGGEST BARRIER TO APH TO SETTING UP THIS WEBSITE, ALONG WITH THE COUNTY, IT WOULD ACCOMPLISH THESE GOALS.
AND COULD YOU REPORT TO US THROUGH THIS WEBSITE WHO IS RECEIVING THE VACCINE AND WHERE DO THEY LIVE AND HOW QUICKLY DO YOU THINK WE COULD BRING SOME TRANSPARENCY TO THESE EFFORTS? AND AGAIN, IF THERE'S ANY BARRIERS OR CHALLENGES TO THIS, I KNOW I COMMISSIONER HIRED EVERYBODY HERE, UH, IS WILLING TO WORK TO REMOVE ANY, ANY BARRIERS THAT WE CAN AND HELP HELP DO THAT.
BUT ALSO AGAIN, I WANT TO THANK YOU AND DR.
S SCOTT, UH, AND ALL THE TEAM THAT GOT OUT THOSE 12,000 VACCINES LAST WEEK, AS YOU SET YOUR GOAL TO DO, UH, WHEN, UH, GREATLY THANK YOU FOR YOUR EFFORTS.
SO, UM, JUDGE BROWN, UM, AS YOU KNOW, UM, YOUR TEAM IS WORKING WITH THE CITY'S TEAM, UM, ON THAT PLATFORM.
UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH YOUR TEAM ON THAT PLATFORM.
UM, I DON'T HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, ANY CONCERNS ABOUT US BEING ABLE TO, UM, GET THAT PLATFORM DONE AT THIS TIME.
UM, BUT I, I WILL JUST SAY THAT WE, WE DO NEED THE ADDITIONAL TIME.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE WERE ABLE TO, OUR, OUR GOAL EVERY WEEK IS ALL OF THE VACCINES THAT COME INTO OUR COMMUNITY IS TO BE ABLE TO GET THE VACCINES OUT THE DOOR, UM, WITHIN, UH, A FIVE, FIVE TO SIX DAY TIME PERIOD.
UM, THAT IS, YOU KNOW, THAT IS OUR, OUR, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR FIRST GOAL.
UM, AND SO, UM, YES, WE, WE ARE WILLING TO WORK WITH YOUR TEAM.
UM, DO WHATEVER, YOU KNOW, WE DO NEED TO DO TO SET UP, UM, THAT PORTAL, UM, AND PROVIDE, UM, PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION.
UM, WE HAVE TYPICALLY, UM, KEPT, UM, ALL OF THE INFORMATION, YOU KNOW, KIND OF, UM, AN AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY TYPE SITE WITH DASHBOARDS.
UM, AND SO, UM, MY REQUEST IS THAT WE CONTINUE TO CENTRALIZE WHATEVER KIND OF EFFORTS THAT WE STAND UP, UM, AND THAT THEY'RE NOT IN MULTIPLE, MULTIPLE PLACES.
AND WITH THAT, UH, MAYOR, I WILL PASS IT OVER TO YOU TO CALL ON YOUR, THE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS
[01:00:01]
IN YOUR ORDER.I THINK YOU'RE NEEDED MAYOR ADLER WAS, I WAS.
UH, WE'LL NOW WORK OUR WAY THROUGH THE, UH, CITY COUNCIL, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, ELLIS NHL ASK ONE QUESTION AND THEN WE'LL PASS IT ON TO THE NEXT PERSON.
UM, I'VE, I'VE HEARD A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT VARYING QUESTIONS.
I'LL TRY TO PUT INTO ONE QUESTION ABOUT THE NEWER STRAIN OF THE VIRUS AND, AND THEY HAVE CONNECTIVITY ISSUE.
SO I'M GOING TO TURN MY VIDEO OFF, UM, BUT JUST GENERAL QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT ITS TRANSMISSION IT'S CONTAINED PAGAN IS A NEW VACCINE BEING DEVELOPED.
IS IT AFFECTING YOUNGER PEOPLE MORE THAN OLDER PEOPLE? CAN YOU GO INTO A LITTLE MORE DETAIL ABOUT WHAT IS, AND IS NOT KNOWN ABOUT THIS OTHER STRAIN AT THIS POINT IN TIME? CERTAINLY COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, THE INDICATIONS THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW ARE THAT IT IS SIGNIFICANTLY MORE CONTAGIOUS, UH, THAN THE MAIN VARIANT.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF SURVEILLANCE DETAIL, UH, PARTICULARLY IN THE STATE OF TEXAS IN TERMS OF, UH, UH, DOING GENOMIC SEQUENCING OF, UH, VIRAL CASES.
THERE IS EFFORTS, UH, UH, VIA THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO INCREASE THAT GENOMIC SURVEILLANCE.
SO WE CAN HAVE BETTER INTELLIGENCE ON, ON WHEN THE, WHEN THE VARIANT, UH, CHANGES, UH, YOU KNOW, THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT IT'S, THERE'S NO INDICATION THAT IT'S MORE DEADLY.
THE BAD NEWS IS THAT, UH, GENERALLY MORE CONTAGIOUS IS WORSE THAN MORE DEADLY, UM, BECAUSE IT HAS THE ABILITY TO INFECT MORE PEOPLE.
AGAIN, I THINK THE TAKE HOME POINT FOR OUR COMMUNITY IS WE HAVE TO PROTECT OURSELVES.
IF WE CAN, WE HAVE TO CHOOSE VIRTUAL EDUCATION, IF WE CAN.
AND IF WE HAVE TO GO OUT, WE MUST WEAR A MASK.
THOSE SAME PROTECTIONS WILL WORK.
UH, BUT IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S GOING TO BECOME INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT TO, UH, TO PROTECT OURSELVES IN THOSE PLACES WHERE WE MAY HAVE BEEN ABLE TO PROTECT OURSELVES IN THE PAST.
WELL, I THINK THIS IS FOR DIRECTOR HAYNE.
UM, UH, I BELIEVE THAT I HEARD, UH, YOU MENTIONED THAT THERE WOULD BE SOME OUTREACH EFFORTS AND I'M NOT SURE IF I, UH, THAT, THAT THERE WOULD BE SOME EFFORTS TO CALL EVERYONE.
UM, AND SO MY SPECIFIC QUESTION IS A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL ON OUTREACH TO THE EXTENT THAT, YOU KNOW, AT THIS POINT, I THINK I HEARD YOU SAY YOU'RE STILL WORKING IT OUT.
I'M PARTICULARLY TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE SENIORS WHO LIVE, UM, IN THE COMMUNITY, PARTICULARLY ELDERLY FOLKS.
UM, I'M WONDERING IF, UM, IF YOU ALL ARE WORKING TOWARDS, UH, OUTREACH THAT MIGHT INCLUDE PHONE CALLS OR, OR POSTCARDS OR SOMETHING, UH, BECAUSE I'M CONCERNED THAT THOSE ARE THE INDIVIDUALS THAT THOSE AMONG OTHER INDIVIDUALS WILL HAVE DIFFICULTY WITH THE, UM, ELECTRONIC PROCESS.
AND ALSO OUR, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'VE SHARED CONCERNS THAT SOME OF THEM WERE HAVING DIFFICULTY WITH GETTING THROUGH ON THE NURSE HOTLINE.
SO, UM, CAN YOU JUST TELL ME WHAT YOUR PLANS ARE? I KNOW IT TAKES A WHILE TO GET EVERYTHING IN PLACE, BUT COULD YOU LET US OUR, FOR ACTUAL, UM, PROACTIVE OUTREACH TO, UM, TO SENIORS IN THE COMMUNITY WHO ARE LIVING AT HOME? UM, YES.
UM, THE PROCESS IS NOT A FULLY DEVELOPED, UM, BUT IT WILL TARGET, UM, INDIVIDUAL, THOSE THAT ARE 65 YEARS OF AGE.
AND, UM, THE, THAT THOSE ARE THE VISUALS THAT WILL RECEIVE, UM, A CALL, UM, FROM AN INDIVIDUAL.
AND THEY WILL BE ABLE TO, UM, ANSWER THE QUESTIONS THAT THEY HAVE.
SO ONCE WE HAVE THAT DEVELOP, UM, WE'LL SEND COMMUNICATION OUT TO THE COUNTY COMMISSIONER'S COURT ABOUT THAT PROCESS.
DO YOU HAVE A TIMELINE AT THIS POINT THAT YOU CAN SHARE UNDERSTANDING THAT YOU'RE STILL WORKING THROUGH IT? I THINK WE LOST STEPHANIE
[01:05:04]
THAT'S USUALLY COMES BACK.CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES, YOU'RE BACK NOW.
UM, WE WILL HAVE AN UPDATE BY THE END OF THE WEEK.
UH, DIRECTOR HAYDEN HOWARD AND DR.
MY QUESTION IS ABOUT, I GUESS, IN ALIGNMENT WITH COUNCIL MEMBER KITCHENS ABOUT OUTREACH, UM, IN WHICH CASE, THOUGH, I'LL SORT OF WAIT FOR THAT END OF WEEK UPDATE FOR THAT PART OF IT, BUT, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE SPECIFICS ARE THE WHO THE, WHEN THE, WHERE AND HOW WE'RE REACHING THEM.
AND THAT GETS ME TO THE PRIMARY POINT OF MY QUESTION, WHICH IS, UM, WHAT I'M READING, UH, SAYS THAT PEOPLE OF COLOR ARE NOT BEING VACCINATED AT THE SAME RATE, UM, AS A NEW AMERICANS.
AND I WANT TO KNOW WHAT THAT'S ABOUT, WHY, I MEAN, IS IT EXCLUSIVELY OUTREACH? IS IT, UM, RELATED TO JUDGE BROWN'S POINT ABOUT A COMPREHENSIVE WEBSITE? IS IT RELATED TO COMMISSIONER TREVELYAN POINT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, GETTING REALLY GRANULAR AND NEIGHBORHOODS AND ACCESSING FIRE STATIONS AND SCHOOLS AND, UM, THE RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS.
I MEAN, UM, I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHY FOLKS ARE GETTING VACCINATED AND I'LL JUST SORT OF PUT ON THE TABLE INTO TO THAT, YOU KNOW, MY ANECDOTAL EXPERIENCE, HAVEN'T SEEN THE LINES AT, UM, AT THE DELCO CENTER, UM, JUST A VISUAL OBSERVATION WAS, YOU KNOW, THAT THERE WERE A FRACTION AT BEST OF PEOPLE OF COLOR IN THE LINE.
UM, THE, THE SENIOR COLOR, UM, UNIFYING SIMILARITY WAS AGE.
AND SO I, I'M ALSO CURIOUS IF THE DELCO CENTER PLOPPED RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF NORTHEAST, AUSTIN SEEMS RELATIVELY ACCESSIBLE, WHY WEREN'T MORE PEOPLE OF COLOR IN THAT LINE.
UM, SO THAT'S, YOU KNOW, IT SEEMS LIKE A COMPLEX ENOUGH QUESTION THAT YOU MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO GIVE ME A COMPLETE ANSWER TODAY, BUT I'M VERY CURIOUS ABOUT THAT AND WANT TO KNOW WHAT WE CAN DO BOTH AT THE CITY AND THE COUNTY TO SUPPORT THE EFFORTS, TO BE SURE MORE AT RISK POPULATIONS OR FOLKS WHO ARE BEING INVESTIGATED.
UM, WHAT, WHAT WE ARE FINDING IS, IS THAT BECAUSE THE SYSTEM HAS, UM, NOT BEEN AS USER-FRIENDLY, UM, WE, WE KNOW THAT, UM, MOST POPULATIONS OF COLOR ARE NOT GOING TO, UM, CONTINUE TO COME TO A COMPUTER AND TRY TO ACCESS THAT.
UM, AND SO WHAT WE HAVE PUT IN PLACE IS, UM, AND WE'RE CONTINUING TO WORK OUT THE DETAILS IS THAT WE ARE GOING TO BE WORKING, WORKING WITH SOME PARTNERS, UM, TO ENSURE, UM, SPECIFIC OUTREACH TO TARGET POPULATIONS, UM, AND BE ABLE TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE TARGET POPULATIONS ARE ABLE TO GET THOSE APPOINTMENTS SCHEDULED BECAUSE THE, BECAUSE SALESFORCE WAS NOT, UM, NEW HAD A LOT OF TECHNICAL ISSUES.
THOUSANDS OF FOLKS WERE CALLING NURSE LINE.
UM, AND SO THE NURSE LINE WAS SET UP NOT TO PROVIDE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, BUT THE NURSE LINE WAS SET UP TO FOR FOLKS THAT DID NOT HAVE ACCESS TO THE INTERNET.
AND SO, UM, WE WILL BE WORKING WITH SOME PARTNERS BEING MORE INTENTIONAL.
UM, WE'LL CONTINUE TO LEAVE, YOU KNOW, THE NURSE LINE, UM, SET UP THE WAY IT IS.
OUR HOPE IS, IS IF WE WORK OUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE MAJORITY OF THE PROBLEMS, UM, WITH THE, WITH THE SITE, WE CAN FREE UP THAT, UM, AREA AND IT CAN WORK AS IT'S INTENDED TO WORK.
SO IN THE MEANTIME, UM, OUR STAFF WILL BE WORKING WITH OUR OUTREACH PARTNERS, UM, TO IDENTIFY, UM, CLIENTS THAT WE CAN, UM, START TO PROVIDE THE VACCINATIONS TO THIS WEEK.
THANK YOU, DIRECTOR HAYDEN HOWARD, IN THAT UPDATE THAT WE GET AT THE END OF THE WEEK, WE COULD GET SOME, A CLEARER PICTURE OF WHO OUR OUTREACH PARTNERS ARE THAT WE, EACH OF US CAN TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO INTRODUCE NAMES THAT MAY NOT BE ON THAT LIST THAT ARE SPECIFIC TO OUR DISTRICTS.
UM, YES, THAT, THAT WILL BE FUN.