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AND, UH, WE'RE MEETING HERE AT 700 LAVACA AND I WILL, UM, HAND IT OFF TO MAYOR ADLER TO CALL, TO ORDER YOUR MEETING MORNING, JUDGE COMMISSIONERS.
UH, WE'RE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND CAN BE THE CITY COUNCIL PART OF THIS FAULT JOINT.
UH, ESSENTIALLY, UH, IT IS, UH, AUGUST 10TH, 2021, TIME 9 0 7.
UH, WE ALSO HAVE A FORM PRESENT AND WE'RE, UH, WE'RE READY TO PROCEED.
SO I'LL CALL THE ORDER OF THE JOINT MEETING OF THE TRAVIS COUNTY COMMISSIONER'S COURT AND THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL AND
[Additional Item]
CHECK IN, UH, LARRY, IF WE HAVE ANY CALLERS, UH, JUDGE, WE DO WE HAVE, UH, BYE.AND, UM, THANK YOU FOR A COUPLE OF MINUTES TO ADDRESS THIS HONORABLE BODY OF COMMISSIONERS COURT AND CITY COUNCIL.
I JUST WANTED TO MAKE A COUPLE OF PERSONAL COMMENTS ON WHAT'S GOING ON IN COVID IN OUR CITY AND OUR COUNTY.
AND THANKS BOTH OF YOU AND, AND ALL THE MEMBERS FOR THE WORK THAT YOU ARE DOING TO KEEP OUR COMMUNITY SAFE.
AND, AND THIS IS THE LEVEL OF, UM, ATTENTION THAT WE NEEDED TO ISSUE TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT WE ARE SAFE.
UM, THE PSA THAT STARTED RUNNING THIS WEEKEND WAS WONDERFUL AND GAVE THE BASIC MESSAGE THAT OUR COMMUNITY NEEDS TO GET, WHICH IS BASICALLY STAY HOME, WEAR YOUR MASK, GET VACCINATED.
THOSE THREE THINGS ARE PRETTY CLEAR AND EASY, AND I'M SO GLAD THAT YOU'RE PUTTING THEM OUT THERE.
CAUSE I THINK AT THIS POINT IT'S A COMMUNICATIONS CAMPAIGN.
AS MUCH AS A VACCINATION CAMPAIGN, I WANTED TO ASK AND SUGGEST THAT YOU BE VERY AGGRESSIVE IN SPEAKING TO US AND NOT WORRY ABOUT WHETHER PEOPLE CAN TAKE THE INFORMATION OR NOT.
I'M A PARENT OF TWO KIDS IN AISD AND WE RECEIVED LETTERS AND AUTOMATED MESSAGES THAT ARE PRETTY SERIOUS AND SCARY, UH, FROM THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
AND I THINK THAT THOSE COMMUNICATIONS ARE, WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL FOR COMMUNITIES THAT ARE FAILING TO GET BACK AND MADE IT AT THE RATE.
UM, AND I'D ALSO WANTED TO ASK IF, IF YOU MIGHT DEDICATE ADDITIONAL RESOURCES TO KIND OF OUR LEAD SPOKESPERSON ON, ON THESE ISSUES WHO, UH, NEEDS TO MAINLY BE FOCUSED ON GETTING THE MESSAGE OUT AND, AND, AND HAS BEEN DOING A GREAT JOB OF THAT, DR.
WACHS, UH, BUT WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, THAT THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE LEAD PEOPLE KIND OF ARE DOCTOR OUCHIE, HAS THE RESOURCES TO, UH, TO BE FREE, TO BE THE FACE AND, AND COMMUNICATOR, UH, AND, AND BE ABLE TO GET THOSE MESSAGES OUT AS WELL AS POSSIBLE.
UM, ESSENTIALLY THOSE WERE MY ONLY COMMENTS HERE.
I'D LIKE TO SEE MY OWN COMMUNITY OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS MAKE GREATER EFFORTS, UH, AS WELL AS LATINOS, UH, TO GET VACCINATED.
I THINK AT THIS POINT, IT'S PRETTY CLEAR THAT THAT'S THE KEY AND YOU ALL HAVE PUT THE RESOURCES OUT THERE.
YOU'RE PUTTING THEM IN THE COMMUNITY.
THERE ARE MOBILE UNITS THAT WILL COME TO PEOPLE.
SO WITH THE NUMBERS SO BAD IN OUR COMMUNITIES, SPECIFICALLY BLACK AND LATINO, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE, UH, MORE UPTAKE ON, ON THE PART OF, OF MY OWN PEOPLE TO, UH, TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE VACCINE THAT'S OUT THERE, ESPECIALLY WITH THE SCHOOL ABOUT STARK.
UH, I, I CAN THINK OF NOTHING MORE IMPORTANT THAN, AND ANYTHING YOU ALL CAN DO TO GET THAT MESSAGE OUT MORE.
UM, ANY OTHER CALLERS, LARRY? NO SURCHARGE.
[1. Update on Covid-19 related matters.]
ALL RIGHT.SO WE WILL GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED AND, UH, JUST WANT TO, I THINK WE'RE GOING TO HEAR FIRST FROM, I BELIEVE DR.
WACHS, IF YOU'RE ALL READY TO GO AND THEN WE'LL HEAR FROM APH AND GET SOME OTHER UPDATES AND I JUST FIRST WANT TO THANK YOU DR.
WACHS FOR EVERYTHING, ALL THE WORK YOU'VE BEEN DOING IT THIS LAST WEEK.
ALSO WANT TO GIVE A THANKS TO DR.
ELLIS ALL DAY AND THE AUSTIN INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR THE ACTIONS THEY'RE TAKING TO KEEP KIDS IN TRAVIS COUNTY IN OUR REGIONS SAFE.
AND I THINK THE LAST THING IS, UM, WELL, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO YOU DOCTORS ALL SAUDI BEFORE I START, OR, UH, DR.
WACHS, BEFORE I START TALKING TOO MUCH.
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COMMISSIONER TRILLIUM.UM, WE ARE, UH, GOING TO TALK ABOUT WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW, AS FAR AS OUR COVID RESPONSE.
UM, THIS IS A LOOK AT WHERE WE WERE ON SUNDAY WITH REGARDS TO, UM, CASE COUNTS AND NUMBERS OF ADMISSIONS.
UM, WE HAD 445 CONFIRMED CASES.
SEVEN-DAY MOVING AVERAGE OF EIGHTY THREE, FIVE HUNDRED AND FIFTY ONE PATIENTS IN OUR HOSPITALS, UM, WITH COVID 191 AND ICU 116 ON, AND, UH, WE HAD 73 74 ADMISSIONS AND 56 DISCHARGES.
AND YESTERDAY WE WERE DOWN TWO, UM, TWO ICU BEDS WE'RE DAYS BEHIND ON THE VICIOUS, UM, REPORTING FOR ICU BED AVAILABILITY.
UM, AND SO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, THAT LOOKS AT OUR OVERALL TSS AND THE MAJOR METROPOLITAN AREAS.
UM, WE SAY THAT, UM, THIS IS BASED ON THE DAY BEFORE AUSTIN TSA, UM, HAD 14.5, 8% COVID HOSPITALIZATION.
UM, AND HOUSTON HAD 16.2 DALLAS WAS AT 14.37.
SAN ANTONIO WAS AT 16.95 AND EL PASO WAS AT 4.4.
UM, AND YOU SEE THE CORRESPONDING NUMBER OF ICU BEDS THAT WERE AVAILABLE IN EACH OF THESE AREAS.
UM, I WANT TO POINT OUT THAT, UM, IF YOU LOOK AT THE METROPOLITAN AREAS SERVED IN THE POPULATIONS, THOSE THAT NUMBER OF BEDS THAT YOU SEE CORRESPONDING TO EACH OF OUR AREAS IS VERY SMALL.
AND AT THIS POINT, TRANSFER BETWEEN AREAS IS DIFFICULT, IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE.
UM, SO THIS WAS THE GENESIS OR THE REASON WHY WE ASKED FOR OUR, UM, COMMUNITY TO, UM, TAKE ALL PRECAUTIONS, STAY HOME, UM, JUST GOT THERE, WE'RE DOING ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS, WEAR A MASK AND GET VACCINATED.
UM, WE SEE THAT WE'RE STILL, UM, LOWER THAN, UH, THE OTHER, UH, COUNTIES THAT ARE LISTED HERE WITH REGARDS TO THE NUMBER OF CASES PER A HUNDRED THOUSAND.
AND IF WE LOOK AT OUR HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS BY AGE GROUP, UM, WE SEE THAT WE'RE HAVING A STEADY INCREASE IN THE NUMBERS OF CASES, UM, WITH THE HIGHEST PERCENT CHANGE AND INCREASE OCCURRING IN THE 30 TO 49 YEAR OLD AGE GROUP, THAT 450% INCREASE.
AND THIS IS SHOWING AGAIN, THAT ADMISSIONS HAVE INCREASED ACROSS AGE GROUPS AND IT'S CYCLING.
UM, THIS SLIDE IS SHOWING OUR, UM, ADMISSIONS BY ACE VIBRATE, RACE AND ETHNICITY, AND WE SEE THAT 76% OF ADMISSIONS HAVE BEEN, UM, WHITES 40%, UM, OF THAT IS REPRESENTED BY HISPANICS.
AND IF WE LOOK AT THE COUNTY OF RESIDENCE, UM, FROM WHICH OUR ADMISSIONS ARE COMING, UM, 54% OF OUR ADMISSIONS ARE FROM TRAVIS COUNTY AND THE NEXT HIGHEST, UH, COUNTY THAT'S, UM, SUPPLYING, UH, PATIENTS TO OUR HOSPITAL SYSTEMS IS WILLIAMSON COUNTY AT 22% OF THE 579, UM, REPORTED ADMISSIONS THAT WERE IN THE LAST 14 DAYS.
UH, THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE YOU'LL SEE THAT ALMOST ALL OF OUR ADMISSIONS HAVE BEEN, UM, DUE TO PEOPLE WHO ARE UNVACCINATED OR PARTIALLY VACCINATED AND THEREFORE
[00:10:01]
UNPROTECTED, BUT FROM COVID-19, UM, WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE 88% PROTECTION FROM ADULTS VARIANT VIA THEME VACCINATED, AND OVER 90% PROTECTION FROM SEVERE DISEASE, ICU, ADMISSIONS, AND DEATHS, BY GETTING VACCINATED, PLEASE CLOSER AT WHAT'S HAPPENING IN OUR PEDIATRIC POPULATION.THIS SLIDE LOOKS AT THE NUMBERS OF PEDIATRIC CASES THAT HAVE OCCURRED SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC TO PRESENT.
AND WE SAY THAT THERE WERE, UM, INCREASES IN PEDIATRIC ADMISSIONS DURING THE TWO SPIKES OR SURGES THAT WE'VE HAD IN THE PAST, BACK IN JULY, JUNE AND JULY OF LAST YEAR.
AND EARLIER THIS YEAR IN JANUARY, DECEMBER TIMEFRAME.
AND WE'RE SEEING THAT SIMILAR LEAD OCCURRING AT THIS POINT, IF YOU LOOK AT OUR NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS HAVE INCREASED IN OUR PEDIATRIC POPULATION.
UM, JUNE, UM, JULY OVER JUNE, WE HAD A TOTAL OF 11 ADMISSIONS TO HOSPITAL IN JUNE, AND THAT'S RISEN TO 34 IN JULY.
AND IT'S LIKE, WHAT IS, AND THIS LOOKS AT OUR IC ADMISSIONS.
AND SIMILARLY THERE WERE, UM, ONE, THERE WERE 12 ADMISSIONS IN JULY, UM, MUCH HIGHER THAN THOSE THAT WE SAW IN JUNE REPRESENTING OVER A THOUSAND PERCENT INCREASE.
UM, SINCE THE PANDEMIC BEGAN, OUR NUMBERS IN 2020 WERE 139.
AND SINCE JANUARY OF THIS YEAR TO PRESENT, WE'VE HAD 222.
AND IF WE LOOK AT OUR ADMISSIONS BY AGE, UM, IN 2020 AND TO DATE 2021, WE'RE ALWAYS ALREADY TRACKING TO HAVE A HIGHER NUMBER OF ADMISSIONS.
UM, RIGHT NOW WE'RE AT 7,400, UM, FROM MARCH TO DECEMBER, WE HAD 7,000.
UM, SO WE'RE STARTING TO SEE THAT INCREASE.
AND WE'RE ALSO SEEING THAT THE NUMBERS OF ADMISSIONS THAT HAVE OCCURRED IN THE AGE 10 TO 18 YEAR OLD AGE GROUP HAS, UM, HISTORICALLY BEEN HIGHER.
AND THAT'S PROVING TO BE TRUE AGAIN THIS YEAR IN THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, WE'RE LOOKING AT THE PRESENT POSITIVITY RATE, BROKEN DOWN BY AGE GROUP AND, UM, REMEMBERING THAT WHEN WE'RE AT 10% POSITIVITY, RIGHT, WE'RE IN A S A S A PERIOD OF HIGH TRANSMISSION.
AND IN OUR THREE TO FIVE-YEAR-OLDS AGE GROUP, WE START AT 10% AND THEN WORK OUT FROM THERE.
THERE ARE HIGHER, UM, POSITIVITY RATES THAT WE'VE SEEN IN THE PAST AND HIGHER CASE NUMBERS IN OUR TEENAGE POPULATION.
UM, AND THAT'S, UM, WHAT WE'RE SEEING HERE ON THIS SLIDE AS WELL, AND SLIDE, PLEASE LOOKING AT ANOTHER VULNERABLE POPULATION GROUP THAT WE'VE BEEN TRACKING OVER TIME AS OUR SENIOR CITIZENS GROUPS IN NURSING HOMES.
AND WE ARE SEEING THAT THERE ARE, UM, HIGHER, THERE ARE CASES DEVELOPING IN THAT GROUP.
UM, 66 CASES IN THE LAST 14 DAYS, 128 IN THE LAST 28 DAYS.
UM, THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THERE HAVE BEEN, UM, FEW HOSPITALIZATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN NEEDED IN THIS AGE GROUP, UM, BECAUSE THEY'VE BEEN FULLY VACCINATED, UM, SO THAT THEY'RE EXPERIENCING MILD ILLNESS THAT CAN BE MANAGED IN THE NURSING HOMES.
I WANT TO GO BACK TO OUR CHILDREN, WHICH, UM, IS TOP OF MIND FOR MANY OF US.
UM, AND THIS LOOKS AT SCHOOL REOPENING, UM, WITH, UH, TAKING INTO ACCOUNT WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF WE WERE DEALING WITH OUR PREVIOUS, UM, VARIANTS OF COVID, UM, THAT THE NEXT SLIDE PLEASE SHOWS WHERE, WHERE WE ARE.
IF WE LOOK AT THE DELTA VARIANT, AS IT'S MUCH MORE INFECTIOUS, WANT TO TAKE A MINUTE TO TALK ABOUT THE INFECTIOUSNESS OF THAT, HOW INFECTIOUS IS A VIRUS IS AN INVARIANT FORM OF DELTA.
IT HAS HIGHER VIRAL LOADS AND THE PRESYMPTOMATIC
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PHASE, WHICH MEANS THAT PEOPLE WHO MAY NOT KNOW THAT THEY'RE YET SICK ARE CARRYING HIGH VIRAL LOADS, WHICH MAY MEANS THAT THEY CAN BE SPREADING THE ILLNESS IN BEFORE THEY KNOW THEY'RE SICK, WHICH IS WHY WE'VE ASKED PEOPLE TO WEAR MASKS, WHETHER THEY'RE VACCINATED OR UNVACCINATED.THIS BECOMES PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT IN OUR SCHOOL SYSTEMS, BECAUSE CHILDREN WHO ARE IDENTIFIED AS POSITIVE CASES, UM, AND THEIR CLOSE CONTACTS, UM, ARE BOTH IMPORTANT BECAUSE THE CLOSE CONTACTS, IF THEY'RE NOT IDENTIFIED AND ISOLATED, MAY IN FACT BE CARRYING VIRUS AND NOT KNOW THAT THEY'RE SICK.
UM, AND SO, UH, THE IMPORTANCE OF CONTACT TRACING CANNOT BE OVERSTATED.
UM, THIS GRAPH TALKS ABOUT, UM, OUR ICU CAPACITY, THE LINE THAT YOU SEE ACROSS THE BOTTOM WITH ICU CAPACITY WRITTEN ON IT MARKS OUR 200 BED MARK, WHICH IS, UM, WHAT OUR CURRENT ICU CAPACITY IS BASED UPON THE STAFFING THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE.
OUR HOSPITAL SYSTEMS ARE DOING AN EXCELLENT JOB OF, UM, ADJUSTING PATIENT VOLUMES AND CAPACITIES, MOVING STAFF FROM, UM, THEIR USUAL POSITIONS, TWO POSITIONS TO HELP LOAD BALANCE.
THEY'RE ALSO NOT PERFORMING, UM, A LOT OF ELECTIVE SURGERIES.
THEY'RE PERFORMING SURGERIES THAT ARE NEEDED BECAUSE PATIENTS ARE SICK, ACUTELY SICK.
UM, SO THEY'RE DOING ALL THAT THEY CAN TO MAKE OUR CAPACITY, UM, WORK FOR OUR, OUR, OUR COMMUNITY, BUT IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT WE IMPROVE COMPLIANCE, WHICH YOU'LL SEE WRITTEN ON THOSE TOP BARS AT THE TOP OF TOP OF THIS GRAPH, UM, AND COMPLIANCE INCLUDES WEARING A MASK, GETTING BACK, SUMMATED STAYING HOME, JUST GETTING OUT FOR ESSENTIAL THINGS.
AND IF YOU DO HAVE TO GO OUT, WEAR A MASK, EVERYTHING THAT WE CAN DO AT THIS JUNCTURE TO BEND THIS CURVE DOWNWARD IS GOING TO BE IMPORTANT FOR THE, FOR OUR COMMUNITY OR, UM, AND PARTICULARLY FOR OUR CHILDREN.
UM, AND I STAND IN SUPPORT OF BOTH MASKING AND CONTACT TRACING AND SLIDE, PLEASE.
AND THIS IS THE DELTA AND YOU SEE THAT IT'S MORE INFECTIOUS, UM, WITH THE PROJECTED OUTCOMES OF MUCH HIGHER NUMBERS OF CASES.
THIS IS A SLIDE I SHOW YOU A FEW WEEKS AGO, AND I'M JUST SHOWING YOU IT AGAIN TO REITERATE THE IMPORTANCE OF WHAT WE'VE DONE SO FAR.
UM, WE MUST GET THE UNVACCINATED VACCINATED, UM, TO THE CASES RISING.
WE HAVE HIGH TRANSMISSION RATES IN OUR COMMUNITY AND UNVACCINATED PEOPLE SHOULD STAY HOME SO THAT THEY CAN PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM BECOMING ILL.
AND WE HAVE TO WEAR A MASK TO PREVENT THE SPREAD OF COVID-19 FROM PEOPLE, UM, BETWEEN PEOPLE, UM, MAYBE IS SYMPTOMATIC AND THEREFORE SPREADING.
AND NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, JUST TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE INFORMATION ON, UH, WHERE WE STAND RIGHT NOW WITH OUR PROGRESS TOWARD HUGE HERD IMMUNITY, WE'VE DELIVERED, UM, 600, WE HAVE 698,666 PEOPLE WHO ARE FULLY VACCINATED.
AND, UM, BASED ON OUR OVERALL POPULATION NUMBERS, NOT JUST THE PEOPLE THAT ARE ELIGIBLE FOR VACCINATION, WHICH WE KNOW WE HAVE A LARGE SEGMENT OF OUR POPULATION UNDER THE AGE OF 12 ON PROTECTIVE UNTIL WE HAVE, UM, VACCINE AVAILABLE FOR THEM.
WE NOW HAVE 55% OF OUR POPULATION, UM, PROTECTED FULLY BY VACCINATION.
7% OF OUR POPULATION, UM, ARE CONFIRMED, HAVE BEEN CONFIRMED.
UM, COVID-19 14% AND OUR ESTIMATED VALUE OF THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO ARE UNDIAGNOSED IN OUR COMMUNITY, UM, WITH COVID-19 AND HAVE SOME LEVEL OF PROTECTION.
HOWEVER, LET ME STOP AND PROVIDE THE CAVEAT THAT, THAT 21% OF INDIVIDUALS
[00:20:01]
HAVE, WHAT WE THINK IS LIMITED IMMUNITY TO THE DELTA VARIANT, BECAUSE THE ANTIBODIES THAT ARE PRODUCED BY THOSE WHO HAVE HAD COVID, UM, ARE THOUGHT TO LAST FOR A LIMITED AMOUNT OF TIME.SO IT IS IMPORTANT FOR THOSE WHO HAVE HAD COVID, UM, AND HAVE NOT HAD MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY INFUSION THERAPY TO GET BACK SUMMATED.
IF WE LOOK AT OUR PARTIALLY VACCINATED GROUP, THERE ARE 9% OF INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE PARTIALLY VACCINATED, IT'S IMPORTANT FOR THEM TO COMPLETE THEIR SERIES OF VACCINATIONS.
AND THEN WE HAVE 15% OF PEOPLE WHO ARE VULNERABLE AND, UM, IT IS MY URBAN PRAYER THAT THEY WILL GO AND BE VACCINATED.
AND SO THEY CAN BE PROTECTED AGAINST COVID-19 AND WE CAN GET TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS, THEN THIS SEARCH, UM, WOULD THAT NEXT SLIDE? I KNOW.
WACHS, UM, ADRIAN STIRRUP, INTERIM INTERIM DIRECTOR FOR AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH.
AND I WILL NOW GIVE A BRIEF UPDATE ON OUR VACCINE OPERATIONS.
SO THE, THE STAFF AT AWESOME PUBLIC HEALTH CONTINUE TO RESPOND TO THE SURGE IN TERMS OF MEDIA LAST WEEK.
UM, AS YOU'RE ALL AWARE, WE HELD IT CAKES AND TOWN HALL WITH DR.
WALKS AND AREA DOCTORS TO, UM, ANSWER QUESTIONS AND, AND TALK ABOUT THE CURRENT STAGE THAT WE ARE IN.
WE ALSO MADE OUR ANNOUNCEMENT OF MOVING INTO STAGE FIVE ON THE FIFTH AND HAD A MEDIA, UM, AVAILABILITY FOLLOWING THAT ANNOUNCEMENT.
UM, WE HAVE WORKED TO INCREASE OUR EPI RESPONSE STAFFING.
WE'RE WORKING ON INCREASING OUR CALL CENTER CAPACITY, AND WE'RE EXPANDING OUR TESTING OPTIONS.
UM, ONE GOOD THING ABOUT THIS, THAT FOLKS ARE LISTENING AND THEY ARE GETTING TESTED IF THEY FEEL SICK.
UM, SO RIGHT NOW WE HAVE MOBILE TESTING AVAILABLE AS WELL AS OPERATIONS AT THE DOVE SPRINGS REC AND THE ST.
JOHN'S OLD HOME DEPOT FOR DRIVE-THRU.
WE SUCCESSFULLY OPENED OUR LARGER ISOLATION FACILITY, AND WE HAVE A 50 BED CAPACITY, UM, THAT WILL COME ONLINE PRETTY SOON HERE.
UM, AND RECENTLY WE, UH, RECEIVED SUPPORT FROM THE STATE TO HELP ESTABLISH OUR REGIONAL INFUSION CENTER.
AND BEFORE I MOVED TO OUR NEXT SLIDE, I JUST WANT TO TAKE A MOMENT TO THANK THE STAFF AT AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH IN THE MEDIA.
THERE'S A LOT OF TALK ABOUT THE NEED TO PROTECT DOCTORS AND NURSES AND MEDICAL STAFF, BECAUSE THEY'RE TIRED AND THAT I AM FULLY IN SUPPORT OF THAT.
BUT, UM, I KNOW THAT THE FOLKS AT PUB PUBLIC HEALTH HAVE WORKED TIRELESSLY SINCE FEBRUARY AND, UM, TO SEE US GOING INTO SURGE, THERE WAS THAT LOOK OF DESPAIR, BUT THEN RIGHT AFTER THAT WAS THE RESOLVE AND THE DETERMINATION TO CONTINUE TO GO FULL TILT, TO SERVE OUR COUNTY.
AND I JUST WANT TO PUBLICLY SAY THAT, UM, I SPEAK TO YOU.
I APPRECIATE YOU, AND I FEEL HONORED TO WORK ALONGSIDE OF YOU AS WE TALK ABOUT, UM, HOW WE NEED OUR COMMUNITY TO, TO, UH, THE SURGE.
THE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE CLEAR.
UM, WE WANT YOU TO FOLLOW THE GUIDANCE ON THE CHART AND TO BREAK IT DOWN EVEN FURTHER, UM, GET VACCINATED FOR THE LONG-TERM PROTECTION OF YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY WEAR YOUR MASK BECAUSE WHILE VACCINATION IS IMPORTANT, THAT'S NOT, WHAT'S GOING TO GET US OUT OF THIS SURGE.
YOU NEED PEOPLE TO WEAR THEIR MASK, WHETHER YOU'RE VACCINATED OR UNVACCINATED.
AND IF YOU'RE NOT FULLY INOCULATED, WE NEED YOU TO STAY HOME AND WEAR YOUR MASK.
WHEN YOU GO OUT FOR THOSE ESSENTIAL ACTIVITIES.
AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, WE'RE CONTINUING TO RAMP UP OUR TESTING OPTIONS.
WE HAVE THE TWO STATIC SITES THAT ARE ALREADY ESTABLISHED AT THE DOVE SPRINGS REC AND AT ST.
JOHN'S WE HAVE IN-HOME TESTING, THAT'S AVAILABLE.
IF YOU CALL 3 1, 1 OR (512) 974-2000 TO GET AN APPOINTMENT, IF YOU'RE HOME BOUND OR UNABLE TO ACCESS A TESTING SITE.
AND WE'RE ALSO CONTINUING TO SUPPORT OUR LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES IN SHELTERS AND OTHER CONGREGATE
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LIVING SITUATIONS THAT NEED TESTING.WHEN WE TAKE A LOOK AT, UM, OPERATIONS FOR THE LAST PERIOD, THE LAST WEEK, WE SEE THAT OUR WEEKLY DOSE COUNT IS IN CONTINUING TO IMPROVE.
WE WERE REACHING, WE WERE REALLY HAVING LOW NUMBERS OVER THE PAST MONTH AND A HALF, BUT NOW WE'RE SEEING AN UPTICK IN THAT IN TERMS OF PEOPLE SEEKING OUT VACCINATIONS.
WHEN WE LOOK AT THE DATA FOR THE COUNTY, BROKEN OUT BY RACE AND ETHNICITY, UM, INCREMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS, BUT STILL SEEING GAPS IN OUR BLACK AND HISPANIC COMMUNITIES MUCH, UM, IN LINE WITH, WITH OUR COLOR REFERENCED.
AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO USE THIS DATA AS WELL AS THE DATA REPRESENTED ON THIS MAP TO FINE TUNE AND EXPAND OUR OPTIONS OR OPERATIONS, RATHER FOR VACCINE AND COMMUNITY.
AND AGAIN, THE PIE CHART, HIGH CHARTS SHOW THE INFORMATION A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY WHEN YOU COMPARE THE ELIGIBLE POPULATION, WHICH IS 12 AND OVER WITH THE POPULATION THAT HAS RECEIVED AT LEAST ONE DOSE.
YOU SEE THE DISPARITIES REPRESENTED BY THE GRAY SHADED AREA FOR THE HISPANIC COMMUNITY, AND THEN BY THE ORANGE SHADED AREA FOR THE BLACK AND AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY.
AND THOSE GAPS PERSIST, UM, WITH THE PERCENTAGE OF THE POPULATION THAT'S FULLY VACCINATED.
WHEN WE LOOK AT OUR GEOGRAPHIC DATA OR OUR TOP EIGHT ZIP CODES, AGAIN, SEEING SOME INCREMENTAL CHANGE, UM, IN THE DATA OF, OF NOTE IS A TWO FOUR, YOU KNOW, WE HAD, THAT WAS OUR HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF CHANGE OVER THE LAST WEEK.
AND SO WE WILL CONTINUE TO PERSIST, PARTNERING WITH, UM, THE TRAVIS COUNTY COLLABORATIVE AND OTHER COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS TO PUSH IN VACCINE WHEREVER WE CAN HERE.
OUR SLIDE SHOWS OUR STATIC OPERATIONS AT SOUTH EAST LIBRARY, LITTLE ON THAT CREEK AND THE ANNA LARC CENTER, AS WELL AS THE DEL VALLEY OPPORTUNITY CENTER THAT WE OPERATE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE COUNTY.
UM, THIS WEEK WE'LL ALSO BE AT TURNER ROBERTS.
AND IF YOU VISIT US AT WWW AUSTIN, TEXAS.GOV, YOU CAN FIND OUT WHERE ELSE WE'LL BE.
IN ADDITION TO THESE OPERATIONS, IT'S LISTED HERE ON THE SCREEN.
OUR MOBILE TEAM IS SCHEDULED TO BE AT 21 EVENTS, PROVIDING VACCINE IN DIFFERENT PLACES, UM, FOR EXTRA TECH PATHWAYS AT MEADOWBROOK APARTMENTS STREET, YOUTH MINISTRIES, AUSTIN COUCH, POTATO GARDNER BETTS, DEL VALLEY, MIDDLE SCHOOL ELEGANT HIGH SCHOOL CEDARS HIGH SCHOOL LBJ.
SO YOU CAN SEE WHERE WE'RE IN A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT PLACES.
SO IF YOU WANT MORE SPECIFIC INFORMATION ABOUT ANY OF THOSE LOCATIONS, PLEASE VISIT US AT WWW THAT AUSTIN, TEXAS.GOV
UM, ON THIS SCREEN, YOU SEE A NICE SCREENSHOT OF DR.
WALKS AT THE KX, A AND STUDIO, AS WELL AS HER COLLEAGUES ON SCREEN.
AND WE CONTINUE TO PUSH OUT MESSAGING VIA SOCIAL MEDIA.
UM, WHY DO YOU WEAR YOUR MASK? AND YOU CAN SEE IT THEY'RE REPRESENTED IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES IN TERMS OF, UH, UPCOMING EVENTS ON THE 13TH.
WE WILL HAVE ANOTHER EPISODE OF MY API LIVE, WHICH IS A FACEBOOK EVENT TARGETED FOR THE ASIAN PACIFIC ISLANDER COMMUNITY TO HAVE CANDID CONVERSATIONS ABOUT COVID ON THE 14TH, WE'LL HAVE A PPE AND FOOD DISTRIBUTION AT THE MONTOPOLIS COMMUNITY CENTER.
THESE DAYS IS THE SOFT LAUNCH OF OUR GIFT CARD INCENTIVE PROGRAM.
AND SO, UM, RIGHT NOW THE GIFT CARDS ARE AVAILABLE AT, UM, THROUGH VACCINATIONS ADMINISTERED BY OUR MOBILE VACCINE PROGRAM.
THIS WEEKEND, WE EXPECT THE FULL ROLLOUT WITH GIFT CARDS AVAILABLE AT ANY OF THE APH LOCATIONS.
IT'S $50 PER SHOT, AND ALL WE'RE ASKING THE PUBLIC TO IS TO FILL OUT A SHORT SURVEY AFTER EACH APPOINTMENT TO BE ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE THAT VACCINE.
UH, DO WE HAVE THE TRAVIS COUNTY COLLECTIVE TEAM CHECK
[00:30:04]
JUDGE? YES.CHUCK BROTHERTON COUNTY EXECUTIVE FOR EMERGENCY SERVICES THIS MORNING, Y'ALL WILL HEAR AS USUAL FROM, UH, ESD 11 FIRE CHIEF, KEN BAILEY, AND CONSTABLE PRECINCT FOR POSSIBLE GEORGE MARELLA.
SO I'LL TURN IT OVER TO CHIEF BAILEY.
THIS TIME I'M GOING TO TRY AND ACTUALLY SHARE MY SLIDES AND MY WAY WITH TRAVIS CUTTING FIRE RESCUE REPRESENTING THE COLLABORATIVE.
UM, WE WILL BE BRIEF ALONG WITH, UH, CONSTABLE MORALES WILL FOLLOW, UH, AS OF LAST NIGHT, THE, UH, VACCINE COLLABORATIVE, UH, FOR THE COUNTY HAS DELIVERED OVER 25,000 SHOTS.
UH, THAT INCLUDES ABOUT 7,200 OF THOSE SHOTS OCCURRED AT THE EXPO CENTER AND THE REMAINDER ARE THESE MOBILE POP-UP EVENTS.
UH, WE CURRENTLY HAVE PERFORMED OR HAVE PLANNED THROUGH THE MONTH OF AUGUST, UH, 287, UH, MOBILE EVENTS.
THE TOTAL, IF YOU INCLUDE THE WORK AT CODA WITH COMMUNITY CARE IS NOW AN EXCESS OF A HUNDRED THOUSAND.
UH, WE ARE SEEING AN INCREASE IN INTEREST IN FIRST DOSES.
IN FACT, THE FIRST DAY, EIGHT DAYS OF AUGUST REPRESENTS ABOUT 40% OF ALL THE FIRST DOSES THAT WE DID FOR THE MONTH OF JULY.
UH, AND FOR THE COMMISSIONERS, I KNEW THERE'S SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT THE EXPO AND, UH, CHUCK BROTHERTON HAS THIS SLIDE.
I THINK IT'S BEEN FORWARDED TO YOU, UH, BREAKING DOWN WHAT HAS OCCURRED AT EXPO.
AND I THINK THAT'S A TOPIC FOR ANOTHER DISCUSSION OR A DISCUSSION FOR ANOTHER TIME.
UH, WE, I'VE ALSO BROKEN DOWN BY LOCATION.
UH, THE EXPO REPRESENTS ABOUT 28% OF WHAT WE'VE DONE OUTSIDE OF CODA.
UH, MAINER IS THE, IS THE SECOND LARGEST EVENT, WHICH WAS, UH, REALLY HAMMERED WITH, UH, THE MAYOR OF MAYNOR AND DR.
SMITH AND DEL VALLEY INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT HAS ALSO PLAYED A, AN IMPORTANT ROLE WITH US IN TRYING TO, TO ADDRESS SOME OF THE ISSUES ON THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF THE COUNTY ON THAT I'LL TURN IT OVER TO, UH, CONSTABLE MORALES, GOOD MORNING COMMISSIONERS, JUDGE, COUNCILMEMBER, MAYORS.
WE CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON OUR OUTREACH AND EDUCATION DOING WORK THAT WOULD ENSURE THAT OUR STRIKE TEAMS ARE SUCCESSFUL.
UM, THIS LAST WEEK OF, UH, THE FIRST WEEK OF AUGUST, UH, WE DID ABOUT 1900, UM, PHONE CALLS AND 1100 FLYERS TO HOMES IN OUR COMMUNITIES.
UH, OUR MOBILE VACCINE TEAMS DID A COMBINED SHOTS OF ABOUT 1,650 SHOTS THIS LAST WEEK.
UH, WE WERE ABLE TO IDENTIFY SOME LOCATIONS, UM, THAT WERE PROMOTED PROVIDED FOR, FROM OUR OUTREACH FOLKS, UM, THAT WE KIND OF, UH, UM, MADE SURE THAT WE HAD MORE COORDINATE LIKE FOR RESTAURANTS AND BUSINESSES LIKE LOCAL.
AND, UH, WE ENCOURAGE A LOT OF FOLKS TO CALL OUR OFFICE.
UM, OUR NUMBER IS, LET ME, LET ME SEE THIS RIGHT.
IT'S 5 1 2 8 5 4 7 4 6 8 5 1 2 8 5 4 SHOT.
AND THIS IS FOR HOME VACCINE REQUEST.
AND WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO IS GET ON THE GROUND.
WE ACTUALLY HAVE TEAMS ON THE GROUND NOW.
UM, THEY ENCOURAGE OUR SHOP LOCATIONS.
THEY START AT EIGHT 30 IN THE MORNING.
IT IS COOLER AND WE'RE FIRING HOMES AND TALKING TO PEOPLE AND GETTING TO THE LOCATIONS WHERE THE SHOTS ARE AVAILABLE.
THEY FIVE FOR SHOT NUMBER IS BECAUSE THIS CAME UP IN SEVERAL CONVERSATIONS WITH, WITH OUR OUTREACH FOLKS, IS THERE ARE FAMILIES WHO CAN'T GET TO THE LOCATION.
THERE ARE RESIDENTS THAT HAVE PEOPLE THAT ARE HOME-BOUND OR DUE TO DISABILITY, OR SOME OTHER, SOMETHING OTHER THAN THAT, UH, PEOPLE WHO WANT TO KEEP THEMSELVES SAFE DUE TO HAVING MULTIPLE FAMILY MEMBERS AROUND THEM.
AND THEN THE BIG ONE FOR ME WAS PEOPLE WHO WOULD LIKE TO KEEP THEIR VACCINE PRIVATE.
SO THAT WAS VERY IMPORTANT FOR US.
SO AS WE CONTINUE ON MOVING FORWARD FOR THIS WEEK, UH, WE DO HAVE SHOT LOCATIONS LIKE AT LANGFORD ELEMENTARY, TRAVIS CRISIS MINISTRIES, SAN JUAN DIEGO, CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL, UM, WELLS BRANCH COMMUNITY CENTER, UH, WORKING WITH COMMISSIONER SHEA, UM, RIVER CITY YOUTH FOUNDATION, THE MEXICAN CONSULATE, AND THAT'S STILL PENDING FOR DATES AND TIMES HOUSTON TILLOTSON UNIVERSITY.
WE HAD A SUCCESSFUL WEEKEND THIS WEEKEND.
UM, I WANNA LIKE I DO EVERY, EVERY WEEK.
I WANT TO GIVE SHOUT OUTS TO A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT WERE BOOTS ON THE GROUND WITH US.
PART STAFF WAS AMAZING THIS WEEKEND.
UM, WITH ADDITIONAL HELP, WE WERE ABLE TO FUNNEL 20 PEOPLE AT A TIME UTILIZE SOCIAL DISTANCING WITH MASKING GAVE OUT 3,200 BOTTLES OF SANITIZER, ALMOST 12,000 MASS TO FAMILIES, UM, COUNTY JUDGE, ANDY BROWN COMMISSIONER MARK GOMEZ,
[00:35:01]
COUNCIL MEMBER, VANESSA POINT IS, UM, COMMISSIONER JEFF TREVELYAN MR. RON HOWARD, UM, OTHER ELECTED OFFICIALS, UH, TRUSTEE JULIE NICHE.UM, HOPEFULLY I DON'T FORGET EVERYBODY IF I DO.
UM, JUDGE BROUGHT A RUTHIE, UH, I MEAN, A LOT OF PEOPLE PUT A LOT OF WORK IN THIS WEEKEND TO KEEP A LOT OF PEOPLE SAFE AND I WANT TO, OH, HEARTEDLY, THANK YOU FOR THAT.
UM, AGAIN, WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO PUSH FORWARD TO OUR MOBILE VACCINE COLLABORATIVE.
YOU HEARD THE CHIEF SAY WE HAVE OVER 200 CLINICS SET UP THIS MONTH AND WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO TRY TO SERVE AS BEST AS WE CAN.
I'LL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS AND JUDGE, I'D JUST LIKE TO FOLLOW UP, UH, AND, AND, UH, HAD A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION AS I DID LAST WEEK, UH, ABOUT WHERE FOLKS CAN LOOK TO FIND VACCINATIONS, UH, IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD.
JUST WANT TO SHARE A COUPLE OF WEBSITES.
SO WE'VE GOT WEBSITES, TRAVIS COUNTY'S WEBSITE, TRAVIS COUNTY, TX.GOV, OR A QUICK GOOGLE SEARCH FOR TRAVIS COUNTY.
VACCINATION WILL LEAD YOU TO THIS PAGE THAT SHOWS YOU A DAY BY DAY CALENDAR FOR ALL OF THE VARIOUS POP-UP LOCATIONS THAT WE HAVE SCHEDULED.
YOU CAN SEE THAT, BUT TODAY, AUGUST 10TH, YOU CAN SEE HOW MANY WE'VE GOT YOU CLICK ON ANY ONE OF THESE.
UH, MOST OF THIS, THIS IS REALLY A COMBINATION OF BOTH COUNTY, UH, COLLABORATIVE AND AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, BUT YOU CAN ALSO SEE SOME, SOME OTHERS IN HERE, HEB, PHARMACY, WALGREENS, AND SO FORTH, BUT CLICK ON ANY ONE OF THESE AND YOU'LL COME UP WITH THE DETAILS, THE LOCATION, THE TYPES OF VACCINE AVAILABLE HOURS OF OPERATION.
THE SAME CALENDAR IS ALSO LINKED THROUGH AUSTIN, TEXAS.GOV/ COVID-19.
UH, AND YOU CAN FIND THE INFORMATION THAT DIRECTOR STIRRUP POINTED OUT.
UH, AND IT ALSO DOES LINK BACK TO THAT DAILY CALENDAR.
AND FOR FOLKS WHO WOULD LIKE TO GET A VACCINE AT A, UH, PRIVATE PHARMACY OR A GROCERY STORE VACCINES.GOV IS ANOTHER, A GREAT RESOURCE FOR JUST FINDING LOCATIONS FOR WHERE VACCINES ARE.
CLICK ON TO FIND COVID-19 VACCINES, ENTER YOUR ZIP CODE, AND YOU'LL QUICKLY COME UP WITH A NUMBER OF CVS GBS, OTHER PRIVATE LOCATIONS FOR VACCINATIONS, AS YOU HEARD FROM DIRECTOR STIRRUP, AS WELL AS, UH, CHIEF BAILEY, UH, APH HAS BEEN AVERAGING ABOUT 1300 DOSES A WEEK, UH, AT THEIR POP-UPS SINCE APRIL 1ST IN THE COLLABORATIVES, UH, STARTING OUR POP-UP OPERATIONS.
WE LIKEWISE HAVE BEEN AVERAGING ABOUT 1300 VACCINATIONS A WEEK.
UH, SO WE ARE CONTINUING TO DO GOOD WORK.
WE'RE WORKING TO EXPAND OUR EFFORTS, UH, AND WE WANT EVERYBODY TO BE AWARE THAT THESE, UH, OPPORTUNITIES ARE EASILY AND READILY AVAILABLE EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK.
UH, WE WOULD LIKE TO POINT ALL OF OUR RESIDENTS TO, UH, TO GET A VACCINE AND I'LL STOP THERE AND WE'RE PREPARED TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS, JUDGE.
SO, UH, WE'RE GOING TO GO FIRST, THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT MEMBERS AND THEN THE JUDGE JUDGE.
ONE QUESTION, UH, I'VE GOT MY OFFICE HAS GOTTEN SEVERAL CALLS AND SAID, EVIDENTLY IT HAD CALLED INTO THE WRONG NINE AND WE'VE NOW REACHED OUT WITH THE RIGHT LINE.
IS IT POSSIBLE TO LET PUBLIC COMMENTS OCCUR BEFORE WE START? THE QUESTIONS ARE, OR, OR IT COULD BE AFTER, BUT I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE, UH, THAT WE HEAR SOME OF THE FOLKS WHO ARE WANTING TO PARTNER WITH US AND THEY HELP US ALONG THE WAY.
LARRY, HOW MANY COLORS DO WE HAVE ON RIGHT NOW AT THE MOMENT? JUST ONE.
CAUSE I THINK WE, WE CLOSED THE PERIOD, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE THIS CALLER HAD THE WRONG NUMBER, SO WE CAN OPEN IT BACK UP FOR THIS ONE COLOR.
IF YOU DON'T MIND LARRY, GO INTO THE COLLAR.
JANICE BOOKOUT IS ON THE LINE, JANICE.
OH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR, INCLUDING ME.
I, UM, I JUST WANTED TO SAY FIRST, I WANTED TO START WITH A HUGE, THANK YOU, UM, TO TRAVIS COUNTY.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE MAP OF THE VACCINE, ALL THE DOTS ON THE VACCINE MAP ON, ON THE TRAVIS COUNTY PAGE, THEY'RE ALL IN EAST AUSTIN.
AND I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU.
THAT'S A REMARKABLE CHANGE AND IT'S VERY, I JUST REALLY APPRECIATE IT.
AND THANK, AND ALSO, I JUST WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE
[00:40:01]
THE BOLD LEADERSHIP AT AISD WHO YESTERDAY, UM, HAS TO TABASCO BANDAID.UM, THEY DID THE RIGHT THING FOR OUR CHILDREN.
UM, EVEN THOUGH IT WASN'T THE EASY THING AND THEY TOOK A BIG RISK, THEY WANTED TO GO ON THE RECORD OF SAYING THOSE TWO.
I ALSO WANTED TO SAY GREAT JOB IN 7 8 7 1 9 BECAUSE THEY ARE 7, 8, 7 1 9 HAS BEEN, UH, LAGGING IN VACCINATIONS AND HAVING INCREASING, UM, INCREASING CASES.
BUT THEY ARE NOW THE FASTEST INCREASING, UH, IN VACCINATION, UM, THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY.
AND THEN I ALSO, UH, TWO MORE THINGS I JUST WANTED TO SAY, UM, RIGHT NOW, UH, 7 8 7 2 1 4 1 5 3 AND ONE SEVEN, UM, HAVE VERY HIGH RATES, UM, SINCE JULY 1ST AND THEY HAVE VERY LOW VACCINATION RATES.
THEY HAVE THE LOWEST VACCINATION RATES OF ALL THE ZIP CODES.
SO I'M CONCERNED ABOUT THOSE, UM, IN PARTICULAR.
UH, AND I ALSO JUST WANTED TO SAY, I THINK IT MIGHT MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE IF WE CONSIDERED, UM, UH, ALLOWING CLUBS LIKE, LIKE MUSIC VENUES TO, UM, HAVE MUSIC LATE, LIKE TO CHANGE THE SOUND ORDINANCE SO THAT PEOPLE COULD BE OUTSIDE WITH MUSIC UNTIL 1:00 AM.
INSTEAD OF HAVING TO GO INSIDE, TO PLAY MUSIC AT CLUB AT 10:00 PM, UM, I'VE DISCUSSED IT WITH SOME OF OUR SCIENTISTS ON OUR TEAM AND THEY FEEL THAT THAT MIGHT MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE IN, UM, IN OUR RATES.
SO I WANTED TO OFFER THAT AS A POTENTIAL, UM, A POTENTIAL OPTION, UM, FOR POLICY CHANGE.
THANKS SO MUCH FOR ALL OF YOUR HARD WORK AND KEEP IT UP.
ALL RIGHT, SO WE'LL GO AHEAD TO THE QUESTION.
I'M SORRY TO INTERRUPT YOU, JUDGE.
I'M SORRY TO INTERRUPT YOU, BUT WE DO HAVE A SECOND TO COVID CALLER, IF YOU WANT HER TO TAKE IT.
THIS IS WILLIAM KIRKENDOLE WILLIAM.
THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO VISIT WITH THIS GROUP THIS MORNING.
I'M CALLING IN SUPPORT OF YOUR EFFORTS, UH, AND THE REQUESTS THAT WE CAN INCREASE OUR OUTREACH TO YOUNG CITIZENS AND THOSE WHO ARE, UH, TEPID IN RECEIVING, UH, THE VACCINATION.
UH, WE DON'T WANT ANOTHER SHUTDOWN, BUT THE RISKS ARE APPARENTLY QUITE HIGH AND ALLOCATE THE RESOURCES THAT YOU DEEM APPROPRIATE IN THE AUDIT TO PROTECT OUR CITIZENS AND YOUR CONSTITUENTS.
THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK.
I THINK WE'RE GOING TO GO ON TO THE QUESTION PART.
SO WE'LL DO COMMISSIONERS AND THEN THE COUNTY JUDGE, AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBERS AND THE MAYOR, THAT WOULD BE THE ORDER OF QUESTIONS.
AND I KNOW WE ALL HAVE LOTS OF QUESTIONS, BUT IF Y'ALL COULD TRY TO LIMIT IT TO ONE SO THAT WE COULD GET THROUGH THIS.
UH, SO I'LL START WITH COMMISSIONER GOMEZ.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? UH, JUDGE, NOT, UH, ANY QUESTION, I THINK IT'S PRETTY CLEAR WHAT IT IS THAT WE HAVE TO DO TO, UM, TO KIND OF, UM, PUT THIS OFF.
HOWEVER, I DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO WITH THOSE FOLKS WHO JUST REFUSE TO, TO, UH, TAKE THE SHOT.
UM, AND I, I GUESS WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO BE, UH, SATISFIED WITH THAT.
THERE'S GOING TO BE A CERTAIN NUMBER WHO WILL NEVER DO IT, UH, BECAUSE WE CERTAINLY HAVE GONE OUT.
I KNOW THAT THE CONSTABLE AND THE ESD TEAM HAVE GONE OUT AND TALKED TO PEOPLE FACE TO FACE AND, UM, AND I MEAN, YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE PEOPLE THAT YOU COULD TRUST.
UH, AND, AND YET WE STILL HAVE RESISTANCE.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE ANSWER IS TO THAT.
UH, EXCEPT I GUESS SOMEBODY TOLD ME THAT WE'D PROBABLY HAD TO, UH, JUST REQUIRED OF EVERYBODY AND I DON'T KNOW THAT WE'RE GOING TO GO THERE, BUT I THINK WE JUST HAVE TO KEEP, JUST HAVE TO KEEP PLUGGING AT IT, I GUESS, AND, AND TRY TO, PROBABLY TO WHAT TURNED THINGS AROUND.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER, UH, COMMISSIONER.
UM, I'LL START OFF BY, UH, BY THANKING, UM, THE, THE PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENTS AND ALSO, UH, THE, UH, THE CONSTABLE'S OFFICE AND, AND
[00:45:01]
OUR ESD WHO HAVE BEEN CREATIVE ABOUT GETTING OUT AND TALKING TO PEOPLE, UH, THAT SOMETIMES HAVE DIFFICULTY TALKING WITH GOVERNMENT.I THINK IT NEEDS TO BE SAID AGAIN, UH, THAT A LOT OF THE ISSUES THAT WE ARE EXPERIENCING ARE STRUCTURAL ISSUES.
UH, WE'RE DEALING WITH COMMUNITIES THAT UNFORTUNATELY HAVE NOT BEEN SERVED WELL OVER THE YEARS.
AND EVEN WHEN WE STARTED OFF, WE WERE, WE WERE A LITTLE, IT WAS SKETCHY THE FIRST, YOU KNOW, IT, IT WAS 10 WEEKS BEFORE WE ACTUALLY STARTED, UH, GETTING INTO COMMUNITY AND TESTING.
AND THEN WHEN WE HAD VACCINATIONS INITIALLY, UM, I'LL SAY THIS IT'S IRONIC.
UM, WE HAD TO GET DR AND MRS. DELCO SHOTS AT THE ROUND ROCK EXPRESS CENTER BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T GET INTO THE DELCO CENTER.
IT, IT, IT C IT SEEMS CRAZY ON ITS FACE.
SO WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT WE ARE ADDRESSING ARE STRUCTURAL, AND WE HAVE GOT TO FIND A WAY TO CONTINUE REACHING INWARD AND OUTWARD AS WELL, UH, TO OUR TRUSTED PARTNERS.
I THINK ONE OF THE REASONS THAT, UH, THE CONSTABLES PROGRAM IS SO EFFECTIVE IS THAT HE IS A TRUSTED COMMUNITY PARTNER.
HE GREW UP IN THE COMMUNITY, PEOPLE KNOW HIM, UH, THEY COME TO THE GYM AND HIS NEIGHBOR, UH, THAT CREATES A, UH, A, UH, IT'S NOT JUST, IT IS COMPETENCE, BUT IT IS ALSO TRUST.
IT IS ALSO, I KNOW YOU, AND I KNOW THAT WHATEVER YOU'RE TELLING ME, I OUGHT TO DO, I SHOULD PARTICIPATE IN.
WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO MAKE THAT TYPE OF OUTREACH ACROSS THE COMMUNITIES, PARTICULARLY IN THE EASTERN CRESCENT.
I THINK THAT AS WE HAVE WORKED WITH CHURCHES, WE HAVE WORKED WITH, SO I, BUT A WHOLE LOT OF EFFORT SEEMINGLY TO GET ONLY WAY THAT WE'RE GOING TO GET THAT RESPONSE IS TO GIVE THE TOOLS THAT ARE NECESSARY TO OUR TRUSTED COMMUNITY LEADERS AND HAVE THEM WORK IN THE COMMUNITIES THAT TRUST.
AND I THINK, UH, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT HAVING THOSE LEADERS IDENTIFY SPACES THAT WE SHOULD BE WORKING AND THEN HAVE OTHER TRUSTED COMMUNITY MEMBERS ACTUALLY, WELL, WE JUST HAVE TO CONTINUE TO WORK THERE.
IT SEEMS, YOU KNOW, IT MIGHT SEEM, SEEM LIKE WE ARE, UH, AND A DIMINISHING MARGINAL EFFORT.
BUT I THINK THAT WHAT WE HAVE FOUND OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS AS OUR NUMBERS HAVE BEGUN TO RISE A LITTLE BIT, UH, PEOPLE ARE BEGINNING TO TRUST A LITTLE MORE AS WE, AS WE CREATE COMMUNITY EVENTS, AS WE FOCUS ON THINGS THAT ARE GOING TO BE COMING UP BACK TO SCHOOL DAYS, DAYS, WHERE WE'RE GIVING OUT BACKPACKS, UM, WHEN, WHEN THE SEASON STARTS FOOTBALL GAMES, BASKETBALL GAMES, WE'VE GOT TO GO WHERE PEOPLE, BECAUSE THEY HAVE A LOT OF REASONS NOT TO TRUST US, AND THEY'RE NOT RECENT.
THEY ARE HISTORIC AND STRUCTURAL.
IT MIGHT SEEM NOT TO, UH, GO AS FAST AS WE WANT IT TO, BUT IT WILL BE ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY TO GET TO THE POINT THAT WE ULTIMATELY, UH, GET, GET THE HERD IMMUNITY.
SO I THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU, WHAT YOU'RE DOING.
I JUST WANT TO, THE QUESTION I'LL ASK IS HOW CLOSE HAVE WE GOTTEN TO GETTING THE PERSONNEL INTO THE BUDGET THAT THE CONSTABLE ASKED FOR SO THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY START CALLING AND KNOCKING ON DOORS? IT'S A GREAT POINT.
I KNOW WE ADDED, I THINK SIX PEOPLE TO THE TEAM LAST WEEK, ARE WE, I THINK WE MAY BE DISCUSSING THAT IN OUR SEPARATE MEETING UNDER THE COVID ITEM OR TODAY, BUT ANY UPDATES, THEIR HIRING PROCESS IS UNDERWAY FOR THOSE SIX, UH, IDENTIFYING THE APPROPRIATE CANDIDATES AND BRINGING THOSE FOLKS IN THAT IS, THAT IS ALL IN THE WORKS.
AND WE'RE WORKING AT AS FAST AS WE CAN.
I JUST, I JUST WANTED TO CONTINUE TO ENCOURAGE THE STAFF BECAUSE WE'RE DEALING WITH STRUCTURAL PROBLEMS AND THE ONLY WAY TO DO, TO ADDRESS THAT IS CONTINUOUSLY LETTING PEOPLE SEE YOU DO THE RIGHT THING FOR THEM IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS.
AND THEN THEY WILL BEGIN TO TRUST US MORE AND PARTICIPATE WITH THEM.
[00:50:02]
THANK YOU.UM, AND THANK, I WANTED TO JUST, UM, APPRECIATE DR.
WACHS, UH, WHEN I SAW HER, UH, BUSY LAST WEEK AND TAKING THE TIME TO GIVE HIGH SCHOOL PHYSICALS TO YOUNG LADIES AND MEN OUT AT LBJ, IT WAS, UM, YOU'RE DOING THE RIGHT THING AND I APPRECIATE IT.
THANKS FOR BEING OUT IN THE COMMUNITY.
UM, MIKE, I WOULD JUST ECHO QUESTION IS, DO WE, DO WE NEED MORE PEOPLE OR ARE THERE ANY OTHER PARTNERSHIPS, YOU KNOW, THAT, UM, THAT WE COULD PUT TO WORK, UH, BETWEEN NOW AND FOOTBALL SEASON AND BASKETBALL SEASON TO MAKE SURE, UM, THAT WE'RE COVERING THE GROUND.
SO AS PEOPLE ARE WORKING IN THE COMMUNITY, IF THERE ARE OTHER, UM, PARTNERSHIPS WE NEED TO EXPLORE, PLEASE BRING THEM FORWARD.
UM, SO LET'S SEE, JUST WANTING TO SEE A DIRECTOR OR ADRIAN, IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND LOOKING BACK AT THE SLIDE WHERE YOU SAID, HOW MANY SHOTS I THINK AUSTIN, PUBLIC HEALTH AND COMMUNITY CARE HAD GIVEN, IT WAS LIKE A THOUSAND OR SOMETHING.
DOES THAT NUMBER INCLUDE WHAT, UH, GEORGE AND HIS TEAM ARE DOING? AND THEN SEPARATELY IS THERE, IS THERE A WAY TO SEE BASICALLY WEEK BY WEEK, HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE DOING SHOTS AND TRAVIS COUNTY, YOU KNOW, OVERALL IT PRIVATE PROVIDERS IN, UH, AS WELL AS THE EFFORTS THAT WE'RE DOING.
AND IT'S PROBABLY SOME OF OUR REALLY OBVIOUS THAT I'M NOT LOOKING AT, BUT IS THAT A THING THAT WE COULD TRACK WEEK BY WEEK? JUST HOW MANY VACCINES ARE BEING GIVEN WITHIN TRAVIS COUNTY BY OUR, ALL OF OUR EFFORTS? WELL, THE INFORMATION THAT I SHARE OR SHOT SPECIFICALLY DELIVERED BY AUSTIN, PUBLIC HEALTH AND COMMUNITY CARE, UM, I BELIEVE THROUGH OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH, UM, MR. BROTHERTON AND THE CONSTABLE, WE CAN GIVE A, UH, ELECTIVE PRESENTATION OF THOSE NUMBERS WEEK OVER WEEK.
AND I BELIEVE ON THE DSHS WEBSITE, WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET THAT INFORMATION FOR THE COUNTY.
BUT, UM, IF THAT IS INFORMATION THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE TEAM AND I CAN WORK TO PROVIDE THAT IN FUTURE PRESENTATIONS.
CAUSE I THINK Y'ALL ARE ALL, EVERYBODY'S DOING GREAT WORK ON IT AND WE'D LOVE TO SEE IF THE THINGS WE'RE DOING.
IT SEEMS LIKE THEY'RE INCREASINGLY ARE WORKING BETTER AND BETTER, AND WE'RE GETTING MORE SHOTS OUT BECAUSE OF OBVIOUSLY A LOT OF FACTORS THAT WOULD LIKE TO TRACK THAT NUMBER PRETTY CLOSELY.
AND MAYOR, I WILL PASS IT ON OVER TO YOU JUDGE.
UH, COLLEAGUES, I THINK, UH, TODAY WE'RE GOING DISTRICT FOUR AND THROUGH DISTRICT 10.
SO WE'LL BEGIN WITH THE VERY PRETEND.
MA'AM THANK YOU, JUDGE AND COMMISSIONERS AND EVERYBODY WHO'S WORKED SO HARD.
UM, I, I AM CONSTANTLY IN AWE OF YOU AT, IN COMMUNITY DOING THE GOOD WORKS.
AND SO I COULDN'T BE MORE GRATEFUL THAT WE HAVE A MEMBER OF OUR COMMUNITY LIKE YOU.
UM, SO YOU AND ALL YOUR EFFORTS, UM, DR.
WILKES, I THINK YOU SAID SOMETHING EARLIER WALKS, I'M SORRY.
YOU SAID SOMETHING EARLIER THAT I WANT SOME CLARITY ON, ON.
SO YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT SPECIFICALLY, IT WAS THE SLIDE WHERE WE TALKED ABOUT ICU, UM, UH, CAPABILITY.
AND I THINK IN THE CAPACITY, LIKE IT HAD, YOU KNOW, CAPACITY AND IT WAS TWO AND YOU KNOW, SEVERAL MEMBERS AND YOU TALKED ABOUT BASICALLY HOW WE HA I THINK YOU SAID TRANSFER IS VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE.
UM, I I'D LIKE FOR YOU TO ELABORATE ON THAT.
SOME IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND, AND THEN IF I ALSO MAY, AS AN EXTENSION OF THAT QUESTION, I'D LIKE TO KNOW, ARE WE GOING TO FIND OURSELVES, LIKE WE WERE IN THIS, THAT FIRST SURGE WHERE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO BE LOOKING AT SETTING UP EMERGENCY SECONDARY EMERGENCY MEDICAL FACILITIES? YES.
UM, SO RIGHT RIGHT NOW, BECAUSE WE HAVE, UM, WE'RE MAXING OUT OUR ICU BED CAPACITY.
WE ARE HAVING TO LOAD BALANCE.
AND, UM, THERE ARE PEOPLE THAT ARE WAITING FOR BEDS IN ICU, IN EMERGENCY ROOMS BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH STAFF TO EXPAND OUR ICU CAPACITY.
AND THIS IS A PHENOMENON THAT'S COME ABOUT BECAUSE WE HAVE, UM, HAD PEOPLE WORKING ON A RESPONSE TO A PANDEMIC FOR 19 MONTHS NOW.
AND SOME PEOPLE HAVE RETIRED AND SOME PEOPLE HAVE MOVED ON TO DIFFERENT CAREERS AND IT'S DIFFICULT TO FIND STAFFING.
SO, UM, THIS IS NOT JUST HAPPENING
[00:55:01]
HERE, IT'S HAPPENING ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.AND WE HAVE, UM, IN PARTICULAR IN TEXAS, UM, SIMILAR SITUATIONS IN OUR MAJOR METROPOLITAN CENTERS WHERE TERTIARY CARE, UM, ICU CARE, UM, ECMO SERVICES, UM, HIGH LEVEL CARE IS AVAILABLE.
AND WE ARE, UM, WE'VE BEEN ABLE IN THE PAST TO ACCEPT TRANSFERS FROM OTHER CITIES AND OUT OF STATE.
AND NOW BECAUSE WE'RE TAKING CARE OF PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY, UM, AT THIS LEVEL, WE DON'T HAVE THE ABILITY TO ACCEPT TRANSFERS AND THE SAME IS TRUE.
IN OTHER SENSE, CITIES, OCCASIONALLY YOU MAY HAVE AN OPENING, BUT FOR THE MOST PART, WE'RE ALL EXPERIENCING HIGH SURGEONS IN CASES.
AND, AND SO WE'RE NOT ABLE TO TRANSFER AS TO WHETHER WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO OPEN ANOTHER FACILITY.
UM, WE WOULD, WE COULD OPEN ANOTHER FACILITY, BUT WOULD WE BE ABLE TO STAFF IT AND AT THIS POINT, WANT TO SET THAT RESOURCE IN THE PLACE WHERE IT'S BEST USED, AND THAT WOULD BE IN OUR HOSPITALS.
SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE TRYING TO SUPPORT OUR HOSPITALS IN THEIR ABILITY TO WITHSTAND THE SURGE THAT WE'RE EXPERIENCING.
SO FIRST I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SENDING THE TEXT ALERT AND THE PHONE CALL OVER THE WEEKEND, DISCUSSING THE SEVERITY OF THE SITUATION THAT WE'RE IN RIGHT NOW WITH THE SURGE.
I THINK THAT WAS SUPER HELPFUL AND I WAS REALLY GLAD TO SEE THAT COME THROUGH.
IT CERTAINLY SPARKED A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS, UM, IN MY COMMUNITY.
SO I JUST WANTED TO RE REITERATE MY GRATITUDE, UM, FOR UTILIZING OUR TOOLS TO GET COMMUNICATION OUT TO THE COMMUNITY AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
WACHS FOR, FOR JOINING THE AWESOME LATINO COALITION MEETING AND DISCUSSING WITH OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS, UM, THE PROCESS FOR THE DELTA TESTING FOR THE DELTA VARIANT AND WHAT THAT LOOKED LIKE AND HOW, UM, HOW NUANCED AND COMPLEX IT IS.
I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THAT MEETING.
SO MY QUESTION IS, UM, A FEW QUESTIONS.
SO THE FIRST ONE I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT, UM, WAS, UH, OR IS THE SOCIAL MEDIA EFFORTS.
UM, CAN YOU, UH, DIRECTOR STIRRUP, CAN YOU SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT IF WE'RE, UM, ENGAGING IN SOCIAL MEDIA ADS THAT ARE GEO-TARGETED TO CERTAIN AREAS THAT WE KNOW ARE, UM, LOW VACCINATION RATES OR AT LEAST, YOU KNOW, SHARING OUT OUR TESTING CENTER INFORMATION AND TESTING PROCESS, DO WE HAVE, UM, SOCIAL MEDIA ADS RUNNING? SO I, I KNOW IN THE PAST THAT WE HAVE USED ADS, UM, SO THOUGH ALL OF OUR POSTS, ANYTHING THAT WE PUT ON SOCIAL MEDIA, AS WELL AS OUR TEST TEXTING PLATFORM USES GEO-FENCING TO TARGET SPECIFIC POPULATIONS.
AND I WOULD JUST LIKE TO ENCOURAGE US TO START RUNNING SOCIAL MEDIA ADS THAT ARE HYPER-TARGETED AS MUCH AS WE CAN, UM, AND PUTTING, UM, SOME, I MEAN, IT'S AN INEXPENSIVE WAY TO GET INFORMATION OUT THERE AND HAVE IT TARGETED TO A POPULATION.
SO THAT MIGHT BE A TACTIC THAT WE EMPLOY, UH, WITH A SENSE OF URGENCY, JUST GIVEN THE SEVERITY OF THE SITUATION THAT WE'RE IN.
UH, THE OTHER QUESTION I HAD WAS AROUND, UM, THE INCENTIVES, THANK YOU FOR SHARING ABOUT THE, THE HEB GIFT CARD.
I DO THINK WE SHOULD CONSIDER, UM, ADDITIONAL INCENTIVES.
YOU KNOW, THE SCHOLARSHIP FULL SCHOLARSHIP FOR STUDENTS, I THINK IS A GREAT WAY FOR US TO TARGET THAT DEMOGRAPHIC.
UM, AND PARTICULARLY THAT AGE RANGE, WHERE WE KNOW WHERE WE HAVE LOWER VACCINATION RATES.
AND SO JUST WANT TO ENCOURAGE US TO CONTINUE BUILDING ON OUR INCENTIVE PACKAGE.
I THINK IT'S A GOOD NEXT STEP, BUT I DO THINK WE'LL NEED TO, TO ELEVATE IT IF WE WANT TO REACH THAT TIPPING POINT AND GETTING MORE PEOPLE, UH, ENCOURAGED TO TAKE THE VACCINE.
AND MY LAST QUESTION IS AROUND PPE, KNOWING THAT WE ARE ENCOURAGING EVERYONE TO MASK UP INDOORS AND OUTDOORS POSSIBLE.
UM, AND WE HAVE YOU SHARED THE ONE PPE DRIVE THAT'S COMING UP IN MONTOPOLIS.
ARE THERE OTHER EFFORTS AROUND OUR PPE DISTRIBUTION?
[01:00:01]
HOW ARE WE DOING ON OUR SUPPLY? DO WE NEED TO INCREASE OUR STOCKPILE? UH, WHAT MORE CAN WE BE DOING WHEN IT COMES TO GETTING OUT MASKS TO THE COMMUNITY? SO IN TERMS OF SUPPLIES NEEDED FOR COMMUNITY DISTRIBUTION, WE, WE HAVE PLENTY.UM, THE TEAM HAS WORKED ON A CALENDAR OF EVENTS, UH, THROUGH THE END OF THIS MONTH.
AND I WILL BE SURE TO SHARE THAT IN ITS TOTALITY, UM, AT OUR NEXT BRIEFING.
SO, UM, AT ONE POINT WE WERE KIND OF STANDING THOSE DOWN, BUT, UM, WITH THE RECENT SURGE AND TO SUPPORT THE MESSAGING AND THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE HEALTH AUTHORITY, WE ARE PICKING UP THOSE OPPORTUNITIES TO DISTRIBUTE PPE TO COMMUNITIES.
WHAT I'M SAYING IS, UH, THANKS TO ALL THE, ALL THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN OUT THERE, WE'RE WORKING, UH, GETTING PEOPLE BACK SEMINATED, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S GETTING TO THAT POINT WHERE IT'S, UH, IT'S REAL SAD THAT WE'RE SEEING SO MANY PEOPLE IN OUR HOSPITALS, WHICH COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED, BUT IT IS WHAT IT IS.
SO, UM, I JUST HOPE THAT PEOPLE REALLY TAKE THIS REALLY SERIOUS AND GO OUT THERE, GET THEIR VACCINATION.
I KNOW I EVEN HAVE A NEPHEW THAT HAD A YOUNG BOY THAT'S, UH, YOU KNOW, HE'S 11 YEARS OLD AND YOU REFUSE TO TAKE THAT VACCINATION YOU'VE BEEN DEALT UP, HE KNOWS BETTER, AND HE KNOWS WHERE TO GET IT.
SO I'M JUST HOPING THAT HE'LL COME TO THE CENSUS AND GO OUT THERE AND TAKE THAT SHOT, NOT JUST FOR HIS, UM, HIS CHILD TOO.
I WANT TO THANK, UM, AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH AND THE COLLABORATIVE, ESPECIALLY FOR WHAT YOU'VE BEEN ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH IN, IN 7 8, 6 1 7 AND IN THE FOUR, FOUR, AND THE TWO, FOUR OF GETTING, UM, SORT OF HERE IN THE LAST WEEK, MORE THAN DOUBLE THE NUMBER OF VACCINES, UH, UH, IN THOSE COMMUNITIES AS BASICALLY IN THE CITY AS A WHOLE, IT GOES TO SHOW THAT THOSE TARGETED EFFORTS CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE.
UH, AND I JUST WANT TO, TO OFFER MY HELP, UM, IN, IN FIVE THREE.
AND I, AND THEN OBVIOUSLY I THINK ALL OF US ALSO IN THE OTHER ZIP CODES WHERE YOU'RE GETTING CLOSER TO DOUBLING THE AMOUNT OF VACCINE UPTAKE THERE.
UH, BUT, BUT THERE'S STILL A WAYS TO GO.
UH, SO I THINK REALLY, YOU KNOW, FIVE, THREE AND FOUR, ONE AND FIVE, TWO, UH, TWO OF THOSE ARE IN MY DISTRICT ARE KIND OF THE NEXT BIGGEST, LOW INCOME ZIP CODES WHERE, UM, WHERE WE STILL ARE UNDER 60%, UH, FIRST DOSE.
SO, SO IT GOES TO SHOW THAT I THINK Y'ALL CAN TAKE THIS FROM A GAME OF INCHES TO A GAME OF YARDS BY REALLY TARGETING THOSE ZIP CODES.
I'M GLAD YOU'RE GETTING 2% OR TWO AND A HALF PERCENT OF PEOPLE EVERY SINGLE WEEK.
UM, AND I THINK IT'D BE REALLY GREAT IF WE COULD GET TO THAT 2% OR TWO AND A HALF PERCENT EVERY SINGLE WEEK AND THOSE OTHER REALLY HIGH NEEDS ZIP CODES.
SO PLEASE DO LET US KNOW HOW WE CAN HELP.
UH, YOU ALSO REMEMBER KITCHEN.
UM, I DON'T HAVE I D WELL, I DO HAVE ONE ADDITIONAL QUESTION FIRST.
LET ME JUST ECHO WHAT EVERYONE HAS BEEN SAYING ABOUT, UH, VACCINATION.
AND I'M VERY PLEASED TO HEAR THE EFFORTS THAT ARE BEING MADE TO REACH OUT TO PEOPLE PERSONALLY, UH, AND APPRECIATE THE EFFORTS THAT CONSTABLES ARE MAKING AND EVERYONE IS, IS MAKING IN THIS REGARD.
UM, I DIDN'T WANT TO CIRCLE BACK AGAIN AND ASK ABOUT THE NURSING HOMES.
WE HAD SOME CONVERSATION ABOUT THIS LAST TIME, JUST WANTING TO UNDERSTAND IF THERE'S ANY UPDATE ON THAT.
UM, AND THAT'S REGARDLESS REGARDING ANY REQUIREMENTS THAT THE NURSING HOME FACILITIES MAY BE PUTTING IN PLACE WITH REGARD TO THEIR WORKERS BEING VACCINATED.
UM, CAN YOU JUST, UH, CAN SOMEONE UPDATE ME ON, ON THAT? I'M NOT AWARE AT THIS POINT OF THAT REQUIREMENT BEING MADE? UM, I ACTUALLY HAVE A MEETING AFTER THIS ONE TO HAVE AN UPDATE ON THE LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES.
AND IF I GET THAT INFORMATION, I WILL BE SURE TO GET IT TO YOU.
WELL, IF THEY'RE NOT, WHAT I'M REALLY WANTING TO UNDERSTAND IS WHAT ACT, WHAT ACTIONS ARE THE NURSING FACILITIES TAKING TO, TO, UM, ENCOURAGE AND SCENT OR REQUIRE THEIR WORKERS TO BE VACCINATED.
SO THAT'S REALLY WHAT I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND.
SO PERHAPS AFTER YOUR MEETING, YOU CAN JUST PROVIDE US THAT YOU CAN SEND US AN EMAIL WITH AN UPDATE I'D LIKE TO UNDERSTAND THEIR LATEST THINKING.
I KNOW IT'S AN EVOLVING QUESTION ABOUT THE, THE ACTIONS THAT NURSING FACILITIES
[01:05:01]
MAY TAKE.UM, I'M ALSO CURIOUS ABOUT IT BECAUSE THERE WAS A, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, A SPECIAL TASK FORCE CREATED AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL LAST YEAR, UH, TO, TO LOOK AT BEST PRACTICES FOR NURSING FACILITIES.
UM, AND I'M NOT WHAT CAME OUT OF THAT WITH REGARD TO, UM, BEST PRACTICES RELATED TO, UH, VACCINATION OF STAFF.
SO I'D JUST LIKE AN UPDATE ON THAT.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? THE QUESTION I'M ASKING.
AND, AND I, UM, UH, I WOULD SAY THAT WE SHOULD WAIT FOR DR.
WACHS IS A FULL REPORT OUT, BUT WHAT I'M HEARING IS THAT, UM, STAFF ARE BEING ASKED TO VOLUNTARILY DISCLOSE IF THEY ARE VACCINATED.
AND THEN IF, IF NOT, THERE'S A CERTAIN TYPE OF MASK THAT THEY CAN, IF THEY ARE, THERE'S A CERTAIN, CERTAIN TYPE OF MASK THAT YOU WEAR.
UM, IF YOU ARE NOT VACCINATED, YOU HAVE TO TEST TWICE A WEEK NOW BECAUSE WE'RE IN STAGE FIVE.
SO IT WAS ONCE A WEEK AND NOW IT'S TWICE A WEEK.
AND THEN YOU HAVE TO WEAR THAT HIGHER LEVEL PROTECTION OF MASKING WHEN YOU'RE DEALING WITH CLIENTS, BUT WE WILL GET A COMPREHENSIVE LOOK AT WHAT THE DIFFERENT FACILITIES ARE DOING AND REPORT BACK TO YOU.
I KNOW YOU MENTIONED, UH, SOME ASPECT OF THAT WHEN WE TALKED LAST TIME TO START, I'M WONDERING IF THERE'S ANY DATA AT THE MOMENT ABOUT THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THAT KIND OF APPROACH.
SO IF THERE IS, IF YOU WOULD SHARE THAT ALSO.
I THANK YOU, AUSTIN, PUBLIC HEALTH IN DR.
WACHS FOR ALL THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING.
I ALSO WANT TO THANK MAYOR PRO TEM FOR ASKING ABOUT STAFFING AT HOSPITALS EARLIER.
I KNOW THAT WE'RE TALKING PUBLICLY ABOUT A SURGEON COVID CASES AND ICU READ CAPACITY, BUT IT SOUNDS TO ME LIKE STAFFING IS A MAJOR FACTOR IN REGARDS TO THE LACK OF AVAILABLE ICU BEDS.
I'M WONDERING IF YOU COULD HELP US UNDERSTAND WHAT IS BEING DONE AT HOSPITALS TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE THE AVAILABILITY OF STAFF THEY'RE MAKING INQUIRIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY FOR, UM, STUFF TO COME AND, UM, WORK AT OUR, OUR LOCAL HOSPITALS.
UM, THEY'RE TRYING TO GET STUFF FROM OTHER AREAS IN THE COUNTRY, BUT THAT'S DIFFICULT AT THIS JUNCTURE SINCE THIS SURGE IS OCCURRING ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
AND I'M NOT SURE IF I MISSED IT, BUT WERE YOU ABLE TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS THAT I SENT IN LAST WEEK? I DIDN'T SEE AN EMAIL FROM YOU ABOUT THAT.
I WANTED TO DRAW EVERYBODY'S ATTENTION TO THE DASHBOARD, UM, THAT SHOWS THE ZIP CODES WITH THE PREVALENCE OF THE SURGE FOR DELTA AND I'LL NOTE IT'S 7 8 6 6 0, WHICH IS FLICKERVILLE.
WALKS OR DIRECTOR STIRRUP, SPEAK TO THAT.
WHAT'S GOING ON FOR YOUR EQUIVALENTS? TOTALLY.
CAN YOU SAY IT AGAIN? I WAS WRITING DOWN TO REMIND MYSELF TO ANSWER KELLY'S QUESTIONS.
IF Y'ALL LOOK AT THE DASHBOARD AND GO TO THE HIGHEST NEW CASES, THE WEEKLY, HIGHEST NEW CASES BY ZIP CODE AND OPEN UP THAT MAP, YOU'LL SEE THAT THE HIGHEST PREVALENCE OF NEW CASES IS 7 8, 6, 6 0 ZIP CODE, WHICH IS PFLUGERVILLE THEY'RE HEAD AND SHOULDERS ABOVE EVERYBODY ELSE.
AND, UM, I JUST WANTED TO POINT THAT OUT OUR PFLUGERVILLE FRIENDS IS IT THAT THEY NEED TO GO GET VACCINATED.
DO WE KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON IN 7, 8, 6, 6, 0? AND WHY ARE JUST SO HIGH BECAUSE IT'S GOING TO BE AFFECTING US IN THE OTHER, UH, SOUTHERN ZIP CODES BELOW THAT.
AND SO I WANT TO URGE OUR PFLUGERVILLE FRIENDS TO, UH, TAKE RESPONSIBILITY.
I DO KNOW THAT DSHS REACHED OUT TO OUR VACCINE TEAMS LAST WEEK TO TALK ABOUT AS ZIP CODES OF CONCERN AND 7, 8, 6, 6 0 WAS ONE OF THEM.
UM, EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE SHOWING HIGH PERCENTAGE OF FOLKS FULLY VACCINATED, BECAUSE IT'S SO LARGE, THERE WERE HIGHER NUMBERS OF PEOPLE WHO WERE NOT VACCINATED.
SO THEY WERE KIND OF LOOKING AT THE DATA ON THAT GRANULAR LEVEL.
AND THEY, UM, ASKED US TO MAKE SURE THAT WE THOUGHT ABOUT THAT IN OUR EFFORTS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE STEPPED UP OUR PRESENCE THERE.
AND SO WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING WITH OUR PARTNERS IN PFLUGERVILLE TO RE-ESTABLISH, UM, NOT ONLY A VACCINATION SITE THERE, BUT IF NEED BE ADDITIONAL TESTING RESOURCES, UM, I CAN GET BACK WITH THE TEAM TO SEE IF THE FOLKS
[01:10:01]
AT DSHS POINTED OUT, UM, OR GAVE ANY INSIGHT TO ANY OTHER FACTORS THEY THOUGHT WERE DRIVING THOSE NUMBERS, AND EITHER INCLUDE THAT IN THE NEXT PRESENTATION OR RESPOND TO THE COUNCIL AND COMMISSIONERS VIA EMAIL.AND, UM, MY APPRECIATION TO EVERYONE IN ALL THE OTHER CODES ARE DOING WHAT IS SOCIALLY AND CIVICALLY RESPONSIBLE AND GETTING THEIR VACCINATIONS AND WEARING THEIR MASKS.
AND I WOULD URGE OUR FRIENDS IN PFLUGERVILLE TO DO THE SAME, GET THOSE NUMBERS DOWN.
UH, COMMISSIONER POOLE REAL QUICK.
I WANT TO MAKE A REAL QUICK COMMENT ABOUT PFLUGERVILLE.
UM, PFLUGERVILLE ISD HAS ALREADY BEEN, UH, WORKING WITH US, UH, IN OUR COLLABORATIVE ON TRYING TO GET THAT.
AND ADRIAN WE'LL SHARE THAT RESPONSIBILITY TOGETHER.
UM, ALSO, UM, BLACK HAWK COMMUNITY CENTER IS A FOCUS IN THE, IN THE, ON THE LOUISVILLE COMMUNITY, ALONG WITH ESD TOO.
UM, AND, UH, FOOTHILL FARMS, UH, TRAVIS COUNTY BUILDING ALL THE MORE REASON FOR PFLUGERVILLE REALLY TO DIG IN AND, AND DO THE WORK BECAUSE CLEARLY WE ARE SUPPORTING THEM IN EVERY POSSIBLE WAY.
SO PFLUGERVILLE GO GET YOUR JOBS.
SWEET YOU COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS.
UM, CAN WE GET SOME ADVICE ON OUTDOOR EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES? I KNOW BLUES ON THE GREEN WAS JUST CANCELED, BUT I KNOW THERE'S A FEW MORE THINGS THAT MAY BE HAPPENING, UM, AS WELL AS KIDS BEING OUTDOORS, UM, PLAYGROUNDS OR SPORTS.
SO CAN YOU SPEAK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE NEED FOR MASKING OUTDOORS? IF THERE IS ONE AND WHAT CONSIDERATIONS PEOPLE SHOULD HAVE FOR THAT? WE, UM, I'VE BEEN WORKING UNDER THE ASSUMPTION THAT TRANSMISSION IS NOT AS HIGH IN OUTDOOR SETTINGS.
UM, HOWEVER, THERE HAVE BEEN SOME REPORTS OF TRANSMISSION IN LARGE GROUPS WHERE PEOPLE ARE UNABLE TO, UM, SOCIALLY DISTANCE.
AND WE ALSO KNOW NOW THAT THERE IS SOME ASYMPTOMATIC TRANSMISSION, UM, THAT OCCURS FROM VACCINATED INDIVIDUALS.
SO, UM, WE ARE ASKING PEOPLE TO MASK WHEN THEY'RE IN OUTDOOR SETTINGS THAT DON'T ALLOW FOR ADEQUATE SOCIAL DISTANCING FROM PEOPLE THAT ARE NOT IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD.
UM, AND WE ARE LOOKING AT, UM, THE IMPACT OF, UH, HAVING LARGE GATHERINGS ON OUR COMMUNITIES, CASE NUMBERS, GIVEN THAT WE'RE IN A SITUATION RIGHT NOW OF HIGH TRANSMISSION IN OUR COMMUNITY, AND WE'RE EVALUATING, UM, EVENTS ON A, UM, ON THAT BASIS AND MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS AS FOR PLAYGROUNDS.
UM, UH, AGAIN, UM, MASKING IS SOMETHING THAT WILL PROTECT PARTICULARLY CHILDREN WHO ARE UNPROTECTED UNDER THE AGE OF 12.
I KNOW I STILL APPLY THE SAME RULES ABOUT SOCIAL DISTANCING AND WANT TO MAKE SURE I'M TAKING EVERY PRECAUTION.
I CAN'T EVEN KNOW I'M FULLY VACCINATED.
I STILL KNOW THAT IT'S POSSIBLE TO SPREAD THINGS.
SO I HOPE FOLKS, UM, YOU KNOW, TAKE THAT TO HEART AND PROVIDE FOR THAT DISTANCING AS, AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
DAN DAN, BE THAT I COULD SQUEAK THE THING LET'S GO AROUND TO THE ACTUAL BUY YOU FALL LATE OR SOMETHING.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER HALTER WITH GOOD TEETH.
UM, I WANT TO FIRST, UM, YOU KNOW, ACKNOWLEDGE THE IMPORTANT STEP THAT AISD TOOK LAST NIGHT TO REQUIRE MASKS.
UM, AND I WANNA THANK STAFF AND THE COUNTY STAFF BECAUSE WHEN I CALLED ONE OF THE TRUSTEES TO, UM, TO HOW IMPORTANT A STEP I THOUGHT THAT WAS THE FIRST THING OUT OF THEIR MOUTH WAS WHAT A WONDERFUL COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE COUNTY, THE CITY AND THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, UM, TO KEEP OUR CHILDREN SAFE.
SO I'M REALLY HAPPY TO SEE, UM, THAT COORDINATION HAPPENING HAPPENING.
WACHS, UM, PLAYED A BIG PART IN HELPING THEM TO UNDERSTAND, UM, THE SCIENCE.
SO I WANTED TO, UM, ACKNOWLEDGE THAT.
I THINK THAT IS ONE OF THE KEY STEPS WE CAN DO FOR ONE OF OUR MOST VULNERABLE POPULATIONS IS TO REQUIRE THOSE MASKS IN SCHOOLS.
UM, AND AS A PARENT, I'M A VACCINATED CHILD IN SCHOOL.
I KNOW THAT I FEEL A WHOLE LOT MORE COMFORTABLE ABOUT THE SERVICE SCHOOL, UM, NEXT
[01:15:01]
WEEK, UM, WITH THOSE, UH, PRECAUTIONS IN MIND.UM, I WANTED TO ASK IF, UM, IN FUTURE PRESENTATIONS FOR, UM, WHAT'S NOW SLIDE SIX, THAT HAS THE COVID-19 DEATHS PER A HUNDRED THOUSAND.
IF YOU CAN MOVE THE KEY, BECAUSE WE CAN'T ACTUALLY SEE WHERE WE'RE AT TO COMPARE EACH OTHER, BECAUSE THE KEY IS OVER THE LINES, UM, THAT WOULD JUST BE HELPFUL, UM, TO BE ABLE TO SEE THAT.
UM, AND THEN I WONDERED IF YOU COULD SPEAK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE BREAKDOWN OF HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS, SORT OF FROM OUT OF THE AREA, UM, AND HOW MUCH THAT IS CONTRIBUTING.
UM, WE HAVE THOSE NUMBERS FOR HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS.
IS IT THE SAME BREAKDOWN ROUGHLY FOR ICU, OR IS IT SKEWED? UM, TRYING TO UNDERSTAND, GIVEN THAT WE CAN'T HAVE TRANSFERS AND OTHER THINGS GOING ON AND WE HAVE A LARGER HOSPITAL SYSTEM, YOU KNOW, AT WHAT POINT WOULD WE UNDERSTAND IF WE ARE HAVING MORE INFLUX FROM OUTSIDE OR IF THIS IS ALL, UM, FROM OUR COMMUNITY.
THE SLIDE THAT I SHOWED, UM, SHOWED THAT 55% OF THE ADMISSIONS ARE FROM TRAVIS COUNTY, 22% FROM WILLIAMSON COUNTY.
AND THEN IT'S BROKEN DOWN BETWEEN ALL THE OTHER COUNTIES, UM, AFTER THAT IN SMALLER AMOUNTS, LESS THAN 10% FROM EACH ONE.
AND THE SAME IS TRUE FOR, I SEE THAT ADMISSIONS, I SHOWED THAT SLIDE IN THE PAST.
I DIDN'T PUT THAT ON THIS WEEK SLIDES, BUT I CAN ADD THAT NEXT TIME.
AND IT'S, IT'S PREDOMINANTLY COMING FROM OUR COUNTY.
AND JUST IN TERMS OF THE WAY THE HOSPITAL SYSTEMS FUNCTION, 55% SEEMS LIKE IT'S COME, OBVIOUSLY THAT'S A MAJORITY COMING, BUT IT'S NOT 90% FROM OUR COUNTY.
I JUST DON'T KNOW HOW THE HOSPITAL SYSTEMS ARE SET UP TO FUNCTION AS TO WHAT IS NORMAL, A BREAKDOWN ACROSS THE COUNTIES.
WELL, AND THE REASON I'M ASKING IS WE DON'T CONTROL WHAT OUR NEIGHBORS DO, BUT INACTION BY THE GOVERNOR DOES AFFECT OTHER COUNTIES.
AND I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND IF THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, ADDITIONAL SPILL ON, INTO OUR COUNTY, UM, THAT ARE PRESENT IN THE HOSPITALIZATION NUMBERS FROM THAT INACTION.
I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION.
UM, I DO KNOW THAT WE ARE A CENTRAL TEXAS COLLABORATIVE OR COLLABORATION.
UM, WE ARE, UM, PART OF THE CENTRAL TEXAS AREA.
UM, AND WE PROVIDE CARE TO PEOPLE THAT PRESENT TO HOSPITAL AND THE RURAL AREAS DO NOT HAVE HOSPITALS THAT CAN, UM, SUPPORT AND CARE FOR PEOPLE AT THE LEVEL THAT WE CAN IN OUR COUNTY.
SO, UM, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE CONTINUE TO BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN OUR, UM, STRUCTURES AND TO PROVIDE THE SERVICE TO OUR NEIGHBORS AND NEIGHBORING COUNTIES.
AND OBVIOUSLY WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THE SERVICES TO WHOEVER PRESENTS THEMSELVES THE BEST WE CAN, BUT WHAT I'M REALLY, I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE DEGREE TO WHICH, YOU KNOW, THE ACTIONS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN OTHER COUNTIES ARE IMPACTING OUR ABILITY, UM, TO PROVIDE THE HEALTH CARE THAT'S NEEDED IN OUR COMMUNITY, UNDERSTANDING THAT WE BROADLY SPEAKING, UM, YOU KNOW, HAVE A PARTICULAR ROLE BEING MORE URBAN AND HAVING MORE HOSPITALS.
UM, BUT WE DON'T GET TO CONTROL THE MESSAGING.
WE DON'T GET TO CONTROL THOSE THINGS THAT ARE GOING OUT IN THOSE COMMUNITIES AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALL CONNECTED AND WE HAVE TO, WE HAVE TO RECOGNIZE THAT WE HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, UNDERSTAND SORT OF THE CONSEQUENCES FROM THERE.
UM, AND THEN MY NEXT QUESTION, I THINK MAYBE FOR, UM, DIRECTOR SYRUP, UM, IN WHAT WE'VE, WE'VE TALKED A LOT ABOUT SORT OF, UM, THE THINGS THAT THE STATE HAS, UM, MADE IT DIFFICULT FOR US TO DO WITH RESPECT TO MASS MANDATES OR VACCINE MANDATES OR OCCUPANCY LIMITS AND OTHER THINGS.
IN WHAT WAYS IS THE STATE ACTUALLY HELPING US TO MANAGE THE SITUATION, WHETHER IT'S FINANCIAL OR POLICY OR SUPPORT, UM, YOU KNOW, I WANT TO, TO BE POSITIVE ABOUT THE THINGS THAT THEY ARE HELPING WITH, BUT I'M NOT HEARING ABOUT THEM.
AND SO I KNOW JUST OVER THE WEEKEND, UM, WE DID GET SUPPORT FROM THEM FOR THE REGIONAL INFUSION CENTER AND THAT WILL BE HUGE FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
[01:20:01]
UM, HOT OFF THE PRESS YESTERDAY IS THAT THEY'VE COME PLEDGED SUPPORT, UM, FOR LOCALS IN TERMS OF HOSPITAL STAFFING.WE'RE STILL WAITING TO SEE HOW THAT'S GOING TO ROLL OUT.
AND SO THERE, THERE HAS SEEMED TO BE A SHIFT IN THE STANCE, UH, WITH RESPECT TO ASSISTING WITH RESOURCES.
I WAS GOING TO SAY GLAD AND GRATEFUL, SO YES.
WELL, I'M GLAD AND GRATEFUL THAT THERE'S THAT SHIFT.
UM, I WISHED I'D HAD COME SOONER SO THAT WE COULD HAVE AVOIDED THE SURGE MORE.
UM, BUT I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT IT'S THERE NOW.
UM, YOU KNOW, I DIDN'T CATCH ALL OF WHAT YOU SAID COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER, BUT MY GUESS IS THAT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THE AISD BOARD MEETING IN SOME OF YOUR COMMENTS.
AND I JUST WANTED TO ALSO THANK DR.
I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO CATCH SOME OF YOUR PRESENTATION LAST NIGHT, UM, AND JUST CONCUR WITH MY COLLEAGUE THAT THE, THE INFORMATION YOU OFFERED I THINK WAS EXTREMELY VALUABLE TO THE CONVERSATION THEY HAD.
AND I TOO WANT TO JUST GIVE A, A SHOUT OUT TO AISD FOR, FOR PROTECTING OUR STUDENTS THROUGHOUT OUR DISTRICT AND OUR TEACHERS AND THE STAFF AT THOSE SCHOOLS BY REQUIRING BY REQUIRING MASKING.
AND REALLY, UM, I'M JUST VERY GLAD TO SEE OUR SCHOOLS TAKE THAT STAND AND APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT, THAT OUR CITY STAFF AND COUNTY STAFF HAVE DONE TO, TO REALLY COLLABORATE AND WORK WITH THEM.
UM, THANKS, THANKS TO ALL OF OUR STAFF WHO CONTINUE TO WORK ON THIS CRITICAL SITUATION.
UM, I, I HAVE A VARIETY OF THINGS I'M GOING TO TRY TO ISOLATE, ISOLATE THEM DOWN.
UM, YOU KNOW, AS THE I'VE NOTICED, THERE ARE DIFFERING MESSAGES, UM, ABOUT QUARANTINING AND WHEN IT'S REQUIRED, INCLUDING FOR STUDENTS IN OUR SCHOOLS.
AND SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE'RE SEEING SOME INFORMATION COMING OUT OF TEA.
WE'RE SEEING SOME INFORMATION COMING OUT OF AISD AND THEN SOME INDIVIDUAL AISD PROGRAMS HAVE SOME SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT INFORMATION.
SO TO THE EXTENT THAT YOU ARE CONTINUING TO WORK WITH THEM, UM, GETTING REALLY CLEAR INFORMATION OUT TO PARENTS ABOUT WHAT PEOPLE SHOULD DO WHEN IN TERMS OF QUARANTINING AND OTHER KINDS OF SITUATIONS WOULD BE SUPER HELPFUL, UM, TO GET BACK TO WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS SAID, WE HAVE SEVERAL LARGE OUTDOOR GATHERINGS COMING UP, DR.
WACHS, YOU SAID YOU'RE EVALUATING, EVALUATING THEM.
ARE THERE ANY INTENT, IS THERE ANY INTENT TO ENCOURAGE SOME OF THOSE LARGER GATHERINGS TO, TO DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY TO CONSIDER, UM, NOT MOVING FORWARD? WHAT KIND OF MESSAGING ARE YOU WORKING? ARE YOU WORKING CLEARLY WITH THEM ON MESSAGING? IF THOSE EVENTS GO FORWARD? AND THEN THE SAME QUESTION ABOUT MESSAGING APPLIES TO OUR RESTAURANTS AND BARS, WHICH HAVE AN ABILITY TO IMPOSE MASK REQUIREMENTS.
ARE YOU, ARE YOU WORKING WITH THEM AND REMINDING THEM OF THEIR ABILITY TO EDUCATE, UM, I'M SORRY, AN EDUCATING, EDUCATING THEM AND REMINDING THEM ABOUT THEIR ABILITY TO IMPOSE SUCH A REQUIREMENT, SO BIG EVENTS, AND THEN HOW YOU'RE WORKING WITH SOME OF OUR LOCAL BUSINESSES TO REMIND THEM THAT THEY HAVE AN ABILITY TO REQUIRE, UM, REQUIRE THAT I HAPPENED TO BE IN A STORE JUST LAST WEEK AND, AND ONE OF THE CUSTOMERS WAS ASKED TO PUT A MASK ON AND, AND HE RESPONDED, UM, BUT IT'S AGAINST STATE LAW FOR THEM TO ASK HIM TO DO SO, WHICH OF COURSE IS NOT TRUE.
SO I THINK MAKING SURE THAT OUR, OUR LOCAL BUSINESSES KNOW THAT THEY HAVE THE ABILITY TO, TO, UM, REQUIRE CUSTOMERS TO WEAR MASKS IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
UM, WE'VE HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY TO ASK THEM TO SUPPORT OUR EFFORTS, UM, AT IMPROVING MITIGATION STRATEGIES THROUGHOUT OUR COMMUNITY, IN PARTICULARLY IN OUR BUSINESS SETTINGS AND IN RESTAURANTS AND THEY, UM, THAT THEY'VE BEEN SUPPORTIVE AND HAVE PLEDGED TO HELP US GET THAT DONE, UM, AS FOR LARGE, UM, GATHERINGS, UM, WE'RE IN CONVERSATION WITH, UM, ORGANIZERS FOR THOSE VARIOUS EVENTS AND, UM, DISCUSSING MITIGATION STRATEGIES.
AND IN SOME INSTANCES, UM, THEY MAY BE MAKING SOME CHANGES, UM, AS FAR AS TIMING GOES TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE, UM, NOT MAKING, HAVING A DELETERIOUS IMPACT ON, ON THE COMMUNITY SPREAD THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW.
AND I SHOULD HAVE, I HOPE IT WAS CLEAR.
I WAS SAYING, I KNOW YOU'VE WORKED WITH BUSINESSES THROUGHOUT, I GUESS I WAS WONDERING WHETHER YOU WERE DOING KIND OF ADDITIONAL,
[01:25:01]
ADDITIONAL WORK WITH THEM RIGHT NOW, OR DO YOU FEEL THAT MOST, MOST HAVE WHAT THEY NEED AND UNDERSTAND WHAT THEIR RIGHTS ARE AT THIS POINT? UM, I, THE LAST TIME THAT I SPOKE WITH SOMEBODY FROM THE CHAMBER WAS ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON.UM, SO THAT'S THE MOST RECENT CONVERSATION I'VE HAD.
UM, I WANT TO REITERATE AS, AS EVERYBODY HAS A APPRECIATION FOR THE WORK THAT'S BEEN DONE BY THE CITY AND COUNTY STAFF, THE CONSTABLE, UH, THE CHIEF, UH, AS WE ALL KNOW, BECAUSE WE ALL SEE IT, UH, IN THE COMMUNITY NEEDS TO UNDERSTAND THESE ARE FOLKS NOW THAT HAVE BEEN IN THIS 24 7 DRILL NOW FOR SUCH A, SUCH A LONG PERIOD OF TIME.
UH, AND, UM, THE EFFORT CONTINUES UNABATED AND IT IS JUST SO APPRECIATED, SO INCREDIBLY NECESSARY, UNFORTUNATELY, BUT I JUST WANT TO ADD MY VOICE TO THE, TO THE, TO THE APPRECIATION AND THANKS, UH, TO, TO EVERYBODY.
UH, I THINK THE, WHAT WERE THE WORK WE'RE SEEING RIGHT NOW ON THE NUMBERS, UH, THAT WOULD REGISTER WITH RESPECT TO THE ZIP CODES, UH, IS, IS ENCOURAGING.
MAYBE THOSE WERE ALL AREAS THAT WERE LAGGING SIGNIFICANTLY.
THERE'S STILL A LOT MORE WORK TO DO AS WE CAN SEE.
AND SOME OF THE ZIP CODES ABOUT HALF OF THE TARGET WORDS STILL LAGGING, BUT, BUT DOING SO MUCH BETTER THAN THEY'VE DONE IN THE PAST.
AND SOME OF THEM REALLY SHOW THE, THE FOCUS AND CONCENTRATED EFFORT.
AND I KNOW THAT IT IS HARDER AS YOU GET INTO THIS DOOR TO DOOR CAMPAIGN, UH, THAT YOU'RE DOING ALREADY THE CARDS TO PULL AND THE CHIEF AND THAT EVERYBODY'S WORKING ON, IT'S HARDER.
UH, BUT I THINK THAT YOU'RE FIGHTING THE RIGHT FORMULA NOW, AND THE ABILITY TO BE ABLE TO EXPAND THAT IF YOU NEED MORE RESOURCES TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT AS WELL, MAKE SURE YOU COME BACK TO, UH, COUNSEL, UH, BECAUSE IT'S WORKING, UM, UH, EVEN, UH, INCREMENTALLY.
I ALSO WANT TO ADD A THANKS AND APPRECIATION AND, AND, AND KUDOS TO, UH, THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, UH, AISD FOR STEPPING FORWARD, YOU KNOW, AT SOME LEVEL, REGARDLESS OF WHATEVER ELSE IS HAPPENING, WE LOOK TO OUR SCHOOL BOARDS AND OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS, THEIR TRUSTEES, AND SUPERINTENDENT TO DO WHAT'S NECESSARY TO PROTECT OUR CHILDREN.
AND NOW HAVING SEEN THE ADVICE FROM THE CDC AND THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS, UH, AND THE RENEWED CALLS, UH, BY DR.
FOWCHEE AND SO MANY OTHERS TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR CHILDREN, THAT OUR SCHOOLS ARE MASKING.
UM, WE JUST, WE EXPECT OUR SCHOOLS TO TAKE CARE OF OUR KIDS, UH, AND THEN, AND THEN FIGURE THE REST OF IT OUT LATER.
UH, AND, AND I, I APPRECIATE WHAT OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT, UH, DID, UH, AND I HOPE A DOCTOR WALKS, UH, AND, AND I KNOW, UH, AND, AND TALK TO YOU, THE JUDGE BROWN THAT WE'RE GOING TO DO EVERYTHING THAT WE CAN DO TO, TO HELP SUPPORT, UH, THAT KIND OF ACTION AND PUT OUR SHOULDER TO THAT, UH, AS, AS, AS WELL, KUDOS TO DALLAS THAT TOOK THAT ACTION TO ISD, KUDOS TO HOUSTON, UH, UH, IS CONSIDERING IT THURSDAY OF THIS WEEK.
UM, I JUST THINK THAT, THAT IT'S JUST REALLY IMPORTANT FOR LOCAL COMMUNITIES TO BE ABLE TO STEP FORWARD AND, AND ASSERT THAT KIND OF LIBERTY AND FREEDOM INTEREST THAT IS ASSOCIATED WITH LOCAL COMMUNITIES DOING WHAT'S NECESSARY TO, TO, TO, TO PROTECT THEM THEMSELVES.
I ALSO WANT TO THANK THE GOVERNOR, UH, AND, AND APPRECIATE THE ACTION, UH, THAT THE GOVERNOR HAS TAKEN TO HELP US STAND UP THAT BOTTOM FUNNEL, UH, UH, FACILITY, UH, IN OUR COMMUNITY.
IT'S SOMETHING OUR HOSPITALS HAVE BEEN ASKING FOR BEING ABLE TO MOVE THAT FACILITY OUT OF HOSPITALS AND INTO A CENTRALIZED SPACE WILL HELP US, UH, WITH SOME OF THE, THE STAFFING ISSUES IS WE'RE ABLE TO TAKE STAFF THAT WAS DEVOTED TO THAT, THAT OUR HOSPITALS, TO BROOKLYN WARD, UH, PATIENT, UH, OTHER PATIENT CARE.
UH, SO THAT IS APPRECIATED THAT SOMETHING THAT WE HAD, UH, LAST GO ROUND AND THAT WORKED REALLY WELL.
UH, IT DIDN'T LOOK LIKE IT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN AGAIN, BUT THE DECISION JUST PAID FOR THAT TO HAPPEN.
UH, AND THEN THE NEWS LAST NIGHT, UH, THAT AFTER, UH, OUR HOSPITALS HAD SOMETHING LIKE 20, SOME ODD STARR REQUESTS, WHICH ARE A HUNDRED PRESIDENT HOSPITALS MAKE IN THE STATE FOR ASSISTANCE FOR STAFF.
[01:30:01]
BEEN TURNED DOWN A WEEK AGO, FRIDAY, WE GOT WORD LAST NIGHT THAT, UH, THE GOVERNOR, UH, IS, UH, UM, APPARENTLY A REALLY GOOD OFFERING TO, TO HELP IN THIS REGARD WITH, UH, STAFFING, UH, AND, AND JUST AS CRITICAL WEB, UH, THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE, UH, PUTS UP ROADBLOCKS FOR US BEING ABLE TO HELP GET MORE OF OUR COMMUNITY, UH, BACK TODAY, DAVID, OR BEST.I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE WHERE THEY GAVE HIM IN HIS OFFICE WHEN THEY'RE DOING THINGS THAT LOOK LIKE THEY'RE GOING TO TURN OUT ALL SAID, UM, WHEN HE WOULD MORE PEOPLE BASKING AND WE NEED A MESSAGE TO OUR COMMUNITY, THAT'S BELIEVABLE ABOUT HOW EFFECTIVE IT IS TO MASK THAT BASKET IS THE BEST WAY WE CAN KEEP OUR, OUR BUSINESSES AND OUR COMMUNITIES OPEN AND VIBRANT AND THE INABILITY OR ROADBLOCKS IN TERMS OF MANDATING THAT SAYS AN AMBIGUOUS MESSAGE TO OUR COMMUNITY AS TO WHETHER OR NOT IT'S IMPORTANT THAT, UH, AND AGAIN, I THINK IT'S CRITICAL IN THEIR LOCAL COMMUNITIES HAVE THE ABILITY TO BE ABLE TO, TO, TO DO THAT.
UH, THIS IS A, A PANDEMIC RIGHT NOW OF THE, UH, VACCINATED.
WE NEED MORE PEOPLE TO GET VACCINATED.
WE NEED TO GET AS A COMMISSIONER DEGRADED WAS SAYING, OR TRUSTED VOICES OUT AT OUR COMMUNITY WITH THE FACTS, THAT DATA.
UH, SO THE POOR PEOPLE, UH, MOVE IN THAT DIRECTION.
THAT'S, THAT'S ULTIMATELY THE WAY OUR SOCIETY WILL BE ABLE TO FUNCTION IN THE FUTURE.
UH, BUT BASKING IS CRITICAL RIGHT NOW BECAUSE VACCINES WILL NOT HELP US WITH THIS SEARCH.
PEOPLE HAVE TO WEAR MASKS, THEY HAVE TO WEAR MASKS, INDOORS, AND OUTDOORS, WHATEVER YOU'RE AROUND SOMEBODY THAT'S NOT IN YOUR FAMILY GROUP, YOU SHOULD HAVE A, A, A MASCOT.
UM, I PROBABLY HAVE STARED AT THESE NUMBERS LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE, LIKE WAY TOO MUCH.
UM, BUT I ADD ARE THE, UH, THE NEW MEDICAL FALL WE HAD YESTERDAY, THERE IS PERHAPS IF YOU SQUINT EARLY EVIDENCE, THAT BEHAVIOR CHANGES ARE IN FACT WORKING, UH, AND PEOPLE ARE BEGINNING TO SEE BABY INDICATIONS OF BASKET BEHAVIOR CHANGING.
UH, AND, AND YOU COULD LOOK AT SOME OF THE SLIDES THAT YOU HAVE PRESENTED, UH, HERE, UH, TODAY.
UM, UH, YOU WAR ON TERROR THAT MIGHT INDICATE A TREAD THAT MIGHT BE WORKING IN OUR FAVOR.
SO I JUST REALLY ENCOURAGED THE COMMUNITY TO DOUBLE DOWN ON THAT TRIPLE OR QUADRUPLE DOWN ON THAT, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT IT'S GOING TO TAKE TO CHANGE THINGS.
AND IT COULD BE A VIDEO OF A SLIDE OF THE GERMAN STUDY INDICATES THAT PEOPLE BASQUE, WE CAN FLATTEN THIS OUT.
UH, AND CLEARLY THAT'S WHAT WE NEED TO DO.
UM, I WOULD, UH, UH, ADD TO THE LIST OF PEOPLE THAT WE ARE THINKING THOSE BUSINESSES AND THE COMMUNITY THAT ARE STEPPING FORWARD AND USING THE POWER THAT THEY HAVE TO BE ABLE TO MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT THEIR OWN ENTERPRISES AND THEIR CUSTOMERS, WHAT IS ACCEPTED BEHAVIOR AND THEIR EMPLOYEES, UH, BECAUSE RIGHT NOW THAT IS, THAT IS OUR MOST EFFECTIVE MEASURE, KUDOS TO BLUES, ARBOR GREEN FOR STEPPING UP AND POSTPONING THE LAST TWO, UH, PERFORMANCES THAT THEY HAD, THAT IS NOT AN EASY THING TO DO.
KUDOS TO RESTAURANTS LIKE THE HEADLINERS CLUB, THOUGH, POLICIES TO ALL BE LIKE PEOPLE THAT ARE VACCINATED IN THEIR LOCATIONS, KUDOS TO ACL, UH, WHOSE CONCERT THIS WEEKEND WAS ONLY FOR PEOPLE THAT WERE, UH, VACCINATED, UH, OR COULD GOOD PROVE THAT THEY HAD A NEGATIVE TEST, KUDOS TO ORGANIZATIONS LIKE GOOD WORD BOSTON, ALL THAT IS PULLING TOGETHER, UH, THEIR, THEIR, THEIR, THEIR COLLECTION OF RESTAURANTS AT MERCHANTS THAT ARE GOING THE EXTRA MILE TO HELP KEEP OUR COMMUNITY SAFE BY OUT OF ORBIT WITH A LOAF DOOR.
UH, ONE OF THE LEADERS, UH, IN THAT EFFORT, UH, THANK YOU TO BIG EMPLOYERS AND SMALL EMPLOYERS, INCLUDING FACEBOOK, BOSTON, UH, THAT ARE ADOPTING POLICIES TO ENSURE THAT EVERYBODY OR THEIR WORKPLACE, UH, HAS TO GET VACCINATED AND MANAGER EIGHT, OR I REALLY DO WANT US TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WE COULD DO AND JUDGE WHICH WHAT YOU CAN DO, UH, WITH CITY AND COUNTY EMPLOYEES, AS WE'RE ASKING OTHER EMPLOYERS IN THE CITY TO, TO SET THOSE RULES AND THOSE EXPECTATIONS, AND TO INCENTIVIZE THAT, THAT WORK THE MORNING, THEIR EMPLOYERS, I THINK THAT WE NEED TO, TO, TO, TO, TO LEAD BY, UH, TO LEAD BY
[01:35:01]
EXAMPLE, THIS IS A CRITICAL PERIOD OF TIME.NOBODY WANTS TO GO BACK TO THE LOCKDOWNS THAT WE HAD BEFORE FLOWS OUR ECONOMY, BUT IT RIGHT, FRANKLY, IS UP TO US AT THIS POINT A YEAR AGO, THE EDITOR, HE WAS THE VIRUS.
THAT'S NOT TRUE ANYMORE BECAUSE WE HAVE ANSWERS TO THE VIRUS RIGHT NOW, THE ENEMY IS THE STATUS QUO AND OUR IT ACTION AND, AND, AND THE GOOD, AND THE BAD NEWS OF THAT IS WE CAN ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS.
UH, YOU KNOW, NOW IS THE TIME TO DO THAT WITH THAT JUDGE I'LL, I'LL, UH, ALTER THAT, UH, TURN IT BACK OVER TO YOU.
UM, AND YEAH, VERY MUCH ONE OF THE THINGS DR.
ELLIS ALL DAY AND THE AISD BOARD FOR THEIR LEADERSHIP.
AND ALSO DO YOU WANT TO THANK GOVERNOR ABBOTT FOR WHAT SOUNDS LIKE AN AGREEMENT TO START PAYING FOR INCREASED STAFFING IN OUR HOSPITALS? AND SO I HOPE THAT DOES, DOES COME THROUGH THAT WILL, WILL OBVIOUSLY REALLY HELP.
SO WITH THAT, I GUESS WE'RE GOING TO ADJOURN FOR ABOUT FIVE MINUTES.
WE'LL COME BACK AT, UM, HOW ABOUT 10 50? SO 10 MINUTES, SO 11, WE WILL COME BACK AND OKAY.
IT DOES SOMETHING THAT IS GOOD.
WE SHOULD ACKNOWLEDGE IT IS DONE ENOUGH BAD THAT IT'S HURT OUR COMMUNITIES.
SO I DO APPRECIATE IS, UH, BEGINNING TO UNDERSTAND THAT THIS AFFECTS FAMILIES AND CHILDREN, AND WE NEED HIM ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF HISTORY, NOT THE WRONG SIDE, ABSOLUTELY.
SO WE WILL ADJOURN, UH, UNTIL 10 50 AND MAYOR I'LL PASS IT OVER TO YOU TO DO THE SAME.
UM, WITH THAT HERE ON, UH, AUGUST 10TH, 20, 41 TIMES 10 45.
NOW WE'RE GOING TO ADJOURN THE CITY COUNCIL PORTION OF THE SPEEDING, UM, AT, UH, LET'S TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF A BREAK I'VE BEEN ASKED TO DO WE'LL RECONVENE AT 11.
WE'RE GOING TO HOLD THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING THE GENERAL SESSION.
WE'RE GOING TO CONVENE THERE, BUT IMMEDIATELY GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION, WHICH IS THE ONLY THING THAT WE'LL BE DOING TODAY IS THE EXECUTIVE SESSION.
UH, SO, UM, I, IT WOULD BE BEST IF WE HAD A QUORUM, UH, WITH ME AT 11, SO THAT WE COULD THEN MOVE INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION.
UH, BUT, UH, BUT I'LL SEE YOU THERE.
AND THEN WITH THAT, OUR PORTION OF HIS TRIP MEETING IS ADJOURNED.