[00:00:02]
[1. Update on Covid-19 related matters.]
9:04 AM.WE'RE MEETING HERE AT 700 LAVACA COMMISSIONER TREVELYAN AND COMMISSIONER HOWARD HERE WITH ME AND COMMISSIONER CALL TO ORDER THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING.
YOU'RE ALSO ON MARCH 30TH, 2021, NINE FOUR, AND IT'S HAPPENING, UH, BAIT.
AND I SEE FIVE OF MY COUNCIL MEMBERS, BUT I DON'T SEE A SENSE.
ARE YOU COUNTING ME, KATHY TEBOW, KATHY.
WE HAVE A QUORUM PRESENT AS WELL.
YOU MAY, OR COULD YOU, WHO ELSE HERE? IT, UH, AS CITY COUNCIL MEMBER FOR A COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, KELLY, UH, CAUSE WE WERE ALL THERE.
THAT'S WHERE THE ALICE, MYSELF.
COULD YOU ALL TURN THE VOLUME UP IN HERE A LITTLE BIT QUIET HERE.
SO, SO TO ATTEND TO THE EFFICIENT USE OF DR.
S SCOTT AND, OR ACTUALLY I'M SORRY, WE NEED TO GO TO THE CALLERS REAL QUICK.
DO WE HAVE ANY COLORS FOR TRAVIS COUNTY PUBLIC COMMENT? WE DO NOT HAVE ANY CALLERS ON THE LINE JUDGE.
SO HERE WE'RE GOING TO GO AS ALWAYS TO HELP ENSURE THE EFFICIENT USE OF DR.
S SCOTT AND DIRECTOR HAYDEN HOWARD'S TIME AND MANAGE THE LENGTH OF THE BRIEFING.
WE'RE GOING TO LIMIT OURSELVES TO ONE QUESTION IN THE ORDER BELOW THAT WE USUALLY GO IN AND IF TIME PERMITS, WE CAN DO A SECOND ROUND OF QUESTIONS.
AND SO WE'D HEAR THE PRESENTATIONS AND THEN GO THROUGH THE COMMISSIONERS AND THEN THE COUNTY JUDGE, AND THEN PASS IT OFF TO THE COUNCIL MEMBERS AND THE MAYOR.
UM, AND FIRST I GUESS WE HAVE DR.
YOU WANT TO KICK THINGS OFF FOR US.
UH, PLEASURE TO BE BACK TO UPDATE KELLY ON OUR COVID-19, UH, SITUATION.
UH, CAN YOU ALL SEE MY SLIDES? YES.
UH, FIRST OFF AN UPDATE ON OUR NEW CONFIRMED CASES IN TRAVIS COUNTY.
UH, WE REPORTED 87 CASES YESTERDAY WITH A MOVING AVERAGE OF 98.
UM, WE'VE BEEN FLAT, FLAT, REALLY POSTULATING, UH, AT AROUND A HUNDRED CASES ON THAT MOVING AVERAGE FOR ABOUT TWO WEEKS NOW.
UH, SO NOT MUCH MOVEMENT, UH, IN ANY DIRECTION REGARDING OUR NEW CASES IN THE PAST COUPLE OF WEEKS.
UH, THIS IS AN UPDATE OF OUR NEW ADMISSIONS TO THE HOSPITAL.
OUR MISSIONS YESTERDAY WERE 19 WITH A MOVING AVERAGE OF 19 A WEEK AGO.
UH, SO, UH, REALLY OSCILLATING AT A TIGHT RANGE BETWEEN 19 AND 22, UH, FOR ABOUT THE LAST 16 DAYS OR SO.
UH, SO AGAIN, NOT MUCH MOVEMENT THERE, EITHER RELATIVELY FLAT.
UH, THE SLIDE IS SHOWING THREE THINGS AGAIN, THE BLUE IS OUR HOSPITALIZATIONS.
THE ORANGE IS OUR ICU ADMISSIONS AND THE, UH, THE GRAY IS OUR VENTILATORS.
OUR HOSPITAL, UH, HOSPITALIZATIONS WERE AT ONE 49 YESTERDAY WITH THE MOVING AVERAGE OF ONE 52.
THAT'S A DECREASE OF 46% SINCE THE BEGINNING OF MARCH, OUR ICU NUMBERS YESTERDAY 57 WITH A MOVING AVERAGE OF 57, A DECREASE OF 39% SINCE MARCH THE FIRST AND OUR VENTILATOR, UH, UTILIZATION 30 YESTERDAY WITH A MOVING AVERAGE OF 33, A DECREASE OF 49% SINCE MARCH THE FIRST.
UH, SO AGAIN, THESE METRICS ARE MOVING, UH, IN A DOWNWARD DIRECTION.
UM, YOU KNOW, AS YOU CAN SEE, THEY'RE BEEN FLATTENING OUT A LITTLE BIT, SO SOME MARGINAL DECREASES, UH, THEY ARE A, BUT, UH, CERTAINLY, UH, BETTER THAN THE ALTERNATIVE.
THIS IS DATE OF BIRTH, UH, PROJECTION FROM THE UT, UH, COVID-19 MODELING CONSORTIUM.
UM, THIS WAS UPDATED, UH, THIS WEEKEND AND, UH, THE UPDATE INDICATES THAT, UH, IF WE CONTINUE OUR PROTECTIVE ACTIONS, IF WE CONTINUE, UH, TO, TO MASK AND DISTANCE AND DO THE THINGS WHICH WE'RE DOING NOW, UH, THAT STAGE TWO TERRITORY, THAT'S, THAT'S MOVING BELOW A MOVING AVERAGE OF 10 ADMISSIONS, UH, IS, UH, IS PROJECTED ON AROUND THE 13TH OF APRIL.
THIS IS AN UPDATE OF THE HOSPITALIZATIONS
[00:05:01]
IN THE MSA.AGAIN, THE PROJECTIONS SHOW THAT IF WE CONTINUE THOSE PROTECTIVE ACTIONS, UH, AROUND THE 8TH OF APRIL, WE WILL DROP BELOW A HUNDRED, UH, HOSPITALIZATIONS IN THE FIVE COUNTY MSA.
SO AGAIN, GOOD FORECAST, UH, FOR, UH, FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL WEEKS.
UH, THIS ONE IS THE FOUR OR THE PROJECTION OF ICU NUMBERS.
UH, THE PROJECTION IS THAT WE'LL DROP BELOW 30, UH, ON OR ABOUT THE 15TH OF APRIL.
AND SO AGAIN, ALL OF THESE PROJECTIONS MOVING IN A DOWNWARD DIRECTION, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE CERTAINLY BEEN PLEASED TO SEE THAT, UM, WE HAVE NOT SEEN A SPIKE IN CASES YET.
UH, WE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT A SPIKE IN CASES, PARTICULARLY SINCE, UH, THE U S NUMBERS ARE INCREASING.
UH, WE HAVE 31 STATES ON AN INCREASE RIGHT NOW, UH, WHICH I THINK EVERYBODY'S HEARD THIS IN THE, THE LOCAL AND NATIONAL MEDIA WE'RE NOT DONE WITH COVID YET.
UH, COVID CERTAINLY NOT DONE WITH US YET.
SO IF WE CONTINUE THE PRECAUTIONS, IF WE CONTINUE TO MASK AND DISTANCE AND DO THE THINGS WE'VE BEEN DOING FOR THE PAST YEAR AND BE A LITTLE PATIENT, PARTICULARLY THROUGH APRIL, APRIL IS GOING TO BE A CRITICAL MONTH FOR US.
IF WE, IF WE HUNKER DOWN AND, AND CONTINUE TO DO THOSE THINGS AND, UH, NOT TAKE TOO MUCH RISK, THEN MAY JUNE, JULY, SUMMER LOOKS MUCH, MUCH BETTER.
IT GIVES US ANOTHER MONTH TO GET PEOPLE BACK SLATED.
UM, SO AGAIN, I KNOW WE ALL WANT TO GET BACK TO NORMAL AND, AND SOCIALIZE AND, AND DO OTHER THINGS THAT WE HAVE DONE IN PREVIOUS YEARS, BUT YOU JUST NEED ANOTHER MONTH OR TWO.
UM, SO THIS IS AN UPDATE OF A SLIDE I SHOWED YOU LAST WEEK.
UH, AND THIS DATA IS REALLY, UH, AVAILABLE WELL PUBLICLY.
THIS IS OFF THE U S NEWS WEBSITE.
THEY'VE GOT A LOT OF DIFFERENT METRICS ASSOCIATED WITH, WITH COVID-19.
SO I'VE GOT QUITE A FEW FOR YOU TODAY.
UH, THIS IS AN UPDATE OF THE, THE COVID-19 DEATHS PER A HUNDRED THOUSAND POPULATION.
AGAIN, UH, AS OF YESTERDAY TRACKS COUNTY WITH A 74.2 PER HUNDRED THOUSAND.
UH, THIS IS COMPARED TO, UH, MORE THAN 160, UH, IN THE US ON AVERAGE PER A HUNDRED THOUSAND.
UM, THIS IS, UM, UH, NO COMPARING TO THE STATE AVERAGE RIGHT NOW, WHICH IS ONE 62.7 DEATHS PER, PER A HUNDRED THOUSAND.
UM, UH, SO THE STATE, YOU KNOW, UH, THE STATE, THE DEATH RATES STATE MORTALITY RATE IS ABOUT 220% HIGHER THAN THE RATE IN TRAVIS COUNTY.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE VERY PLEASED WITH THAT NUMBER.
AGAIN, WE'RE NOT THROUGH WITH THIS YET.
WE'VE GOT A LOT MORE WORK TO DO TO KEEP THOSE NUMBERS LOW.
UM, BUT, UH, CERTAINLY PLEASED WITH, WITH HOW WE'RE DOING LOCALLY.
NOT, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE ASKED WHY IS THIS, UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK SOME OF IT IS CERTAINLY POLICY RELATED.
IT'S RELATED TO SOME OF THE PROTECTIVE ACTIONS THAT WE'VE TAKEN EARLY CLOSURE OF SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST AND, AND, UH, LARGE EVENTS, UH, BEFORE ANYBODY ELSE IN THE COUNTRY WAS DOING THAT.
UH, IT'S ABOUT, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE ORDERS THAT WE ISSUED EARLY TO PROTECT NURSING HOMES AND HOSPITALS, AND, UH, THE EFFORTS TO GET PPE OUT AND, AND ALL SORTS OF THINGS, BUT THERE ARE VACCINATION EFFORTS, BUT IT'S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THERE ARE SOME UNDERLYING FACTORS, UH, THE COMMUNITY, WHICH MAY BE CONTRIBUTING TO THE SUCCESS WE'VE SEEN.
SO TO GIVE YOU, UH, SOME DATA THAT, AGAIN, THESE ARE ALL, UH, DATA THAT'S THAT IS REPORTED ON THAT US NEWS SITE.
UH, THIS IS A GRAPH OF THE OBESITY PREVALENCE, UH, IN, UH, IN A METROPOLITAN COUNTIES IN TEXAS.
YOU CAN SEE THE TRAVIS COUNTY IS THE LOWEST, UH, IN, UH, UH, OF THESE METROPOLITAN AREAS.
I DID NOT INCLUDE TARON COUNTY BECAUSE IT, IT TRADITIONALLY TRACKS RELATIVELY CLOSELY TO DALLAS COUNTY.
AND, AND, UM, SO I DID NOT INCLUDE THEM HERE, BUT AGAIN, WE KNOW OBESITY IS A SIGNIFICANT FACTOR, UH, IN THE SEVERITY OF COVID-19 ILLNESS.
UH, SO WE STARTED BLOWER AND I THINK THAT'S CERTAINLY CONTRIBUTING TO THE SUCCESS THAT WE'VE SEEN IN TERMS OF, OF DEATHS, UH, DIABETES, ANOTHER FACTOR ASSOCIATED WITH COVID-19 SEVERITY TRAVIS COUNTY.
THIS IS THE SECOND LOWEST IN TERMS OF DIABETES IS PREVALENCE, UH, AGE 65 AND OLDER TRAVIS COUNTY IS YOUNGER THAN OTHER JURISDICTIONS, UH, THAT, UH, THAT WE, UH, YOU KNOW,
[00:10:01]
AROUND TAX WITH THE METROPOLITAN JURISDICTIONS, WHICH CERTAINLY PLAYS A FACTOR IN THAT SUCCESS.THIS IS AN ESTIMATE OF INDIVIDUALS IN FAIR OR POOR HEALTH.
AGAIN, TRAVIS COUNTY IS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER, UH, THAN THE OTHER JURISDICTIONS.
SO, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE SOME OF THE UNDERLYING FACTORS AND THESE DON'T HAPPEN BY LAW.
I THINK THESE ARE REFLECTIVE OF UNDERLYING FACTORS IN PLACE THAT COUNTRY CONTRIBUTE TO THE SOCIAL DETERMINES OF HEALTH.
THEY CONTRIBUTE TO, UM, NOT ONLY MORTALITY AND DECREASE IN MORTALITY FROM COVID-19, BUT FOR MANY, MANY OTHER THINGS IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND I BRING THESE THINGS UP BECAUSE WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THE NEXT PHASE, THE NEXT PHASE BEYOND COVID-19 IS HOW DO WE ADDRESS THESE UNDERLYING HEALTH CONDITIONS THAT HAVE BEEN, YOU ALLUDED US FOR SO LONG IN THIS COUNTRY, IN THIS STATE, IN THIS COMMUNITY, UH, DIABETES, OBESITY, THESE ARE THINGS YES, WHICH ARE EASY TO, EASY TO DIAGNOSE, AND THAT WE CAN TREAT.
WE CAN'T GET BETTER IF WE INVEST THE REASON RESOURCES, IF WE ENCOURAGE, UH, PUBLIC HEALTH, UH, IN COMMUNITY HEALTH RESPONSES TO ADDRESS THESE UNDERLYING ISSUES, THEY WILL BECOME ISSUES IN THE FUTURE.
UH, THEY ARE CONTRIBUTORS FOR MANY OTHER DISEASE, UH, SEVERITY AND MORTALITIES AND SOMETHING THAT WE CAN'T REALLY, UH, WE ALSO KNOW THAT THAT, THAT ECONOMICS, THAT, THAT FINANCIAL SECURITY IS ALSO A CONTRIBUTOR AND A SIGNIFICANT FACTOR IN THE SOCIAL DETERMINES OF HEALTH.
UH, THIS IS A GRAPH OF UNEMPLOYMENT RATES FOR THE METROPOLITAN COUNTIES AROUND TEXAS.
UH, AUSTIN IS THE LOWEST IN GENERAL.
IT HAS BEEN THE LOWEST OR SECOND TO LOWEST, UH, BACK TO 2007.
UH, SO AGAIN, ANOTHER FACTOR THAT CONTRIBUTES TO SUCCESS WHEN IT COMES TO THE MORTALITY RATES FROM COVID-19, UH, THIS IS AN UPDATE, NOT YOU.
I THINK THIS ONE HAS MORE TO DO WITH WHAT THE UNDERLYING POLICIES, UH, THAT WE'VE HAD IN PLACE TO PREVENT TRANSMISSION OF DISEASE.
THESE ARE THE CUMULATIVE CASES PER A HUNDRED THOUSAND, UH, BY THE METRO JURISDICTIONS.
AND AGAIN, YOU SEE THE TRAVIS COUNTY, UH, HAS, HAS DEFINED THE BOTTOM, PARTICULARLY SINCE SEPTEMBER, AGAIN, I THINK DUE TO THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, THE PARTNERSHIPS AND THE ACTIONS FROM THE, THE CITY AND THE COUNTY TO, UH, TO STAY SAFE AND TO KEEP PEOPLE HELPING.
UM, SO AGAIN, UH, LOTS MORE WORK TO DO, UM, NOW, AND, AND AFTER COVID, BUT, UH, CERTAINLY PLEASED WITH, UH, WITH THE, THE WAY THAT, UH, TRAVIS COUNTY AND THE CITY HAS HANDLED COVID 19 SO FAR.
UH, THIS IS AN UPDATE OF THE HOSPITALIZATIONS BY AGE GROUP.
UH, WE HAVE SEEN SOME DECREASES IN THE OLDER POPULATIONS, UH, TO A LARGE EXTENT, AGAIN, POPULATIONS THAT WE SEE GETTING MORE VACCINATIONS ARE GOING TO SEE DECREASES IN HOSPITALIZATION, GENERALLY SPEAKING, UH, WE HAVE SEEN INCREASES OVER THE PAST WEEK, UH, AND A FEW OF THE AGE GROUPS, THE 40 TO 49 AGE GROUP, THE 20 TO 29 AGE GROUP AND THAT 10 TO 19 AGE GROUP.
SO AGAIN, POPULATIONS WHO ARE LESS LIKELY TO HAVE BEEN VACCINATED SO FAR.
UM, SO AGAIN, YOU KNOW, I'VE, I'VE SAID THIS MANY TIMES OVER THE PAST YEAR, BUT COVID-19 AFFECTS EVERY AGE GROUP.
SO IT'S IMPORTANT THAT EVERY AGE GROUP, UH, UNDERSTAND THAT THEY ARE AT RISK FOR BEING HOSPITALIZED, THEY'RE AT RISK FOR DYING IF THEY, UH, IF THEY ENDED UP HAVING A SEVERE COURSE.
UH, SO WE ALL HAVE TO TAKE PROTECTIONS REGARDLESS OF BRITTANY.
THIS IS A BREAKDOWN OF THE HOSPITALIZATIONS BY AGE GROUP.
SO NUMBERS OF INDIVIDUALS HOSPITALIZED.
UH, YOU CAN SEE THAT A TOTAL OF 164 INDIVIDUALS HOSPITALIZED IN THE MSA LAST WEEK COMPARED TO ONE 66 THE WEEK BEFORE.
SO VERY FLAT IN TERMS OF THE NUMBERS OF HOSPITALIZATIONS.
UH, BUT WE CAN SAY THAT AGAIN, THIS WEEK WITH THE OLDER AGE GROUPS ARE STILL COMPRESSING A BIT IN TERMS OF THE NUMBERS OF HOSPITALIZATIONS AS THE VACCINATION RATE RISES IN THOSE GROUPS AND THE HOSPITAL HOSPITALIZATION NUMBERS ARE EXPANDING A LITTLE BIT IN THE LOWER AGE GROUPS, PARTICULARLY IN THAT 40 TO 49 AGE GROUP MOVING FROM 18, THE PREVIOUS WEEK TO 25 LAST WEEK, UH, AND THE, UH, 10 TO NIGHT, SORRY, THE 20 TO 29 AGE GROUP MOVING FROM 14 TO 20 LAST WEEK.
UH, YOU SEE SOME INCREASE ALSO AT THAT 10 TO 19 AGE GROUP.
UH, WE WENT FROM TWO HOSPITALIZATIONS THE PREVIOUS WEEK
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AND MORE THAN TRIPLED TO SEVEN, UH, LAST WEEK, UM, LOOK AT THE HOSPITALIZATIONS BY RACE AND ETHNICITY.UH, WE SEE SOME FLIP-FLOPPING, UH, THESE, THE BLUE NUMBER IS THE, UH, THE WHITE NON-HISPANIC EIGHT, UH, GROUP, UH, WHICH DECREASED TO, UH, 38.9% OF THE HOSPITALIZATIONS IN THE LAST WEEK.
UH, THE, UH, UH, THE BRAIN IS OUR LATIN X COMMUNITY, UH, 32.6 TO 45% LAST WEEK.
UH, SO AGAIN, UH, WE'RE SEEING ONGOING MOVEMENT IN THE, UH, THE INDIVIDUALS IMPACTED BY COVID-19.
UM, YOU SEE A WEEK OVER WEEK IN TERMS OF NUMBERS OF INDIVIDUALS HOSPITALIZED A 45% INCREASE IN THE LATIN X, UH, REPRESENTATION IN THE HOSPITALIZATIONS LAST WEEK, MOVING FROM 46 TO 67, A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN OUR WHITE NON-HISPANIC HOSPITALIZATION, 73 TO 58.
I HAD A SLIGHT DECREASE IN OUR, UM, AFRICAN-AMERICAN POPULATION HOSPITALIZATIONS 18 TO 14.
UH, I WILL ALSO NOTE A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE HOSPITALIZATIONS ENVIRONMENT INVOLVING OUR ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY MOVING FROM ONE THE PREVIOUS WEEK TO SIX LAST WEEK, AGAIN, UH, THE ASIAN COMMUNITY RELATIVELY STEADY AT THAT FIVE TO SIX HOSPITALIZATIONS PER WEEK WITH LAST WEEK, REALLY BEING THE OUTLINE.
THIS IS AN UPDATE, OUR POSITIVITY IN OUR COMMUNITY, UH, AGAIN, UH, 4.4, THE PREVIOUS TWO WEEKS, 4.8 PRIOR TO THAT 4.3 SO FAR THIS WEEK, AGAIN, WE STILL HAVE DATA COMING IN FROM LAST WEEK.
SO THERE MAY BE SOME MOVEMENT, UH, FOR THAT 4.3, UH, WHICH WE'LL UPDATE NEXT WEEK, AGAIN, UH, NOT MUCH INDICATION OF SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN EITHER DIRECTION IN TERMS OF POSITIVITY.
THIS IS AN UPDATE OF OUR POSITIVITY BY RACE AND ETHNICITY.
UH, OUR LATIN X, UH, GROUP 7.6% TO 7.2% LAST WEEK.
AFRICAN-AMERICANS, UH, 3.5% THE PREVIOUS WEEK TO 4% LAST WEEK.
ASIAN-AMERICAN 4.1% LAST WEEK, THE 3.2%, SORRY, 3.2% LAST WEEK FROM 4.1 THE PREVIOUS WEEK, UH, AND OUR WHITE NON HISPANIC GROUP, UH, 3.8% THE PREVIOUS WEEK TO 4% LAST WEEK.
UH, SO, YOU KNOW, RELATIVELY FLAT IN TERMS OF, OF THE POSITIVITY BY RACE AND ETHNICITY, THIS IS AN UPDATE OF THE BY AGE GROUP.
UH, YOU CAN SEE THAT, UH, JUST ABOUT EVERY AGE GROUP IS, IS AT, OR BELOW 5%, UH, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE 10 TO 19 AGE GROUP.
AGAIN, SIGNIFICANT POSITIVITY THERE, SIGNIFICANT POSITIVITY IN THAT 20 TO 29 AGE GROUP, AS WELL AS THE 40 TO 49 AGE GROUP.
UM, SO AGAIN, WE'RE SAYING DISTRIBUTION ACROSS THE AGE GROUP, STILL IN TERMS OF POSITIVITY, UH, WITH SIGNIFICANT DECREASES, UH, UH, IN THE 60 TO 69 AND 70, 79 AGE GROUPS, UH, SORRY, THE 70, 79 AND 80 PLUS AGE GROUPS LAST WEEK.
THIS IS A BREAKDOWN OF THE POSITIVITY BY, UH, PRESCHOOL AGED CHILDREN FOR THE PREVIOUS WEEK.
AGAIN, WE'RE CONTINUING WITH WHAT THE PATTERN THAT WE'VE SEEN FOR MANY WEEKS NOW, UH, WITH HIGH SCHOOLS AND MIDDLE SCHOOLERS SIGNIFICANTLY ABOVE THE COMMUNITY AVERAGE 7.9% FOR HIGH SCHOOLERS, UH, 6.4% FOR MIDDLE SCHOOLERS AND ELEMENTARY AND PRESCHOOL BELOW, UH, THAT, UH, THAT COMMUNITY AVERAGE 3.4% FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS, UH, AND 2.5% FOR PRESCHOOL AGE, UH, STUDENTS.
THIS IS AN UPDATE OF OUR LONG-TERM CARE FACILITY DASHBOARD, UH, AGAIN, UH, VERY LOW NUMBERS IN THE PREVIOUS 14 DAYS, SIX CASES IN THE PREVIOUS 14 DAYS, 16 IN THE PREVIOUS 28 DAYS.
UH, AS I SAID LAST WEEK, UH, WHICH WAS SIX IN 20, UH, THESE TWO NUMBERS, 98% DROP IN, UH, IN NEW CASES IN LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES.
IT'S A VERY PLEASED WITH THE EFFORT THERE.
AND I THINK CERTAINLY REFLECTIVE OF THE EFFICACY OF THE VACCINATION EFFORT, UH, AS YOU MAY HAVE SEEN, THERE WAS A REPORT RELEASED YESTERDAY, INDICATING THAT IN REAL WORLD, UH, UH, DEPLOYMENT OF VACCINE THE PFIZER AND MODERNA ARE SHOWING A 90% EFFICACY IN TERMS OF, UH, PROTECTION.
SO VERY, VERY GOOD, UH, PROTECTIONS.
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THE JOHNSON JOHNSON IS AN EXCELLENT VACCINE AS WELL, AND WE HAVE ANOTHER CANDIDATE ASTRAZENECA, UH, WHICH IS LIKELY TO BE REVIEWED IN THE NEAR FUTURE QUICK UPDATE ON OUR REGIONAL INFUSION CENTER.AGAIN, UH, TDM OPENNESS ON THE 6TH OF JANUARY, UH, 880 INDIVIDUALS HAVE RECEIVED MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY THERAPY.
THERE'S BEEN SOME CHANGES IN, UH, THE ANTIBIOTICS USED GIVEN THE, THE PREVALENCE OF VARIANTS IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UH, SO SWITCHING TO, UH, TO OTHER MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES THAT ARE MORE EFFECTIVE, UH, AGAINST THOSE VARIANTS, UH, UPDATES ON OUR INFLUENCE A SITUATION AGAIN, UH, A SINGLE POSITIVE CASE IDENTIFIED LAST WEEK, POSITIVELY 0.6, 8% OVERALL POSITIVE OF THE SEASON.
1.18%, UH, WITH JUST UNDER A HUNDRED POSITIVE TESTS.
SO FAR THIS SEASON I GRAPHICALLY, THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.
UH, AGAIN, UH, A RECORD LOW SEASON FOR US SO FAR IN TERMS OF INFLUENZA.
AGAIN, I THINK THIS ILLUSTRATES THE, THE EFFICACY OF, OF THE TOTAL EFFORT.
UH, WE HAVE VACCINES, WE HAVE MASKING, WE HAVE DISTANCING, WE HAVE ALL THOSE THINGS, UH, UH, IN PLACE TO HAVE A RECORD LOW SEASON.
AND WE ARE IN FACT, SEEING THAT AGAIN, AS A REMINDER, WE REMAIN IN STAGE THREE OF OUR, UH, COMMUNITY-BASED RISK, UH, GET MORE HOPEFUL TO SEE STAGE TWO IN THE MIDDLE OF APRIL, THAT IT'S GOING TO DEPEND ON ALL OF US, UM, CONTINUE TO PROTECT OURSELVES.
UH, WE DO HAVE A HOLY WEEK THIS WEEK, WE HAVE A, UH, EASTER SUNDAY, THIS SUNDAY, AND AS A REMINDER, FOLKS WHO ARE IN A HIGH-RISK CATEGORY, SO THEY THEMSELVES ARE AT HIGH RISK FOR DEVELOPING SEVERE DISEASE, OR THEY HAVE SOMEBODY IN THEIR HOUSEHOLD WHO WOULD BE IRIS.
UH, THOSE INDIVIDUALS NEED TO BE VERY PROTECTIVE.
UH, THOSE INDIVIDUALS SHOULD AVOID LARGE GATHERINGS, INCLUDING FAMILY GATHERINGS, UH, TO AVOID TRANSMISSION, PARTICULARLY AT A TIME WHEN WE'RE GETTING SO MANY PEOPLE BACK SEDATED.
UM, I WILL SAY THAT IF, IF PEOPLE CHOOSE TO GO IN PERSON, UH, FOR RELIGIOUS SERVICES, PLEASE WEAR A MASK.
UM, I KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S IN STYLE NOW NOT TO WEAR A MASK, UH, IN SOME CIRCUMSTANCES, BUT IF WE CONTINUE TO MASS, PARTICULARLY AROUND, UM, HOLIDAYS WHERE THE CHURCHES MAY BE, UH, MORE FILLED THAN USUAL, HAVING THAT MASKING IS KNOWING HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF, BUT IT'S GOING TO PROTECT THE MEMBERS OF YOUR FAITH COMMUNITY.
UH, AND, UH, I THINK THAT WOULD CERTAINLY HELP, UH, DECREASE THE RISK OF, OF AN INCREASE IN OUR CASES LOCALLY FOLLOWING THESE NEW, UM, WITH THAT, I WILL SWITCH IT OVER TO DIRECTOR HAITI HOUND.
UM, AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, UM, THIS IS FROM OUR, UM, APH VACCINE DASHBOARD.
UM, WE DO A BAKE THIS ON WEEKLY.
UM, SO THIS IS AS OF LAST WEEK, ACCORDING TO THE DATA, UM, WE HAVE PROVIDED ABOUT 29% OF THE, UM, HISPANIC, LATIN X POPULATION, UM, VACCINES, UH, AFRICAN-AMERICAN 6.48, UM, ASIAN ABOUT 9% HAVE RECEIVED, UM, THE VACCINE.
WE HAD A MEETING WITH, UH, WITH COMMUNITY CARE AND, UM, THEY ARE GOING TO START PROVIDING THEIR DATA TO US.
UH, AND SO WE ARE GOING TO CAPTURE THE VACCINES THAT THEY ARE PROVIDING AS WELL AS, UH, THE VACCINES THAT IS BEING PROVIDED OUT IN CODA.
SO OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS, YOU WILL START TO SEE A CHANGE, UM, AND IT WILL NOT ONLY BE, UH, APH VACCINES.
IT WILL BE ALL OF THE, THOSE PARTNERS.
I'M JUST STATING NEXT SLIDE WITH THE VACCINE UPDATE.
UM, THIS JUST GIVES YOU A SNAPSHOT AS OF THE 27TH.
UH, WE HAVE PROVIDED 173,826 VACCINES THERE.
THOSE ARE YOUR FIRST AND YOUR SECOND DOSES.
UM, WE ADMINISTERED 25,000 VACCINES.
WE ARE CONTINUING WITH OUR MOBILE VACCINATION PRO PROGRAM.
UM, YOU'LL PROBABLY HEAR US REFERRING TO THIS AS THE MVP.
AND SO, UM, WE, UM, ARE CONTINUING TO WORK WITH MEALS ON WHEELS.
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UH, JOINED ME YESTERDAY AND WE PROVIDED A VACCINE TO JUDGE MURPHY, UH, YESTERDAY.AND IT WAS QUITE AN HONOR TO, TO MEET HER.
UM, SHE HAS A VERY, VERY INTERESTING, UH, HISTORY AND SHE HAS CONTRIBUTED SO MUCH TO TRAVIS COUNTY.
SO FOR ME, IT WAS DEFINITELY AN HONOR TO MEET HER, UM, WITH OUR, UM, MOBILE VACCINATION PROGRAM.
UM, YEAR TO DATE, WE HAVE PROVIDED 1,400 AND, UM, 1,547 VACCINES OF THOSE ABOUT 1400 OF THOSE WILL BE FIRST VACCINES, AND THEN 105 OF THOSE HAVE BEEN, UM, THE SECOND DOSES.
SO WE HAVE 205 PEOPLE THAT ARE FULLY VACCINATED, UM, BY RECEIVING THOSE SERVICES FROM OUR MOBILE VACCINATION PROGRAM.
IN ADDITION, UM, WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH FAMILY ELDERCARE AND, UM, WE'RE GOING TO START PROVIDING VACCINES, UM, WITH, WITH FOLKS THAT RECEIVE THOSE SERVICES.
WE ARE IN CONVERSATIONS WITH THE AUSTIN VIETNAMESE MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS SOCIETY.
WE HAVE PARTNERED WITH THEM IN THE PAST FOR FLU VACCINES.
AND, UM, AND SO WE ARE GOING TO, UH, PLAN A, UM, A CLOSE POD WITH THEM.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE HAVE HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH COMMUNITY FIRST VILLAGE.
AND SO, UH, WE WILL BE, UH, GOING OUT THERE AS WELL.
OUR, UM, THIS, UH, SATURDAY COMING UP, WE WILL BE FOR A PILOT AT ST.
AND SO WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR US IS ENSURING SINCE WE ARE A HUB AND, UM, AND WE'RE WORKING WITH EVERYONE, UM, IN OUR COUNTY, WE ARE STARTING TO LOOK AT HOW WE CAN COLLABORATE, UM, BETTER.
AND SO WE, WE HAVE A, UH, A MEETING WITH, WITH UT HEALTH YESTERDAY, AS WELL AS THE NURSING SCHOOL.
AND, UM, TALK WITH THEM ABOUT A COLLABORATION.
UH, WE WILL BE MEETING WITH, UM, ALL OF THOSE PARTNERS, AS WELL AS, UM, TRAVIS COUNTY TO REALLY TAKE A LOOK AT AND HAVE A MAP AND LOOK AT WHERE ALL OF US ARE PROVIDING SERVICES, BECAUSE IT'S GOING TO BE IMPORTANT FOR US TO BE ABLE TO COLLABORATE AND BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND WHERE THERE'S GAPS IN OUR COMMUNITY AND MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE PROVIDING SERVICES.
AND SO WE ARE GOING TO CONTINUE TO LOOK AT THAT AND, UM, COLLABORATIVELY PUT TOGETHER A, UH, INTERIM PLAN ABOUT HOW ALL OF THE PARTNERS CAN WORK TOGETHER TO ENSURE SERVICES ARE HAPPENING IN INSTANT CRESCENT.
THIS IS, UM, JUST AN UPDATE ON OUR VACCINE FOR CHILDCARE EDUCATION.
IN OUR SENIOR POPULATION, WE PROVIDED OVER 11,000 VACCINES TO SCHOOL AND CHILDCARE STAFF, UM, FOR OUR SENIOR POPULATION.
THIS IS, UM, PEOPLE THAT ARE 60 YEARS OF AGE AND OLDER, AS YOU CAN SEE, WE PROVIDED, UM, 53001ST DOSES AND 30002ND DOSES, ACCORDING TO, UM, UH, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF STATE HEALTH SERVICES OVER 81,000 FOLKS THAT ARE 65 YEARS OF AGE OF OLDER HAVE RECEIVED AT LEAST ONE VACCINE.
UM, AS YOU ALL MAY HAVE HEARD AS OF MONDAY, UM, EVERYONE IS ELIGIBLE 16 YEARS OF AGE AND OLDER WITH THAT ANNOUNCEMENT.
UH, THERE WAS AN ANNOUNCEMENT MADE THAT IF YOU ARE 80 YEARS OF AGE AND OLDER, UM, YOU CAN, UM, KIND OF MOVE TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE.
UM, YOU CAN SHOW UP AT A LOCATION AND RECEIVE YOUR VACCINE.
AND SO WHAT WE ARE REALLY ENCOURAGING OUR FOLKS THAT ARE 80 YEARS OF AGE AND OLDER FOR JUST A SMOOTHER PROCESS, BECAUSE WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, MAKE SURE WE DO YOUR REGISTRATION AND, UM, ARE ABLE TO BE ABLE TO GET THEM IN AND GET THEM OUT.
UM, WE ARE ASKING FOLKS IF THEY'RE 80 YEARS OF AGE AND OLDER MAY LIVE IN TRAVIS COUNTY, WE ARE ASKING THEM TO CALL THREE, ONE, ONE, UH, PROVIDE THEIR NAME AND THEIR PHONE NUMBER.
AND OUR STAFF WILL GIVE THEM A CALL AND SCHEDULE THEM AN APPOINTMENT.
AND SO WE FEEL LIKE THAT THAT WILL BE THE SMOOTHEST WAY FOR US TO CONTINUE TO PROVIDE THE SERVICE TO FOLKS THAT ARE 80 YEARS OF AGE
[00:30:01]
AND OLDER.IT ALLOWS THEM A CHANCE TO LINE UP THEIR TRANSPORTATION IF THEY NEED THAT.
AND THEN THEY'RE ABLE TO MOVE IN AND OUT.
WE CONTINUE TO ENCOURAGE FOLKS THAT APPOINTMENTS, UM, ARE ALWAYS BEST, BUT WE WILL PRIORITIZE THIS GROUP.
WE ARE, UM, UH, THIS IS JUST AN, ANOTHER UPDATE ON OUR SCHEDULING SYSTEM.
WE RELEASED 7,000 APPOINTMENTS ON YESTERDAY AND, UM, AND SO WE WILL RELEASE SOME ADDITIONAL APPOINTMENTS ON THURSDAY.
UM, WE ARE TYPICALLY RECEIVING OUR, UH, FIRST DOSE ALLOCATIONS CONSISTENTLY ON THURSDAYS.
AND SO WHAT WE ARE DOING IS, IS, UM, RELEASING APPOINTMENTS ON THURSDAY THAT CARRY US OVER INTO THE FOLLOWING WEEK AND, UM, AND BE ABLE TO START USING SOME OF THOSE 12,000 DOSES THAT WE ARE RECEIVING ON, ON THURSDAY FROM FRIDAY THROUGHOUT THE NEXT WEEK, WE ARE CONTINUING TO MAKE IMPROVEMENTS TO OUR SYSTEM.
AND SO, UM, OUR SYSTEM IS GOING TO BE OFFLINE THIS EVENING.
UM, AND SO WE'RE JUST, YOU KNOW, ENCOURAGING EVERYONE THAT IF YOU TRY TO GET ON OUR SYSTEM TONIGHT, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO, UH, BECAUSE WE'RE GOING TO BE MAKING SOME UPDATES.
AND SO, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE KNOW IS VERY IMPORTANT IS, UM, BEING ABLE TO VIEW AND PRINT A COPY OF YOUR VACCINATION RECORD.
UM, AND SO YOU WILL BE ABLE TO DO THAT IN ADDITION, UM, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO OPT OUT IF YOU NO LONGER WOULD LIKE TO, UM, RECEIVE TEXT MESSAGES OR EMAILS FROM US.
UH, AND YOU CAN UPDATE YOUR INFORMATION IF YOU, UM, HAVE BEEN IN BEFORE.
AND THERE HAS BEEN SOME CHANGES THAT YOU NEED TO MAKE.
SOME OF THE, ONE OF THE CALL TO ACTIONS THAT WE HAVE IS THAT IF YOU HAVE A, UM, IF YOU HAVE AN ACCOUNT WITH US AND YOU NO LONGER NEED THE VACCINE, WE WOULD REALLY LOVE FOR YOU TO, UM, TO GO INTO YOUR ACCOUNT.
YOU WILL BE ABLE TO DO THAT ON TOMORROW.
UM, AND THEN IT ALLOWS US TO CONTINUE TO WORK THROUGH THAT SYSTEM.
AND SO WE, THIS IS DEFINITELY A CALL TO ACTION.
UM, WE WILL DEFINITELY BE SAYING MORE ABOUT THIS, UM, ON TOMORROW, BUT WE'RE JUST EMPHASIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF FOLKS THAT MAY HAVE RECEIVED THEIR VACCINES AND, UM, DON'T NEED TO RECEIVE ANY COMMUNICATION FROM AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH AT THIS TIME.
THAT COMPLETES MY PRESENTATION.
BUT YOU, UH, LET'S JUST GO STRAIGHT TO THE QUESTIONS.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR DR.
SCOTT? WE CAN GO BACK TO, ARE THERE, YOU'RE NOW A JUDGE? I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS RIGHT NOW.
I GUESS THE ONLY ONE THAT I WOULD BE, UM, UH, WHAT, WHAT IS OUR, OUR ESTIMATE OF THE PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE WHO, UH, ARE VACCINATED NOW? DR.
I'M JUST TRYING TO FIND MY, MY MUTE BUTTON.
UH, IT'S ABOUT 31%, UH, YESTERDAY, UH, ACCORDING TO DSHS WEBSITE, UH, IT'S ABOUT 14% FULLY BACK TO ANY 31% WITH AT LEAST ONE VACCINE THAT'S INDIVIDUALS, 16 YEARS OLD AND OLDER, AS STEPHANIE SAID, UM, THE NUMBERS FOR, UH, INDIVIDUALS 65 AND OLDER WAS MUCH HIGHER BECAUSE OF THE CONCENTRATION, UH, INITIALLY IN THOSE GROUPS.
THAT'S SOUNDING A LITTLE BETTER, UM, UH, FROM, UH, OF WHERE WE STARTED.
SO, UM, AND EVEN THEN THOUGH, I THINK WE NEED TO KIND OF STILL TELL PEOPLE, UM, THAT, UH, EVEN WITH TWO SHOTS, UH, WE STILL HAVE TO BE VERY, VERY CAREFUL.
AND SO THAT MESSAGE NEEDS TO CONTINUE GOING OUT.
UM, AND PEOPLE ARE WORKING THE COMMUNITY, HOWEVER, THEY'RE STILL GETTING THE MESSAGE.
WELL, YOU KNOW, NO, WE'RE NOT REALLY INTERESTED IN GETTING THE VACCINE AND THAT'S, THAT'S VERY DANGEROUS TO US, UM, TRYING TO GET THAT MESSAGE OUT.
UH, AND SO I GUESS WE JUST HAVE TO CONTINUE WORKING AND, AND MAYBE WE'LL ALWAYS HAVE PEOPLE WHO WILL SAY NO, UH, THEY DON'T WANT THE VACCINE.
UM, SO, UM, WE JUST HAVE TO KEEP TRYING, THANK YOU,
[00:35:04]
COMMISSIONER FAY.AND, UM, AS USUAL, MY THANKS TO, UH, DR.
STEPHANIE HAYDEN HOWARD, AND ALL OF THE STAFF THAT CONTINUED TO, UM, DO REMARKABLE WORK TO KEEP OUR COMMUNITY SAFE.
UM, ARE WE, UH, YOU THINK WE, WE HAVE REACHED THE POINT WHERE WE WOULD BE SEEING A, UM, UH, AN IMPACT ON OUR NUMBERS FROM SPRING BREAK, OR, UH, DO WE STILL HAVE ANOTHER, SEVERAL DAYS BEFORE THAT STARTS TO SHOW UP? I'M, I'M, I'M REALLY PLEASED TO SEE THAT OUR NUMBERS ARE AT LEAST HOLDING STEADY, BUT, UM, IS IT TOO SOON TO SAY WE DODGED A BULLET FROM SPRING BREAK? ARE WE LIKELY TO SEE, UH, AN IMPACT IN, IN, IN FUTURE DAYS? ARE WE PAST THAT POINT, TRISHA YET? IT'S TOO SOON TO SAY, YOU KNOW, TRADITIONALLY WE LOOK FOR THE IMMEDIATE REACTION THAT 10 40 YEAR PERIOD, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE STILL WITHIN THAT PERIOD.
SOME OF THE DATA THOUGH, UH, LOOKING AT, AT SURGES, FOLLOWING THINGS LIKE REMOVAL OF MASK MANDATES, UH, INDICATE THAT, THAT THE IMPACT MAYBE SIX, EIGHT WEEKS AWAY FOR WHEN THAT, WHEN THAT POLICY CHANGE HAPPENS.
SO I THINK IT'S STILL A BIT TOO SOON.
UH, I THINK IT'S REFRESHING THAT WE HAVEN'T SEEN A SPIKE, BUT AGAIN, WE ALSO HAVE TO APPRECIATE WHAT WE'RE SEEING AS COMPARED TO SOME OF THE PROJECTIONS FROM EMT.
IF WE HAD MAINTAINED THE EXISTING POLICIES IN PLACE, WE'D BE ON A CLEAR DOWNTREND RIGHT NOW.
UM, SO IT'S, IT'S VERY CONSISTENT WITH, WITH THE MODELING THAT UT DID, UH, WHICH INDICATES SOME FLATTEN FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS AND THEN THE BEGINNING OF THE INCREASE.
SO, UH, AGAIN, WE'RE NOT OUT OF THE WOODS YET.
AND I HAVE JUST A QUICK SHOUT OUT TO JENNIFER LIVINGSTON.
I REALLY APPRECIATE HER WISDOM AND UPHOLDING OUR MASK MANDATE FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
AND, AND I THINK HER RECRUITER READING OF THE LAW.
I'LL TRY TO DO THIS REASONABLY QUICKLY.
UM, FIRST OF ALL, I WANT TO ONCE AGAIN, SAY THANK YOU TO DR.
ASCOT AND ALSO TO, UH, DIRECTOR, UH, HAYDEN HOWARD OF, FOR THE CARE THAT THEY HAVE GIVEN THE TIME THAT THEY HAVE SPENT, UH, THEIR WILLINGNESS TO, UH, WORK, UM, AFTER HOURS AND ON THE WEEKENDS AND, AND TO, UM, AND TO WORK WITH COMMUNITIES AND TO ASSURE THEM, UH, THAT WE ARE WORKING ON THEIR BEHALF.
I APPRECIATE THE EFFORTS THAT YOU HAVE TAKEN.
UM, BUT AS I WAS LISTENING TO THE NUMBERS ABOUT HOW TRAVIS COUNTY COMPARES TO OTHER COUNTIES IN THE STATE, UH, ON, ON ONE HAND ON CLEVELAND, ON THE OTHER HAND, I'M CONCERNED THAT THAT GIVES TOO ROSY A PICTURE BECAUSE GIVEN THAT PICTURE, IT'S HARD TO THEN ARGUE THAT WE'VE GOT SOME INFRASTRUCTURE PROBLEMS IN AUSTIN THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED.
AND WE DO, UH, DON'T WANT TO GIVE US A FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY.
I WANT TO HAVE DATA DRIVEN DECISIONS.
I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT AND UNDERSTAND, UH, THE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT DOES NOT HAVE ON THE EASTERN SIDE OF 35, WHERE THERE ARE SIGNIFICANT FOOD INSECURITY ON THE, ON THE EASTERN SIDE OF 35 AS WELL.
WHEN WE LOOK AT THOSE NUMBERS, I THINK WE NEED TO SEE THOSE NUMBERS STRATIFIED BY ZIP CODE AREA SO THAT WE KNOW EXACTLY WHAT IS HAPPENING IN ALL THE PARTS OF OUR CITY.
AND DON'T JUST GIVE A COLLECTIVE PICTURE, WHICH IS A LITTLE TOO ROSY IN MY ESTIMATION.
AND I ALSO WANT TO SEE THOSE, THOSE, UM, ISSUES STRATIFIED BY E C CATEGORY, IF WE COULD, SOME IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW WHICH ZIP CODE AREAS AND WITH WHICH ETHNIC COMMUNITIES AND, AND, AND WHICH, UH, COMMUNITIES WHICH ARE LOW TO MODERATE INCOME ARE HOW THEY'RE BEING IMPACTED AND HOW WE CAN IMPROVE THAT.
BECAUSE IF WE CAN DEFINE THE AREAS THAT ARE NOT DOING SO WELL, IF WE CAN'T EVALUATE OUR INFRASTRUCTURE IN REAL TERMS, THEN WE CAN BUILD AN AFTER ACTION PLAN THAT CAN ADDRESS OUR ISSUES.
IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE RECOGNIZE WHAT WE ARE MISSING, AND WE BUILD A SYSTEM TO ADDRESS THE BACKSIDE OF THE NORMAL DISTRIBUTION CURVE.
WE DO A GREAT JOB GENERALLY ACROSS A FLUENT PARTS OF THIS COMMUNITY, THE PARTS OF THE COMMUNITY, THEN THAT ARE NOT A FLUENT OR HAVING TROUBLING.
AND, AND LET ME JUST GIVE YOU A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES.
[00:40:01]
OUT THAT HARRY AND MURPHY, UH, WAS GIVEN THIS A SHOT.AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE SHE IS, SHE WAS A CLASSMATE OF MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
I DON'T KNOW HOW IT TOOK US SO LONG TO GET TO SOMEBODY WHO'S OVER 90.
UH, WE, AND, UH, I'LL, I'LL JUST MENTION ONE OTHER GROUP.
UH, UH, WE, I TALKED WITH AND PERSONALLY FOR, UM, DR AND MRS, UH, UM, EXALT AND DELCON WILAMENA DELCO, UH, THEY, THEY HAVE A CENTER THAT IS NAMED AFTER THEM THAT WE'RE GIVING SHOTS AT AND, AND THEY HAD TO GO TO WILLIAMSON COUNTY TO GET A SHOT.
HOW COULD THAT BE? WE HAVE TO LOOK AT OUR ANABEL LET'S, LET'S LOOK AT WHAT OUR ISSUES ARE AND BUILD TO ADDRESS THOSE ISSUES.
UM, I, I THINK THAT IT'S GOOD.
WE, WE HAVE TO HAVE, UH, THE DATA THAT'S NECESSARY TO ADDRESS THE REAL PROBLEMS THAT EXIST ON, ON, UH, ON THE GROUND.
I REALIZED THAT THESE ARE NOT, THESE ARE NOT NEW PROBLEMS. THESE ARE NOT, UH, ISSUES THAT WERE CREATED BY ANY MANAGER IN THIS ROOM TODAY, BUT THEY ARE REAL PROBLEMS. THEY'RE LEGITIMATE PROBLEMS. THEY HAPPEN BECAUSE OF A LACK OF INVESTMENT OVER, OVER GENERATIONS.
AND UNLESS WE DEFINE THEM AS PROBLEMS AND BUILD TO THEIR SOLUTION, THEY WILL NEVER BE SOLVED.
SO I'M, I'M, I'M PLEASED THAT WE'RE DOING BETTER, BUT I'M STILL FRUSTRATED THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF REALLY BASIC THINGS THAT WE'VE NOT DONE YET.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER, MR. HOWARD, JUDGE.
I JUST WANTED TO PUT A PEN IN THE COMMENTS THAT DR.
S SCOTT MADE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, A HEALTHIER COMMUNITY ABOUT SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH, ABOUT THINGS THAT WE KNOW EXIST, AND WHAT ARE WE DOING TO ADDRESS THEM? I'D LOVE TO SEE A JOINT SESSION, UM, WITH OUR PARTNERS, DELL MED AND CENTRAL HEALTH AND OTHERS TO TALK ABOUT SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH FOR ABOUT QUICK GOOGLE, UH, DRIVE THIS MORNING, UH, LOTS OF STUFF THAT HAPPENED IN 2015 IN OUR COMMUNITY AROUND A HEALTHIER COMMUNITY.
UM, AND SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED SINCE THEN.
SO, UM, LET'S PUT A PIN IN THIS AND GET BACK TO IT REAL QUICKLY.
I BELIEVE THAT'S HOW WE'RE GOING TO BEST HANDLE, YOU KNOW, CRISES IN THE FUTURE IS TO HAVE EVERYTHING RUNNING AS BEST AS IT CAN, INCLUDING THE HEALTH OF OUR PEOPLE.
UM, COUPLE UPDATES ON THE, THE, THE COMMUNITY COLLABORATIVE EFFORT OUT AT CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS.
UH, WE DID THE FIRST ROUND OF SECOND DOSES, UH, THIS, THIS WEEKEND, IT WAS MADONNA.
SO THAT WAS OBVIOUSLY MUCH EASIER THAN DOING PFIZER.
WE HAD
UM, HEAR RUMORS THAT THE AUSTIN SYMPHONY MAY BE JOINING US SOON.
UH, WE ALSO, SO WE ALSO KIND OF TOOK THIS WEEKEND TO LOOK AT OTHER KIND OF SEE HOW, WHERE WE ARE AND, AND LOOK AT WHAT WAYS TO GO FORWARD.
AND I THINK PART OF IT IS THAT, UH, CERTAINLY IN AMERICA IS HOPEFULLY, YOU KNOW, BURGER CENTER, MAYBE EXPO CENTER, I THINK ARE ALL GOOD JUST TO GET THE NUMBER OF DOSES UP IN THE COMMUNITY.
CAUSE THAT'S OBVIOUSLY A HUGE PART OF IT IS JUST MASSIVE NUMBERS OF VACCINES GETTING OUT, BUT LIKE COMMISSIONER TREVELYAN POINTED OUT, I THINK WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ALSO MOVING TO A MODEL WHERE WE'RE GETTING, HAVING NEIGHBORHOOD MODELS.
AND I KNOW A COUNCIL MEMBER OF
WE GOT, I THINK THIS WEEKEND, UH, WE STARTED SOMETHING, UH, WITH DR.
JERICA HOCKADAY THE CENTRAL TEXAS ALLIED HEALTH INSTITUTE, WHERE THEY WERE ABLE TO GIVE OUT PFIZER VACCINE, UH, IN THEIR COMMUNITIES.
I BELIEVE THAT THEY DID IT WITH, UH, SOME PART OF IT AT LEAST WAS WALK UP, UH, PATIENTS, WHICH IS A GREAT START.
I THINK WE'RE ALSO TALKING WITH KAREN SMITH AND MARY WALLACE TO DO SOMETHING SIMILAR IN MAYNOR THIS WEEKEND.
WE HAD HOPED WE COULD DO IT LAST WEEKEND.
WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO DO THAT THIS WEEKEND.
UM, AND THEN WE'RE ALSO TALKING WITH DEL VALLEY ISD TRYING TO DO SOMETHING SIMILAR THERE.
AND, UM, I RECOGNIZED WITH ALL OF THIS EFFORT, IT SEEMS LIKE STAFFING IS GOING TO BE THE VERY BIGGEST PROBLEM.
WE ALSO DID AN EFFORT WITH COMMISSIONER HOWARD, UH, AND MAYOR COX AND BAYLOR SCOTT AND WHITE.
AND IN LAKEWAY THIS WEEKEND WHERE WE GOT OUT A LETTER, 500 SHOTS IN LAKEWAY AND THEN BAYLOR SCOTT AND WHITE AL ALSO WORKED WITH US TO GET 500 OUT.
UM, SO THANKS TO COMMISSIONER HOWARD AND MERRICK HAWKS
[00:45:01]
FOR, FOR PUSHING ON THAT.UM, BUT DIRECTOR HAYDEN HOWARD, I WOULD JUST LOVE TO KEEP WORKING WITH YOU, UH, AS THE COUNTY AND, AND, AND AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH WORKING IN THE CITY, WORKING TOGETHER TO, TO SEE THAT NOT ONLY ARE WE DOING EVERYTHING AS MASSIVELY AND EFFICIENTLY AS POSSIBLE AT THESE LARGE SITES, BUT ALSO WORKING TO, UH, TRY TO INCREASE THE PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE WHO ARE LATINO AFRICAN-AMERICAN WERE RECEIVING SHOTS IN THE COUNTY BECAUSE WE'RE, AS, AS OVERALL IN THIS COUNTY, WE'RE WE STILL NEED TO DO BETTER ON, ON ADDRESSING THE EQUITY ISSUES AROUND VACCINE VACCINE.
SO, UM, REALIZED I HAVE TALKED NOW AND I HAVE NOT ASKED THE QUESTION, UH, JUST, I GUESS THAT'S JUST AN UPDATE FOR ME TODAY AND, UH, HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
IF ANYONE ELSE HAS ANY, I WILL INJECT YOUR HEAD AND HEART.
DO YOU WANT TO SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THAT? JUST WANT TO GIVE YOU AN OPPORTUNITY? WELL, OUR, OUR, UM, WE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE EXCITED THAT YOU WERE ABLE TO TRANSCANADA WAS ABLE TO PROVIDE THE, THE VACCINE TO, UM, BE ON CENTRAL TEXAS ALLIANCE.
UM, OUR STAFF WERE ABLE TO WORK VERY QUICKLY, UM, TO, TO MODIFY THEIR EXISTING CONTRACT THAT THEY HAD WITH US.
UM, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S AWESOME WHEN THEY STEP UP AND THEY'RE ABLE TO PROVIDE THE SERVICE TO OUR COMMUNITY, BUT THEY DON'T HAVE A LOT OF FUNDING TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT.
AND SO OUR STAFF WERE ABLE TO WORK VERY QUICKLY TO PIVOT THEIR EXISTING CONTRACT, UM, TO ALLOW THEM TO PROVIDE THOSE SERVICES WITH AN UPDATED CONTRACT.
TAKE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IS, UM, IS IMPORTANT, UM, AS WE START TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS AND START TO LOOK AT A MAP OF TRAVIS COUNTY, UH, BEING ABLE TO IDENTIFY, UM, WHERE WE ALL COULD BE.
UM, SO BECAUSE WHAT WE DON'T WANT TO DO IS THAT WE DON'T WANT TO OVERLAP.
UM, AND, UM, AND SEVERAL OF US ARE AT ONE PLACE AND THEN WE HAVE GAPS IN THE COMMUNITY WHERE WE ARE NOT.
AND SO, UM, I THINK THE MEETINGS THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE, THIS COULD BE A COUPLE OF MEETINGS WE'RE HAVING, UH, WHERE WE'RE GOING TO LOOK AT A MAP AND WE ARE ABLE TO START TO LOOK AT WHERE THE DATA SHOWS, UH, WHERE WE HAVE HIGH POSITIVITY RATE, UM, A LARGE NUMBER OF FOLKS, UM, THAT ARE PEOPLE OF COLOR.
UM, AND THEN ALSO MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE NOT JUST THERE ONE TIME THAT WE, UM, PUT TOGETHER SOMETHING THAT'S COMPREHENSIVE.
SO FOLKS WILL BE ABLE TO KNOW IN THAT COMMUNITY THAT WE WILL BE AT THIS PLACE AT THIS TIME AND THEY CAN COUNT ON IT.
AND SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE ARE WORKING ON, UH, AND NOT JUST AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH.
WE ARE WORKING WITH OTHER PROVIDERS IN OUR COMMUNITY TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT WORK TOGETHER.
SO MY HOPE IS AS A RESULT OF THAT, WE WILL SEE MORE, AFRICAN-AMERICANS MORE HISPANIC AND MORE ASIAN FOLKS TO BE ABLE TO RECEIVE THEIR VACCINE, UM, AS THESE, WITH THE, THROUGH THIS PARTNERSHIP.
HOCKADAY, I DON'T THINK COULD HAVE HAPPENED WITHOUT AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, UH, ASSISTANCE IN CONTRACTING WITH THAT AS WELL.
I DEFINITELY WANT TO GIVE YOU THAT SHOUT OUT THERE.
UM, AND I, I THINK IT JUST, I GUESS IN GENERAL, WITH WORKING WITH THESE OTHER GROUPS, THE THING THAT WE ENCOUNTER EVERY WEEK AT CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS IS EVERY, YOU KNOW, MONDAY WE'RE LIKE, OKAY, HOW ARE WE GOING TO GET THE NECESSARY MEDICAL STAFF FOR THIS WEEKEND? THAT, THAT IS, YOU KNOW, TRAINED IN THE RIGHT WAY AND HAS THE RIGHT ASSOCIATION AFFILIATIONS WITH ASCENSION AND COMMUNITY CARE.
AND I KNOW THAT WE'RE NOT ALONE IN THAT.
I KNOW THAT THAT OVER THE NEXT THREE MONTHS IS GOING TO BE THE THING THAT LIMITS HOW MUCH VACCINE WE CAN GET OUT IS WHAT STAFFING WE HAVE.
AND SO MY THOUGHT AND TRYING TO WORK WITH DR.
SMITH AND DEL VALLEY, IS IF PEOPLE HAVE THE STAFFING ABILITY TO GET SHOTS OUT, I THINK WE NEED TO CUT THROUGH THE RED TAPE AND FIGURE OUT A WAY TO LET THEM DO THAT.
AND I KNOW MOST OF THE RED TAPE IS FROM THE STATE AND THE PAPERWORK IS, IS, UH, IS A BEAST, BUT I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT AT THE LOCAL LOVER LEVEL, WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO CUT THROUGH ANY BUREAUCRACY OR OUR PROCESSES THAT WE CAN TO STILL SAFELY GIVE THE LARGEST NUMBER OF VACCINES POSSIBLE AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY WHO, WHO KNOW HOW TO GIVE A SHOT, FRANKLY.
UM, BUT WITH THAT, I'LL PASS IT ON MAYOR OVER TO Y'ALL'S SIDE.
AND, UH, I APPRECIATE THAT JUDGE AND APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT, UH, YOU AND TRAVIS GABBY ARE DOING, UH, TO, UH, OUT AT, UH, OUT AT COTA.
[00:50:01]
TO HEAR DIRECTOR HAYDEN HOWARD, THAT YOU'RE VERY, TO INCORPORATE THAT DATA, BECAUSE I THINK THAT WOULD GIVE THE COMMUNITY A BETTER FEEL FOR, UH, WHAT WE'RE DOING WHILE WE'RE NOT DOING WELL.UH, I THOUGHT IT WOULD GIVE US A MORE ACCURATE PICTURE OF WHAT'S HAPPENING.
UH, AND I THINK THE COMMUNITY IS REALLY INTERESTED IN SEEING THAT, UH, AND AS WE MOVE FORWARD INTO THIS NEXT WORLD WHERE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS GETTING MORE AND MORE VACCINES INTO AN AREA, AND THEY'RE RELYING MORE AND MORE ON THEIR NATIONAL CONTRACTS WITH DRUG STORES AND CLINICS AND GROCERY STORES AND THE, LIKE, UH, THE, THE STRATEGIC USE OF AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH AND TRAVIS COUNTY ARE TO GET MORE AND MORE IMPORTANT THAT THOSE OTHER PLACES AREN'T GOING TO HAVE A READY, UH, EQUITY, UH, UH, FOCUS TO THEIR COLLEGE.
UM, AS YOU RECALL, LAST WEEK, I STARTED AT THE WRONG PLACE.
THE MAYOR PRO TEM CORRECTED ME, UH, THIS TIME THOUGH WE'RE A GLOBAL REVERSE THE ORDER AND STARTED DISTRICT 10 AND WORK OUR WAY BACK.
UH, SO I THINK THAT STARTS, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALTAR WITH YOU.
ONE IS THAT, UM, WE'RE HEARING SOME CONFUSION OVER WHEN FOLKS SHOTS WILL BE UPLOADED INTO THE SYSTEM THAT THEY'VE RECEIVED A SHOT, UM, EVEN THE FIRST SHOT.
SO IF YOU COULD SPEAK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH AFTER THEY GET THE SHOT, UM, THAT THOSE RECORDS ARE UPDATED.
I KNOW YOU SAID YOU'RE DOING AN UPDATE, UM, TONIGHT AS WELL.
SO IF YOU COULD PROVIDE SOME INSIGHT ON THE TIMING, FOLKS SHOULD EXPECT FOR THAT INFORMATION TO BE LOADED.
I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF PAPERWORK, UM, THAT'S INVOLVED.
SO IF YOU COULD SHED SOME LIGHT ON THAT, UM, AND YOU WERE VARYING REALLY MIXED, UM, REPORTS ON THE SIZE OF LINES, UM, AS SEEMS TO BE KIND OF RANDOM.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF I'D LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE HEAR ABOUT A TWO HOUR LINE SAY AT DELCO CENTER OR SOMETHING, IS THAT A FUNCTION OF JUST PEOPLE SHOW UP TOO MANY PEOPLE SHOWED UP EARLY, OR WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH STAFF, OR THERE ARE TIMES OF DAYS WHEN WE HAVE MORE APPOINTMENTS.
UM, SO IF YOU COULD HELP US UNDERSTAND, UM, THE FLUCTUATIONS IN, AND WHAT'S CAUSING THOSE IN THE LINES AND WHETHER THERE'S ANY RESOURCES WE NEED TO DEVOTE TO REDUCING THAT, BECAUSE AS WE TRANSITION TO FOLKS WHO ARE MORE RELUCTANT, THAT KIND OF LINE IS GONNA BE PROHIBITIVE FOR THEM.
UM, WITH THE, WITH THE SYSTEM, UM, WITHIN 48 HOURS, THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO SEE THAT ON THEIR ACCOUNT.
UM, I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR, AND OUR FOLKS ARE CONTINUING TO TRY TO GO THROUGH THAT SYSTEM.
WHEN WE IDENTIFIED TWO ACCOUNTS, OUR STAFF ARE STARTING TO EMAIL FOLKS AND SAY, WHICH ONE OF THESE ACCOUNTS DO YOU WANT TO USE? UM, BECAUSE WE NEED TO CONSOLIDATE THOSE ACCOUNTS.
AND SO THAT'S ALSO A PART OF WHAT COULD DELAY IT BEING WHERE YOU MAY THINK IT IS.
IT MAY BE ON ONE OF THOSE ACCOUNTS THAT YOU'VE SET UP.
SO OUR STAFF WERE HAVING TO KIND OF DO A LOT OF QA, BUT IF YOU JUST HAVE ONE ACCOUNT, UM, WITHIN 48 HOURS, YOU SHOULD SEE THE INFORMATION UPLOADED TO YOUR ACCOUNT.
UM, AS FAR AS, UM, THE, THE SITES AND, UM, HOW SOMETIMES THE LINE GETS BACKED UP, UH, A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE SHOWING UP MUCH EARLIER THAN THEIR APPOINTMENT.
UM, YOU KNOW, IN CONVERSATIONS WHERE I'VE HAD WITH FOLKS, THEY MAY HAVE HAD A 10 O'CLOCK APPOINTMENT AND THEY GOT THERE AT NINE 30.
AND SO, UM, THE, THE WAY THAT SYSTEMS SCHEDULES FOLKS, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S SCHEDULING PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, TO BE THERE AT A CERTAIN TIME.
AND THEN IF A LOT OF OTHER FOLKS SHOW UP, SO THAT'S ONE CONCERN.
THE OTHER CONCERN IS, UM, IS THAT, UM, WE ARE LOOKING AT THE NUMBER OF VACCINATORS THAT WE HAVE.
AND SO IF WE HAVE A DAY WHERE WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH VACCINATE THAT SHOW UP, IT DOES DELAY HOW QUICKLY PEOPLE CAN MOVE THROUGH THAT LINE.
AND SO, UM, WE HAVE A COUPLE OF CONTRACTS, UM, CONTRACT PROVIDERS THAT WE ARE USING AS WELL.
UM, UM, OUR, OUR FIRE CHIEF, UM, HAS CONNECTED US WITH SOME, UH, RETIREES FROM THE FIRE DEPARTMENT THAT ARE GOING TO, UM, WE'RE GOING TO ONBOARD THEM AS WELL.
AND, UM, AND WE'VE ALSO MADE THAT REQUEST TO THE STATE OF TEXAS, UM, OUR STAR REQUESTS FOR VACCINATORS, BECAUSE THAT'S GOING TO BE THE AREA THAT, UM, WE, UH, WE WILL ALL
[00:55:01]
BE CHALLENGED AT SOME POINT, UM, AS WE CONTINUE TO BE WORKING, UH, PROVIDING VACCINES.SO THAT WILL DEFINITELY SLOW DOWN THE LIVE THEATERS.
UM, THANKS TO OUR PUBLIC HEALTH STAFF AND THANKS, YOU KNOW, NOT JUST FOR THE WORK THAT YOU'VE THE TREMENDOUS WORK YOU'VE DONE DURING THE PANDEMIC, BUT ALSO, UH, FOR CONTINUING TO WORK, TO ADDRESS HEALTH DISPARITIES IN OUR COMMUNITY.
THAT WAS A VERY INTERESTING PRESENTATION, DR.
S SCOTT ABOUT, UH, COMPARING AUSTIN TO OTHER COUNTIES.
UM, HAVING SAID THAT I FULLY SUPPORT COMMISSIONER TO LOOK AT WHERE WE HAVE GAPS AND REALLY ADDRESS THE SUBSTANTIAL HEALTH HEALTH INEQUITIES THAT WE CONTINUE TO HAVE.
UM, I WANTED TO ASK A QUESTION SPECIFICALLY, I THINK DIRECTOR HAYDEN HOWARD, UH, FOR YOU ABOUT WHAT OUR, WHAT OUR PLANS ARE, UM, FOR VACCINATING INDIVIDUALS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS.
I KNOW YOU MENTIONED THAT COMMUNITY FIRST IS GOING TO BE PART OF THE MOBILE VACCINATION CLINIC.
I THINK YOU SAID THIS WEEKEND.
UM, COULD YOU REMIND US IF YOU'VE ALREADY TOLD US, OR CAN YOU SHARE WITH US INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT THE PLAN IS, UM, KIND OF WHICH IS IT AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, OR IS IT COMMUNITY CARE OR WHO, WHO HAS BEEN TASKED WITH REALLY REACHING OUT TO INTERVIEW, REACHING OUT TO INDIVIDUALS, BOTH IN ENCAMPMENTS, AS WELL AS IN OUR, OUR SHELTERS.
UM, AND, AND WHETHER THOSE PLANS, HOW MUCH, HOW MUCH OF THOSE PLANS ARE CURRENTLY UNDERWAY.
WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING TOGETHER WITH, UM, WITH COMMUNITY CARE AND UT, UM, DELL HEALTH.
UM, AND SO, UM, THEY HAVE ALREADY STARTED PROVIDING SOME VACCINES AND SOME OF THE PROTECTIVE LODGES, THEY PROVIDED SOME AT THE, UM, AT THE ARCH AS WELL.
UH, WE HAD AN EVENT, UM, THIS PAST SATURDAY, FRIDAY, SATURDAY AT ONE OF THE OTHER PROTECTIVE LODGES.
UM, AND SO WE'RE BASICALLY APPROACHING THIS PROCESS TOGETHER, UH, LETTING EACH OTHER KNOW, YOU KNOW, WHAT AREA WE ARE PROVIDING THE VACCINES.
AND SO OUR GOAL WILL BE TO CONTINUE WITH THIS PROCESS UNTIL WE'RE ABLE TO PROVIDE THOSE VACCINES AS WE, UM, LOOK AT, UM, ENCAMPMENTS, ET CETERA.
THAT'S THE OTHER AREA THAT WE, WHERE WE NEED TO DO SOME, SOME PLANNING FOR THAT AS WELL.
SO WE'LL BE COLLABORATING WITH THEM IN THAT SPACE DIRECTOR.
HADN'T HOWARD, SORRY TO JUST ASK ONE QUICK FOLLOW-UP UM, ARE YOU, I KNOW LAST WEEK, I THINK IT WAS LAST WEEK, YOU GOT A SMALL NUMBER OF DOSES OF THE JOHNSON AND JOHNSON VACCINATION, WHICH REQUIRES JUST ONE, UM, ARE THOSE AS YOU GET SOME, SOME, UM, DOSES THAT ARE JUST, THAT ARE THOSE, ARE YOU PRIORITIZING THOSE FOUR INDIVIDUALS AND ENCAMPMENTS, OR IS THERE A PLAN TO HAVE THE HOST TEAM, UM, POTENTIALLY, YOU KNOW, GO OUT IN THE FIELD AND USE THOSE FOR INDIVIDUALS AND ENCAMPMENTS? YES, THAT IS, THAT IS, UM, ONE OF THE VACCINES THAT WE ARE GOING TO USE.
WE HAVE BEEN USING, UM, UT HAS BEEN USING, UH, PFIZER, UM, ESPECIALLY FOR FOLKS THAT ARE IN A PROTECTIVE LODGES BECAUSE, AND WE'VE USED MADONNA AS WELL.
SO WE'VE USED THE COMBINATION OF, OF VACCINES, UM, INCLUDING, UM, JOHNSON AND JOHNSON.
BUT OUR GOAL IS THAT WE MAY REQUEST FOR, UM, 12,000 VACCINES OF, OF JOHNSON AND JOHNSON.
AND SO, UM, OUR HOPE IS, IS THAT WE'D BE ABLE TO USE THOSE FOR THE ENCAMPMENTS BECAUSE AS YOU KNOW, IT'S A, ONE-TIME SHOT EASIER FOR FOLLOW-UP WHEN PEOPLE ARE NOT STAYING INTO PROTECTIVE LODGE OR AT THE ARCH.
UM, IT'S EASIER FOR, UH, FOR IT STAFF TO PROVIDE THOSE VACCINES.
MY QUESTION'S GOING TO BE FOR DR.
S SCOTT, CAN YOU TELL US IF THERE'S ANY NEW INFORMATION ABOUT TRANSMISSION AMONG VACCINATED PEOPLE? I KNOW, UM, EACH SHOT HAS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT TIME TO TAKE EFFECT AND THERE'S SOME VARIANTS OUT THERE.
AND SO I WAS JUST KIND OF CURIOUS AS MORE FOLKS ARE GETTING VACCINATED, WE NEED TO CONTINUE WEARING OUR MASKS AND JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE FOR THE LONG HAUL, THE COUNSELOR.
THERE WAS A DATA BASED ON THE, THE REAL WORLD WORLD EXPERIENCE WITH, UH, WITH PFIZER MODERNA.
SO THE INDICATING, UH, 90% EFFICACY, UH, WHICH MEANS THAT PEOPLE WHO ARE VACCINATED CAN STILL GET IF A VIRUS, UH, AND THE MORE VIRUS THAT IS TRANSMITTED, THE MORE THAT EFFICACY IS GOING TO BE CHALLENGED.
[01:00:01]
FOR BACK TO THE FOLKS TO STILL WEAR THEIR MASKS, TO STILL DISTANCE, TO STILL FOLLOW THE HAND HYGIENE.UH, REALLY WE NEED TO DRIVE THE CASES DOWN TO ZERO, UH, OR VERY NEAR ZERO BEFORE WE CAN START TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT DOING ONE WITH THE MASKS FOR NOW.
UM, BUT WE'VE GOT, WE'VE GOT A WAYS TO GO.
WE'VE AGAIN, GOT ABOUT 31% OF THE ADULT POPULATION VACCINATED, A LITTLE LOWER, AND WE CONSIDER INDIVIDUALS 15 YEARS OLD AND YOUNGER.
UM, WE'RE MAKING SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS, BUT WE'VE GOT, WE'VE GOT TO HOLD THE LINE.
WE'VE GOT TO CONTINUE THE PROTECTIONS, UH, YOU KNOW, AT LEAST THROUGH THE END OF MAY, UM, AND ALLOW US TO, TO GET CLOSE TO THAT FRONT IMMUNITY, OR HOPEFULLY ACHIEVE HERD IMMUNITY BY THE END OF MAY AND THE ADULT POPULATION.
AGAIN, EVEN AFTER THAT, WE ARE STILL GOING TO HAVE THE ABILITY FOR THE DISEASE TO CIRCULATE EFFECTIVELY IN CHILDREN, UM, WHICH IS WHAT'S BEEN SEEN IN OTHER COUNTRIES WHO ARE CLOSER TO VERBIAGE THAN WE ARE.
SO I THINK WE'RE REALLY TALKING ABOUT EARLY FALL.
UH, WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY, HAVING THE POTENTIAL TO RELAX, IF WE WERE ABLE TO IDENTIFY A VACCINE, WHICH CAN BE UTILIZED, UH, SAFELY IN CHILDREN.
AND I KNOW I'VE HEARD PEOPLE SAYING THEY'RE MORE LIKELY EVEN WITH A TYPICAL COLD FLU SYMPTOM, THAT THEY WOULD WEAR A MASK MORE READILY THAN THEY THOUGHT THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN BEFORE THIS.
I THINK WE HAVE REALLY LEARNED A LOT ABOUT HOW EFFECTIVELY WE CAN MANAGE FLU.
UM, YOU PUT JUST A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, LAST YEAR, THE 2019 2020 SEASON WAS BAD.
MANY OF THE HOSPITALS WERE FILLED, ICU'S WERE FILLED WITH FLUID PATIENTS.
UH, I KNOW NOBODY WANTS TO LOOK AT THIS, BUT, UM, IT IS A WAY THAT AS A COMMUNITY, WHEN WE HAVE INDICATIONS OF A BAD FLU SEASON, THAT WE CAN SAVE A LOT OF LIVES.
DON'T BURN THEM EVEN IN THE DRAWER AND UTILIZE THEM FOR FUTURE SURGERIES EQUIP.
I KNOW SOME OF US HAVE AMASSED QUITE A COLORFUL COLLECTION, SO THANK YOU.
ASCOT, THE DOUBLE BACK OR FOR YOU TO LET EVERYBODY KNOW HOW MANY WE DID SAVE THIS YEAR FROM INFLUENZA BASED ON PAST YEARS, BECAUSE THE PERCENTAGE THAT GOT THE FLU IS MUCH LOWER THAN THE PRIOR YEAR, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, POPE.
S SCOTT, UM, JUST TO FOLLOW ON, ON THE VARIANCE, THE PREVALENCE IN OUR COMMUNITY, UM, JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION.
DO YOU KNOW WHICH ONES, UM, AND HOW PREVALENT AND WHAT AMOUNT OF TESTING FOR VARIANTS ARE WE DOING? SO THERE'S NOT A GREAT DEAL OF, UH, VARIANT TESTING BEING DONE.
THE PRIMARY TESTING RIGHT NOW FOR ARGUMENT HAS BEEN DONE AT UT, UH, AMONGST THE INDIVIDUALS THAT THEY'RE TESTING.
THERE ARE SOME STATE, UH, EFFORTS, UH, IN TESTING AS WELL.
SO IT'S DIFFICULT FOR US TO CALCULATE THE PERCENTAGE OF THE VARIANCE, HOWEVER, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO WHEN THEY, WHEN UT RAN THEM ABOUT A THIRD OF THE, THE POSITIVES WERE THAT UK VARIOUS, UH, THEY'RE CERTAINLY SEEING INCREASES IN THE CALIFORNIA VARIANT.
UM, SO I, YOU KNOW, I THINK IN TEXAS, IN PERHAPS IN, IN MANY PARTS OF THE US, UM, WE ARE ALREADY SAYING, YOU KNOW WHAT, LIFE WOULD BE A MAJORITY OF VARIANTS AS COMPARED TO, UH, THE WILD STRAIN OR THE NEUTRAL STRAIN.
IF, IF, IF NEED BE, I THINK THAT, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER KITCHEN HAD, UH, OTHER ENGAGEMENT SHE USED TO GO TO, LIKE IT SAYS TO COUNSELOR.
SO I THINK AT THE LAST ONE OF THESE JOINT SESSIONS, UM, YOU ALL PRESENTED TO US TWO POTENTIAL DRAFT PATHS.
ONE WHERE THE PUBLIC AGENCIES WERE DISTRIBUTING MORE THAN THE VACCINE, WHICH MIGHT PUT US AT A FASTER DISTRIBUTION PATH,
[01:05:01]
BUT SLIGHTLY MORE EXPENSIVE.AND ONE WHERE MORE OF THE PRIVATE PHARMACIES WOULD BE DOING MORE OF THE WORK, WHICH MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT LONGER, NOT TOO MUCH LONGER AND LESS POTENTIALLY EXPENSIVE.
DO WE KNOW YET, WHICH OF THE TWO PATHS WERE MORE ON, IS IT'S SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN? IS THAT SOMETHING WE'RE STILL WAITING ON? WHICH, WHICH OF THOSE TWO PATHS ARE WE ON? ALL RIGHT, COUNSELOR, WE'RE ON THE, ON THE, THE SAME PASSWORD BEFORE WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF CLARITY AND WHERE THOSE INCREASES IN VACCINES ARE GOING.
UH, I DO STILL BELIEVE THAT THAT WE'RE GOING TO SEE A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER, UH, OF THE NEW VACCINES GOING TO PRIVATE INDUSTRY.
UH, CERTAINLY THE, THE WHITE HOUSE HAS INDICATED A SIGNIFICANT RAMP UP OF, OF THE, UM, THE ALLOCATION TO THOSE PHARMACIES.
THE PRESIDENT WAS ON YESTERDAY TALKING ABOUT, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT THE VAST MAJORITY OF, OF AMERICA HAS PHARMACIES, UH, WITHIN FIVE MINUTES OF WHERE THEY LIVE.
UH, SO I THINK THAT'S LIKELY TO BE THE NATIONAL STRATEGY AGAIN, I THINK THAT'S OKAY FOR US BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE PARTS OF TOWN THAT, WHERE FOLKS LIVE, THAT THEY'RE NOT FIVE MINUTES WITH A PHARMACY.
AND THAT MEANS THAT WE CAN FOCUS ON THOSE POPULATIONS.
UM, SO WE ARE, WE ARE READY TO, UH, TO TWEAK AND PIVOT, UH, BASED ON, ON WHATEVER STRATEGY IS HANDED TO US, BUT CERTAINLY FEEL CONFIDENT THAT, UH, THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL.
WHEN DOES THAT SURGE OF VACCINES COME? AND WHEN DID WE FIND OUT ABOUT THE MIXING STRATEGIES? I WISH I COULD ASK THE PRESIDENT, BUT I'VE JUST GOT YOU GUYS HERE.
SO ACCORDING TO A MEETING THAT I SAT IN ON LAST WEEK, IT WAS, UM, WHITE HOUSE STAFF, UM, AND THEY WERE LAYING OUT WHAT THEY WERE ANTICIPATING WAS GOING TO START COMING INTO COMMUNITIES.
UM, AS EARLY AS EARLY APRIL, UM, SEEING MORE, UM, UH, VACCINE, UM, 2.8 MILLION OF MADONNA, A MILLION OF PFIZER, A MILLION OF, UM, JOHNSON AND JOHNSON, JOHNSON, AND JOHNSON.
UM, AND THEN BASICALLY WHAT THEY SAID IS THAT AFTER THAT FIRST INITIAL WEEK, THEN AFTER THAT, THERE SHOULD BE, UM, UP TO 6 MILLION STARTING TO COME OUT.
AND THEN IN THE MONTH OF MAY, THEY WERE ANTICIPATING 17 MILLION WEEKLY TO BE GOING OUT ACROSS THE NATION.
AND SO, UM, SO WE'RE ANTICIPATING THAT THAT APRIL IS GOING TO SEE AN INCREASE IN THE NUMBERS OF VACCINES THAT ARE GOING TO OUR PARTNERS DIRECTLY IN THE PHARMACY PROGRAM.
WE'RE ALSO ANTICIPATING THAT MORE VACCINE IS GOING TO START TO COME IN, UM, THROUGH TEXAS THROUGH DISHES.
AND SO THOSE ADDITIONAL PARTNERS WOULD GIVE THAT.
SCOTT SHARED, UM, AS WE CONTINUE TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS, OUR PARTNERS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THEY RECEIVING, UM, THEN OUR, OUR APPROACH IS, IS TO, AS WE CONTINUE TO DO THESE PILOTS AND MAKE SURE THE PILOTS ARE WORKING PROPERLY FOR US, UM, WE WILL BEGIN TO START TO PIVOT FROM OUR CURRENT OPERATIONS, UM, AND START LOOKING AT, UM, MORE NEIGHBORHOOD OPERATIONS THAT WE ARE ABLE TO DO PARTNERING, UM, YOU KNOW, IN, IN OTHER LOCATIONS, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITIES THAT DON'T HAVE A PHARMACY AS DR.
SCOTT STATED, OR A CLINIC THAT'S NEARBY AND BE ABLE TO START DOING THOSE OPERATIONS.
SO THAT'S OUR HOPE AND SAID, YOU KNOW, WE'LL CONTINUE TO WATCH, UM, AND LISTEN, AND BE A PART OF, UH, THOSE NATIONAL MEETINGS, AS WELL AS STATE MEETINGS, TO BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND WHERE THE VACCINE IS GOING AND THEN COMMUNICATED DIRECTLY WITH OUR PARTNERS ABOUT WHAT THEY'RE RECEIVING.
UM, I REALLY, I WANT TO JUST START OFF AND SAY, THANK YOU.
UM, FOR THE WORK I'VE BEEN DOING, I SEEN THE FRIENDS AND PEOPLE IN MY AGE ARE STARTING TO GET THEIR VACCINATION.
THAT'S AWESOME, BUT I'M VERY ALARMED BY YOUR HOSPITALIZATION, UH, INCREASED AT, ON THIS, THIS WEEK.
THESE PEOPLE THAT ARE ENDING UP IN THE HOSPITAL, ARE THEY YOUNG OR ARE THEY SENIORS THAT I'VE SEEN THAT THEY'RE LIKE THE 80 GROUP AND THE 70 YEAR OLD GROUPS ARE GOING DOWN AND OUT,
[01:10:01]
STEVE, THAT SOME OF THE OTHER AGE GROUP THAT'S STARTING TO GO UP.AND I WAS JUST WONDERING, WHO ARE THE ONES THAT ARE AT WHAT AGE ARE THEY GOING TO THE HOSPITAL THAT, UH, YES, COUNSELOR THAT WAS ON THAT, THAT SLIDE.
I CAN, UH, MAKE SURE I GET THE SLIDES TO YOUR OFFICE.
UH, BUT WE ARE SAYING THE OLDER AGE GROUP NUMBERS OF HOSPITALIZATION STARTED TO DECREASE AND THE YOUNGER AGENTS START TO, UH, AGAIN, THAT HAS TO DO WITH A NUMBER OF FACTORS.
WE KNOW THAT COVID-19 IS TRANSMITTED.
DEFINITELY WE HAVE CLOSE CONTACT AND PEOPLE WHO ARE YOUNGER TEND TO HAVE MORE FACE-TO-FACE CONTACT WITH OLDER PEOPLE, OLDER PEOPLE RIGHT NOW ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE VACCINATED THAN YOUNGER PEOPLE GIVEN THE REALLY PRIORITIZATION.
SO THIS IS A PATTERN THAT WE'VE EXPECTED.
YOU'RE SAYING, IT'S THE PATTERN THAT WE'RE SAYING, IT'S THE PATTERN THAT WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO SEE, UH, UNTIL WE GET MORE PEOPLE VACCINATED.
BUT, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S CRITICAL FOR ALL OF US IN THE MEANTIME, TO CONTINUE THE MASKING AND THE DISTANCE AND THE PROTECTIONS THAT HAVE GOTTEN US DOWN TO THIS LEVEL.
UH, I WILL SAY IN PARTICULAR FOR OUR LACKNESS MEANING THAT KNOW, I KNOW THIS IS A TIME TO CELEBRATE THIS WEEK.
UH, YOU KNOW, HOLY THURSDAY, GOOD FRIDAY, HOLY SATURDAY, EASTER SUNDAY.
AND IT IS A TIME TO GET TOGETHER WITH FAMILY.
IT'S A TIME TO GATHER TOGETHER WITH YOUR CHURCH COMMUNITY.
WE HAVE TO BE VERY CAREFUL, PARTICULARLY IN OUR HISPANIC YOUTH, BECAUSE THERE COULD A LOT OF FIRE, UH, HANDS.
UM, SO FOLKS WHO ARE HIGH RISK REALLY NEED TO CHOOSE THE VIRTUAL OPTIONS.
UM, OTHER FOLKS THEY'RE GOING TO GATHER TOGETHER, IF THEY'RE GOING TO GO TO CHURCH IN PERSON, PLEASE WEAR A MASK, PLEASE WASH YOUR HAIR, PLEASE DO THOSE THINGS TO MINIMIZE YOUR RISK.
BECAUSE I BEEN SEEING THAT I LIVE RIGHT NEXT TO A FESTIVAL AND I USED TO PARK DOWN THERE A LOT.
AND I'VE BEEN SEEING A LOT OF THE YOUNG FOLKS COMING DOWN, A GATHERING AROUND THE PARTY AND, AND ALMOST NONE OF THEM HAVE MASKS ON.
SO I ALSO WANT TO RELAY A MESSAGE TO GET PLEASED.
YOU KNOW, YOU'RE, YOU MIGHT NOT DIE FROM THIS, BUT YOUR, YOUR OLDER GRANDKIDS, OR, YOU KNOW, YOU GUYS, UH, ARE FOCUSED ON MAKING SURE THAT YOUR FAMILY STAY SAFE.
SO, UH, I, UH, I REALLY WANT TO THINK OF HER RELAYING THAT MESSAGE.
WE NEED TO JUST KEEP SAYING THAT OVER AND OVER, BECAUSE, UH, THIS VIRUS, THIS COVID VIRUS IS NOT OVER.
AND, AND I'M, I'M, I'M REALLY CONCERNED THAT, YOU KNOW, I'M STARTING TO LOSE A LOT OF MY FRIENDS AT MY AGE, I'M 70 NOW.
AND I JUST WENT BACK TO MY PEOPLE KNOW, HEY, COME ON.
YOU KNOW, YOU'RE, YOU'RE, YOU'RE GETTING RID OF YOUR YOU'RE, YOU'RE GETTING YOUR GRANDPARENTS INFECTED AND THEY'RE ENDED UP IN A HOSPITAL AND THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE LONG-TERM MEDICAL CARE AND NEED.
SO, UM, PLEASE CONSIDER BEFORE YOU GO OUT THERE AND INSTEAD, LOOK, LOOK AT YOUR FATHER AND YOUR GRANDFATHER AND SAY, I LOVE YOU MORE THAN, YOU KNOW, JUST SIT THERE AND HAVE FUN WITH MY FRIENDS.
SO PLEASE MESS UP JOSEPH AT THREE, A THANK YOU OR A COUNCIL MEMBER, A FIGHT THIS, THANK YOU.
I I'M REALLY HEARTENED TO HEAR THAT THERE ARE EFFORTS TO DO A PLAN FOR OUR EASTERN CRESCENT, ESPECIALLY KNOWING THAT THE ROLE OF APH MAY PIVOT AS MORE VACCINE DOSES COME ONLINE.
BUT TO BE HONEST, I'M ALSO GREATLY DISAPPOINTED THAT WE'RE NOW IN A PHASE OF DOING A PLAN FOR THE EASTERN CRESCENT.
WHEN WE ARE IN WEEK 16 OF THE VACCINE ROLLOUT, WE TALK ABOUT, AND WE TALK ABOUT EQUITY, AND WE KNOW THAT THIS VIRUS HAS DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTED OUR BLACK AND BROWN COMMUNITIES.
WE NEED TO CENTER THOSE COMMUNITIES FIRST.
SO YOU HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DOING ALL THAT WE CAN PROACTIVELY TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE GETTING BACK INTO THE PROMPTS, THAT THOSE WHO NEEDED THE MOST.
UM, AND SO I GUESS THE QUESTION IS, YOU KNOW, AND I'M HAPPY TO HEAR THAT THERE IS A MOBILE PROGRAM, THE MBP, I THINK THAT'S A GREAT WAY FOR US TO CONTINUE TO MOVE, TO ADDRESS THE UNIQUE NEEDS, ESPECIALLY FOR OUR HOMEBOUND INDIVIDUALS.
SO DIRECTOR, YOU COULD SPEAK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT DOES THAT MOBILE VACCINE PROGRAM LOOK LIKE, UH, IN TERMS OF HAVING IT AS PART OF OUR NEIGHBORHOOD LEVEL OPERATIONS.
UM, YOU KNOW, I JUST WANT TO GET A GOOD SENSE THAT WE HAVE A STRATEGY
[01:15:01]
IN PLACE FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE NOT AFFILIATED WITH NONPROFITS, SUCH AS MEALS ON WHEELS OR FAMILY ELDER CARE.IF YOU ARE AN AUSTIN KNIGHT WHO NEEDS A VACCINE, HOW WILL AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH MOBILIZED TO BRING THOSE VACCINES INTO HARD HIT NEIGHBORHOODS? COULD YOU SPEAK A LITTLE BIT MORE TO THAT? SO, UM, CURRENTLY WHAT WE HAVE DONE WITH, UH, WITH THE MOBILE VACCINE PROGRAM IS, IS THAT WE HAVE PRIMARILY WORK WITH PARTNERS, UM, BECAUSE OUR GOAL INITIALLY IS TO BE ABLE TO GO TO PLACES WHERE, UM, PARTNERS HAVE EXISTING RELATIONSHIPS, LIKE MEALS ON WHEELS, UM, UM, THE HOUSING AUTHORITY, WHERE THERE ARE SEVERAL, UM, FOLKS THERE THAT WE CAN USE THE COMMUNITY ROOM TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THOSE VACCINES.
UM, ALSO, UM, WE HAVE BEEN RECEIVING REFERRALS, UM, JUST, YOU KNOW, UH, ACROSS THE COMMUNITY FOLKS OF ONE, ONE, OUR FOLKS ARE SCHEDULING THEM.
AND SO THEY'RE GOING TO FOLKS THAT ARE NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY TYPE OF ORGANIZATION AND THEY ARE PROVIDING THOSE, UM, VACCINES.
THEY STARTED THAT PROCESS, UH, LAST WEEK OF GOING TO JUST KIND OF A LIST OF FOLKS TO BE ABLE TO FIT THEM IN WITH THE OTHER PROCESS.
AND SO IT IS A TEAM OF FOUR FOLKS.
UM, THERE'S THREE PEOPLE ON EACH OF THE TEAMS. UM, WE ARE, UM, UH, BRINGING ON ONE ADDITIONAL TEAM, UH, TO BE ABLE TO ASSIST US.
AND SO, UM, WHENEVER WE'RE LOOKING TO DO A, UM, A PILOT OR A LOCATION, WE CALL THAT A CLOSE TODD.
UM, THAT'S A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN OUR MOBILE VACCINE FOLKS.
WE TYPICALLY USE THE EXISTING FOLKS THAT ARE WORKING AT A DELCO OR BURGER, ET CETERA.
AND THEN THEY ARE THE ONES THAT GO OVER AND PROVIDE THAT CLINIC SETTING, UM, AND WITH A LARGER FOOTPRINT.
SO THOSE ARE TWO DIFFERENT STRATEGIES THAT WE HAVE BEEN DOING THUS FAR.
SO YOU HAVE THE MOBILE VACCINE FOLKS TEAM OF THREE, AND THEN YOU HAVE THE FOLKS THAT WILL DO A CLOSED POD.
AND THAT IS THAT'S MULTIPLE FOLKS.
AND IT DEPENDS ON HOW MANY VACCINES THAT YOU ARE TRYING YOUR THROUGHPUT THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO GET THROUGH.
AND SO, LIKE I SAID, THAT IS SET UP SIMILAR TO YOUR DELCO, YOUR DEV SPRINGS, YOUR PFLUGERVILLE IS THAT, UM, COMPLIMENT OF STAFF.
AND SO, UM, WE'LL CONTINUE TO, UM, DO THAT PROCESS OF, UM, MAKING SURE, UM, THAT WE ARE, UM, WORKING OUR WAY AND, AND CONTINUE TO PRIORITIZE THE FOLKS THAT ARE 65 YEARS OF AGE AND OLDER, UM, THROUGH OUR, UM, OUR MOBILE TEAM.
AND THEN ONCE, UM, WE'RE ABLE TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE AREAS ARE COVERED.
UM, THEN WE START TO DO A LITTLE BIT MORE PIVOTING.
AND SO, UM, WHAT I SPOKE OF EARLIER, WHAT HAS NOT HAPPENED, WE'VE NOT SAT DOWN WITH THE COUNTY.
WE'VE NOT SAT DOWN WITH UT HEALTH.
UM, UH, DALE, MAN, WE'VE NOT SAT DOWN WHEN UT, UH, NURSING SCHOOL COLLABORATIVELY.
WE MET WITH THEM INDIVIDUALLY.
WE TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT YOU'RE DOING, COMMUNITY CARE, WHAT YOU'RE DOING, ET CETERA, BUT WHAT REALLY NEEDS TO HAPPEN.
UM, AND I'LL GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE, UM, WITH OUR FAITH, UH, WITH OUR, UM, UH, BLACK FAITH, UM, UH, INITIATIVE, WE WERE LOOKING AT TWO CHURCHES AND IN OUR CONVERSATIONS WITH UT NURSING SCHOOL, THEY ALREADY HAD THOSE ON THEIR LIST.
AND SO IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE FOR US TO GO THERE AND THEY'RE THERE TOO.
AND SO WHAT MAKES SENSE FOR US ALL TO DO IS TO HAVE A MEETING WHERE WE COLLABORATIVELY SAY, I'M COMMITTED TO BEING AT THESE LOCATIONS, WHERE ARE YOU COMMITTED TO BE? AND THEN WHERE DO WE NEED TO EXPAND? BUT WE HAVE A MAP THAT SAYS, THIS IS THE MAP.
AND THIS IS WHERE AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH IS GOING TO BE.
THIS IS WHERE UT HEALTH IS GOING TO BE THROUGH THE NURSING SCHOOL.
THIS IS WHERE, UH, DALE MANN IS GOING TO BE, THIS IS WHAT TRAVIS COUNTY IS GOING TO DO THROUGH COTA.
AND THIS IS WHAT COMMUNITY CARE IS GOING TO DO THAT WAY.
WE ARE ALL WORKING TOWARD THE COMMON GOAL.
UM, AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH DOES NOT WANT TO BE IN THIS BUSINESS ALONE, WHERE WE TRY TO ADDRESS EVERYTHING THAT'S HAPPENING IN THE EASTERN CRESCENT.
[01:20:01]
HAVE OUR PARTNERS WITH US, THEY'RE WILLING TO DO IT.UM, THEY'VE BEEN, THEY'VE BEEN MOVING FORWARD WITH THEIR PLANS.
WE'VE BEEN MOVING FORWARD WITHOUT PLANS.
WE'VE GOT TO BRING THOSE PLANS TOGETHER FOR THIS TO BE SUCCESSFUL FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE NEED, ESPECIALLY WE WANT TO HAVE A COHESIVE STRATEGY IN VACCINATING, RIGHT? EASTERN CRESCENT COMMUNITIES.
SO VERY HAPPY TO HEAR THAT TYPE OF COLLABORATION IS TAKING PLACE.
AND THE OTHER QUICK QUESTION I HAD, CAUSE I THINK I MISSED THIS WHEN IT WAS COVERED EARLIER, THE DATA COMING OUT OF OUR COTA VACCINE SITE THAT WE HAVE GOING ON WITH THE COUNTY, WHEN CAN WE EXPECT THAT DATA TO SEE THE DEMOGRAPHICS FROM? SO WE'RE GONNA S WE'RE GOING TO SEND A, UM, A REPORT THAT WE'RE GOING TO RECEIVE FROM COMMUNITY CARE.
WE TALKED WITH THEM ABOUT THAT, SO WE'LL SEND A MEMO FORWARD.
UM, AND THEN OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS, THEY'RE GOING TO BE SENDING, UM, THAT DATA TO US AND YOU'LL START SEEING IT ON, ON THE, ON THE, UM, ON THE DASHBOARD.
SO PROBABLY OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS, UM, WE'LL, WE'LL START TO ACTUALLY POPULATE AND PUT THAT DATA THERE.
COUNCIL MEMBER FERNANDEZ, THAT'S MUSIC TO THE EARS.
IT'S THIS IS THE SECOND MEETING IN A ROW WHERE I GOT TO TELL YOU THE PRESENTATION MADE ME FEEL OPTIMISTIC.
UM, I AM, I AM STARTING TO THINK ABOUT, UM, WHAT DOES OUR COVID FUTURE LOOK LIKE? UM, I THINK, UH, COMMISSIONER TREVELYAN AND HOWARD, UM, BOTH SPOKE TO IT IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, THE PREVENTATIVE ELEMENTS.
I WONDER HOW MANY OF THE RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE TO COMBAT COVID WILL GO TO, UM, SOME OF THE DISPARITIES IN HEALTHCARE, PREVENTATIVE HEALTHCARE, UH, FOOD INSECURITY, ET CETERA, THAT SORT OF LED CERTAIN POPULATIONS OF PEOPLE TO BE, UM, MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO NEGATIVE OUTCOMES, TO BE, UM, FOLKS WITH THOSE CO-MORBIDITY, UM, CONCERNS.
SO MY HOPE IS THAT THAT THAT'S A PART OF THE CONVERSATION MOVING FORWARD, UM, UH, AS A RESULT OF THIS.
AND THEN I ALSO THINK A LOT ABOUT, UM, I MEAN, AS THE THING THAT EVEN VARIANTS EARLIER, I'VE BEEN SAYING MUTATIONS, BUT AS THE VIRUS CHANGES AND GROWS AND, UM, OUR FOLKS ARE GOING TO BE NEEDING TO GET BOOSTERS ALONG THE WAY.
UM, WILL THERE BE IMMUNIZATIONS COME IN SOON FOR THOSE UNDER 16? WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? YOU KNOW, FOR KIDS GOING BACK TO SCHOOL IN THE FALL, I CERTAINLY DON'T NEED ALL THOSE QUESTIONS ANSWERED NOW, BUT JUST GENERALLY YOU COULD GIVE ME A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF WHAT OUR COVID-19 FUTURE IS LOOKING LIKE COUNCILMEMBER.
UH, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU FOR, UH, FOR YOUR COMMENTS.
AND AGAIN, I, I AGREE THAT, UM, WE'VE GOT A LOT OF WORK TO DO IN TERMS OF, UH, ADDRESSING THE DISPARITIES IN OUR COMMUNITY, UM, ON MANY, MANY LEVELS, AND WE CAN'T LOSE SIGHT OF THAT, UH, REGARDING OUR COVID FUTURE.
YOU KNOW, THERE ARE A LOT OF ASTRONAUTS RIGHT NOW.
UM, THERE ARE A LOT OF UNKNOWNS.
UH, I WILL SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, I THINK THE GENERAL EXPECTATION FOR A IMMUNIZATION FOR YOUNGER INDIVIDUALS SOMETIME THIS SUMMER.
NOW, WHEN I SAY YOUNGER INDIVIDUALS, IT'S LIKELY TO BE INCREMENTAL.
SO WE'RE PROBABLY GOING TO SEE THE GAP BRIDGE FOR 12 TO 16 YEAR OLDS FIRST.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, PERHAPS YOUNGER KIDS AS, AS THE RISK OF THE DISEASE ITSELF GETS VERY LOW IN TERMS OF SEVERE DISEASE OR DEATH.
THE BURDEN OF SAFETY GROWS SUBSTANTIALLY BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO PROVE THAT THE, YOU KNOW, THE VACCINE IS, IS GOING TO BE, UM, SAFER THAN, THAN THE NATURAL DISEASE.
SO IT'S EVEN MORE CHALLENGING TO DEVELOP THINGS FOR YOUNGER PEOPLE AND TO MEET THAT BURDEN, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR OUR MIDDLE SCHOOL, HIGH SCHOOL AGED STUDENTS, I THINK IT'S VERY LIKELY THAT THERE'LL BE A VACCINE AVAILABLE FOR THEM BEFORE THE START OF SCHOOL.
UM, I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKELY THAT WE'RE GOING TO SEE SOME ONGOING MODIFICATIONS OF NORMAL, UH, IN THE SCHOOL YEAR, NEXT YEAR, BUT I THINK IT, YOU KNOW, WITH THE VACCINATIONS, UH, UH, FACULTY STAFF AND THOSE OLDER STUDENTS, UM, I, I THINK IT'S MUCH MORE LIKELY THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A RELATIVELY NORMAL IN-PERSON PRESENCE, UH, IN THE SCHOOLS NEXT YEAR.
UM, REGARDING BOOSTERS, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THIS REALLY DEPENDS ON
[01:25:01]
HOW WE DO AS A, AS A COUNTRY IN VACCINATING OUR COMMUNITY, AND THEN IMMEDIATELY TRANSITIONING TO ENSURE THAT THE WORLD IS, IS VACCINATED.UM, BECAUSE IF WE DON'T, IF WE DON'T VACCINATE THE PLANET, IT'S GOING TO INCREASE THE WE'VE HAD THE COVID IS GOING TO CONTINUE TO, UH, DO MUTATE AND, UH, FOR US TO END UP IN A FLOODLIGHT SITUATION WHERE WE HAVE ANNUAL BOOSTERS FOR THE CIRCULATING STRINGS.
THE SLIDES AS WELL, THAT TALKED ABOUT JUST THE UNDERLYING NOW FACTORS, NOT THAT WAS REAL INSTRUCTIVE.
UH, I APPRECIATE, UH, UH, COMMISSIONER PAVILIONS QUESTIONS, UH, THAT, UH, UH, SPEAK TO THE DISPARITIES THAT WE'VE SEEN, UH, IN EVEN MORE BOLD RELIEVE WITH COVID.
UM, I'D LIKE TO THAT AT SOME POINT THAT YOU SEE IF YOU CAN GIVE US THOSE SAME CHARTS, BUT THE AGGREGATED BY RACE AND ETHNICITY, SO THAT WE COULD SEE THE SAME THING, BUT BROKEN OUT THAT WAY, UH, THAT, UH, TO REALLY HELP US, YOU KNOW, PERHAPS BETTER TARGET OR BETTER UNDERSTAND WHAT WE WERE SEE HERE.
IF THAT'S A, I WOULD IMAGINE THAT AT THAT IT WOULD BE AVAILABLE.
WOULDN'T IT? UH, I WILL DO MY BEST.
AND I, AND I KNOW IT'S EXTRA WORK, SO PRIORITIZE IT APPROPRIATELY.
THERE WAS ONE CHART THAT YOU HAD AT THE END.
IT HAD THE STATE AVERAGE ON THE NUMBER OF CASES PER POPULATION.
IS THAT CHART RELATED TO UNDERLYING HEALTH CONDITIONS? UH, WHERE IS THAT CHART OR POLICY? WELL, MAYOR, I THINK IT'S A MIX OF THE TWO.
UH, CERTAINLY IN MANY OF THE AREAS THAT WE KNOW ARE, UH, RISK FACTORS FOR COVID-19 SEVERITY AND DEATH.
UH, IT WAS AN UNEVEN PLAYING FIELD TO BEGIN WITH.
UH, TRAVIS COUNTY HAD LOWER RATES OF, UM, YOU KNOW, DIABETES, OBESITY INDIVIDUALS OVER THE AGE OF 65 INDIVIDUALS IN, IN FAIR OR POOR HEALTH.
UM, BUT I THINK WHAT'S REALLY TELLING IS THE CUMULATIVE CASES PER CAPITA, UM, THAT CAN'T BE EXPLAINED BY THOSE THINGS
UH, THERE, THERE ARE LOTS OF OTHER FACTORS THAT, UH, THAT COME INTO PLAY.
AND I'LL TELL YOU THAT WITH, WITHOUT QUESTION, THE NEXT DECADE IS GOING TO BE SPENT LOOKING BACK THAT THE RATES OF DISEASE, THE RATES OF DEATH, AND TRYING TO SORT OUT WHAT WERE THE CRITICAL FACTORS.
BUT I DO WANT TO SAY THIS, AND THIS GOES BACK TO THE COMMISSIONER TO RESILIENCE DEPARTMENTS.
WE HAVE BEEN FORTUNATE IN TRAVIS COUNTY.
TRAVIS COUNTY HAS BEEN EXAMPLE SAVER.
AUSTIN HAS BEEN AN EXAMPLE, UM, OR WHAT CAN BE DONE.
UH, AND HE CERTAINLY IS A SUCCESS STORY, BUT IT'S A SUCCESS STORY ON THE BACKDROP OF A COUNTRY THAT'S FAILED.
UM, WE CAN'T CLAIM SUCCESS WHEN THERE ARE MORE THAN 550,000 AMERICANS DEAD, MORE THAN 45,000 TEXANS DEAD.
UM, WHEN WE LOOK AT COUNTRIES WHO'VE BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL LIKE AUSTRALIA, IF WE DO A DIRECT COMPARISON.
SO OUR SISTER CITIES, SAME POPULATION, SAME GEOGRAPHIC SIZE, THEIR CASES, 606 CUMULATIVE THAT'S FOUR.
UM, THAT'S WHAT CAN BE DONE NOW, CERTAINLY AUSTRALIA'S MODELING IS IT'S EASIER TO PROTECT ISLANDS IN THIS SORT OF CIRCUMSTANCE, BUT THERE ARE UNDERLYING FACTORS.
THERE WAS HEALTH CARE AVAILABILITY TO CALL PEOPLE.
THERE'S AN INTEGRATED HEALTHCARE SYSTEM.
THERE WAS A WELL STRUCTURED AND FUNDED PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM.
UM, THERE IS A SENSE OF LIBERTY AND A SENSE OF COMMUNITY THAT LIVES THERE.
AND WE HAVE TO TAKE NOTE OF THAT.
IT CANNOT JUST BE ABOUT INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY.
THERE HAS TO BE A BALANCE BETWEEN LIBERTY AND COMMUNITY.
AND I THINK IT'S QUITE CLEAR THAT THE AMERICA IS OUT OF BALANCE.
THANK YOU, JUDGE BROWN TURNED IT BACK OVER TO YOU.
THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBERS AND COMMISSIONERS VERY MUCH.
UH, WE ARE GOING TO, UH, OBVIOUSLY KEEP WORKING ON THIS.
AND, UH, I THINK THERE'S SOME MEETINGS TODAY ABOUT WAYS THAT THE CITY
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OF CITY COUNCIL OR THE CITY AUSTIN, PUBLIC HEALTH AND TRAVIS COUNTY CAN WORK TOGETHER EVEN MORE ON, UH, COORDINATING EFFORTS TO GET, GET VACCINES OUT TO THOSE, THOSE HARDEST HIT IN OUR COMMUNITY.I LOOK FORWARD TO THOSE, THOSE MEETINGS THAT ARE GOING ON WITH, WITH ALL OF Y'ALL.
UM, AND WITH THAT, I THINK WE WILL, UH, ADJOURN OUR PART OF THE MEETING AND LOOK FORWARD TO JOINING YOU ALL AGAIN NEXT WEEK.
AT 10 34 HERE ON MARCH 30TH, UH, 21, UH, WE WILL ADJOURN THE, UH, CITY PORTION OF THE JOINT MEETING.
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR LETTING US JOIN YOU.