[1. Update on Covid-19 related matters.]
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ANDY BROWN CALLING TO ORDER THE TRAVIS COUNTY COMMISSIONER'S COURT MEETING ALONG WITH CITY COUNCIL.
AND AGAIN, COURT, THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING US TO JOIN WITH YOU.
UH, STEVE, AFTER AUSTIN MAYOR CONVENING OUR SPECIAL SESSION HERE WITH TRAVIS KENNEDY, MICHIGAN SPORT, TUESDAY MAY, 1820 21.
THE TIME IS NINE OH FIVE UNIFORM UNIFORMED PRESENT JUDGE, UM, MAYOR.
I'VE A KNOCK-KNOCK JOKE FOR YOU.
I HAVE A KNOCK-KNOCK JOKE FOR YOU.
THIS IS THEIR ORANGE, ORANGE, ORANGE.
YOU GLAD WE'RE DOING ANOTHER JOINT SESSION
SO, UH, WE'LL START OFF WITH THE NORMAL RUN OF THE THINGS WHERE WE HEARD FROM DR.
S SCOTT AND THEN, UH, FROM, IS IT JUST DR.
SCOTT OR DO WE HAVE DIRECTOR HIDDEN HOWARD STILL ADRIAN, ADRIAN TODAY.
WE'RE GOING TO HEAR OUR BRIEFINGS AND THEN WE'LL GO THROUGH QUESTIONS OF THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT.
AND THEN WE'LL GO THROUGH QUESTIONS OF CITY COUNCIL.
WE'LL TRY TO KEEP IT TO ONE QUESTION EACH OF YOU CAN IN THE INTEREST OF TIME.
UH, BUT FIRST LET'S GO TO THE TRAVIS COUNTY COMMENT LINE.
ARE THERE ANY CALLERS HERE TODAY, LARRY? NO.
S SCOTT, IF YOU ARE READY, PLEASE GO AHEAD.
BEFORE I GET STARTED, I WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME DR.
WACHS HAS BEEN APPOINTED AS THE PERMANENT HEALTH AUTHORITY AND WILL, UH, WELL, HOPEFULLY, UH, EXPECTEDLY BE CONFIRMED ON THURSDAY BY COUNCIL AND NEXT WEEK BY COMMISSIONER'S COURT.
UH, SHE HAS SERVED THE PAST 13 YEARS AS THE HEALTH AUTHORITY IN BASTROP COUNTY.
AND WE'RE CERTAINLY EXCITED TO HAVE HER JOINING THE CITY OF AUSTIN TEAM.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT TO SAY A FEW WORDS, BUT, UH, THE FLOOR IS YOURS MORNING, EVERYONE.
S SCOTT, AND I'M REALLY EXCITED TO JOIN THE AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH TEAM AND THIS TEAM OF INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE WORKED SO DILIGENTLY TO HURT THE SPREAD OF COVID-19 IN THIS COMMUNITY AND HAVE DONE SOME AMAZING THINGS IN PUBLIC HEALTH.
I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU.
AND AGAIN, EXCITED TO HAVE YOU, I'M GOING TO MOVE OVER TO MY SLIDES.
JUST GIVE ME JUST A MOMENT AGAIN.
THANK YOU A JUDGE, A MAYOR, ADLER COMMISSIONER'S COURT AND CITY COUNCIL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO UPDATE YOU ALL, UH, IN A JOINT SESSION, WHICH WE MOST ENJOYED, UM, ON OUR COVID-19 UPDATE.
UH, SO I'M SHOWING YOU HERE, UH, OUR UPDATE IN OUR PROGRESS TOWARDS HERD IMMUNITY IN AUSTIN AND TRAVIS COUNTY.
UH, YOU CAN SEE THAT WE NOW HAVE 40% OF OUR OVERALL POPULATION WHO IS FULLY VACCINATED, ANOTHER 13%, UH, PARTIALLY VACCINATED.
SO 53% OF OUR ENTIRE POPULATION, UH, IS AT LEAST PARTIALLY VACCINATED, WHICH IS A FANTASTIC PROGRESS.
WE HAVE ANOTHER 6% OF INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE A CONFIRMED CASE OF COVID-19 AND AN ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL 13%, UH, THAT HAD, UH, UH, COVID-19 BUT WAS NOT DIAGNOSED.
AND THAT'S BASED UPON SOME MODELING FROM THE UT MODELING CONSORTIUM.
SO THAT LEAVES US RIGHT NOW WITH AT LEAST 28% OF OUR COMMUNITY IS STILL VULNERABLE TO COVID-19.
AGAIN, THESE NUMBERS ASSUME NO OVERLAP BETWEEN VACCINATED INDIVIDUALS AND INDIVIDUALS WHO HAD COVID-19 THERE'S OBVIOUSLY GONNA BE SOME OVERLAP.
UH, SO AT LEAST 28% OF FOLKS, UH, HAVE, HAVE NEITHER A VACCINE NOR HISTORY OF, OF
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COVID-19.AND I'M GOING TO TALK A LITTLE BIT LATER ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE HAD COVID-19, UH, TO, TO GET VACCINATED.
UH, AND I'M GOING TO SHARE SOME NUMBERS REGARDING BREAKTHROUGH CASES, UH, AND RE-INFECTION TO, TO ILLUSTRATE THAT POINT FURTHER, BUT AGAIN, MAKING GOOD PROGRESS.
THIS IS AN UPDATE OF OUR NEW CONFIRMED CASES IN TRAVIS COUNTY.
UH, YOU CAN SEE THAT OVER THE WEEKEND, UH, AND FOR WEEKENDS IN THE FUTURE, WE ARE NOT GOING TO REPORT CASES.
SO ALL OF THOSE CASES FROM THE WEEKEND, UH, SATURDAY, SUNDAY, AND MONDAY WILL ALL BE REPORTED ON MONDAYS.
UH, SO YESTERDAY OUR THREE-DAY TOTAL OF NEW CASES WAS 105.
UH, SO THAT BRINGS OUR MOVING AVERAGE DOWN TO 52, WHICH IS A 45% DECREASE SINCE THE BEGINNING OF MAY.
UH, SO CERTAINLY IN PR IMPRESSIVE THERE, UH, WHEN WE LOOK AT OTHER COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE ACHIEVED THAT 50% THRESHOLD OR HIGHER FOR VACCINATIONS, IT'S ABOUT THAT STAGE WHERE WE SEE CASES DRAMATICALLY DECLINED.
UH, SO WE WERE EXPECTING, UH, THAT WE WERE GOING TO SEE SIGNIFICANT DECREASES ONCE WE PASS THAT THRESHOLD AND GLAD TO SEE THAT WE ARE IN FACT, UH, DROPPING CASES RAPIDLY.
UH, THIS IS AN UPDATE OF OUR NEW ADMISSIONS TO THE HOSPITAL.
UH, WE HAD A GREAT WEEKEND, UH, WITH 13 ADMISSIONS ON SATURDAY AND FOUR ADMISSIONS ON SUNDAY, SEVEN ADMISSIONS YESTERDAY, UH, WHICH BRINGS OUR MOVING AVERAGE TO 14.
THAT'S A 22% DECREASE, UH, SINCE MAY THE FIRST.
AND I WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE ADMISSIONS.
UH, WE HAD NOTICED THAT OUR CASES HAVE BEEN FALLING FASTER THAN OUR ADMISSIONS NUMBERS.
UH, IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE NOTICED THAT, UH, CASE NUMBERS OUTSIDE OF THE MSA METROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREA, AND, UH, UH, AND BEYOND, YOU KNOW, FURTHER OUT IN CENTRAL TEXAS, UH, THOSE CASE NUMBERS WERE INCREASING THE RATES OF ACTIVE CASES IN THE MORE DISTANT COUNTIES ARE MUCH HIGHER, YOU KNOW, THREE TO FIVE TIMES HIGHER THAN THE PER CAPITA RATE THAT WE'RE SEEING IN TRAVIS COUNTY, UH, AND, UM, IN PLACES LIKE WILLIAMSON COUNTY.
UH, SO THAT GOT US THINKING, WHAT IS THE INFLUENCE OF ADMISSIONS FROM OUTSIDE OF THE MSA? REMEMBER THAT WHEN WE DESIGN THESE TOOLS, IT WAS REALLY TO ASSESS, UH, THE, THE IMPACT ON THE HOSPITALS NOW THAT THE RISK OF OVERWHELMING SURGE IS, IS RAPIDLY DISSIPATED.
NOW, OUR CONCERN IS, ARE WE PROVIDING ACCURATE INFORMATION FOR OUR COMMUNITY IN TERMS OF GUIDANCE IN THE RISK-BASED GUIDELINES? SO WHEN WE LOOK AT THOSE NUMBERS AND, UH, I WANT TO THANK DR.
LAUREN MEYERS, UH, FOR PUTTING TOGETHER THIS GRAPHIC.
UH, WHAT WE'RE SEEING HERE IS THE TOTAL ADMISSIONS, THE RED OR ADMISSIONS FROM TRAVIS COUNTY RESIDENTS, THE BLUE, OUR ADMISSIONS OUTSIDE OF TRAVIS COUNTY, BUT WITHIN THE FIVE COUNTY MSA AND THE GREEN ARE ADMISSIONS FROM OUTSIDE OF THE MSA.
SO THAT ADDS UP TO A HUNDRED PERCENT OR 1.0, UH, ON THIS GRAPH, YOU CAN SEE THAT IN THE GREEN AREA, ON THE BOTTOM, THOSE ADMISSIONS FROM OUTSIDE THE MSA, THE IMPACT OF THOSE ADMISSIONS HAS BEEN INCREASING OVER THE PAST SEVERAL WEEKS.
UH, IN THE PAST, IT ACCOUNTED FOR ABOUT 5% OF OUR TOTAL ADMISSIONS.
NOW IT'S BEEN BETWEEN 10 AND 15% OF THOSE ADMISSIONS.
AND WHEN WE LOOK AT, AT, UH, TRANSITIONS OF STAGES, WHEN WE LOOK AT, UH, IN PARTICULARLY THE IMPACT AS OUR, UH, EMISSIONS GO DOWN LOCALLY, UH, THAT IMPACT IS GOING TO INCREASE EVEN, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'VE BEEN SEEING NORMALLY BETWEEN ONE AND THREE ADMISSIONS FROM THIS OUTSIDE THE MSA AREA, THOSE ARE VERY IMPACTFUL AS THOSE NUMBERS DROP IN THE OVERALL ADMISSIONS, UH, TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF, OF WHERE THOSE ADMISSIONS HAVE COME FROM IN THE LAST 90 DAYS, THIS IS A HEAT MAP SHOWING, UH, THOSE ADMISSIONS THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF TEXAS.
AGAIN, THIS INCLUDES PART OF THE TIME WE WERE STILL IN SURGE.
UH, SO YOU CAN SEE SOME DISTANT COUNTIES INCLUDING EL PASO AND THE VALLEY IN HERE.
UH, BUT YOU CAN SEE FROM THE HEAT MAP THAT THE LARGEST IMPACT, UH, FOR, FOR ADMISSIONS, FOR OUR HOSPITALS WITHIN THE MSA IS FROM THOSE, UH, THOSE, UH, COUNTIES, WHICH ARE IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT TO THE MSA.
UM, SO AGAIN, SOME SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS THAT WE'RE SEEING, UH, FROM THE TEAMS, UH, FROM THESE OUTSIDE COUNTIES.
SO WHEN YOU TAKE INTO ACCOUNT, UH, THE, THE IMPACT OF THE PAST COUPLE OF WEEKS, UH, THAT'S WHAT I'M SHOWING YOU HERE ARE OUR CURRENT MOVING AVERAGE BASED ON ALL
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THE NUMBERS OF ALL THE ADMISSIONS TO THE HOSPITALS IN THE MSA IS 13.85 ON THAT SEVEN DAY MOVING AVERAGE, WHEN WE EXCLUDE ADMISSIONS FROM COUNTIES OUTSIDE OF THE MSA, UH, FOR THE PAST 14 DAYS, THAT DROPS THE NUMBER TO 12.71.SIMILARLY, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE IMPACT OVER THE PAST 14 DAYS UNDER THE CURRENT MODEL, INCLUDING THOSE ADMISSIONS ONLY FOR THE LAST 14 DAYS, UH, WE WERE UNDER 15, OR THAT STAGE TWO THRESHOLD, WE TAKE OUT THOSE OUTSIDE ADMISSIONS, UH, 10 OF THE LAST 14 DAYS, UH, WERE BELOW STAGE TWO.
UM, NOW BECAUSE OF THIS, BECAUSE OF THE SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN THE CASES THAT WE'RE SAYING, UH, IN LATER, I'LL SHOW YOU THE POSITIVITY AS WELL, AS WELL AS THE OTHER KEY INDICATORS, WE HAVE MADE THE DECISION TO TRANSITION TO STAGE TWO EFFECTIVE TODAY, UH, AND I'LL GO THROUGH WHAT THAT MEANS AND OUR RISK BASED GUIDANCE.
UH, BUT WE FEEL CONFIDENT THAT WE ARE IN A PLACE WHERE THE STAGE TWO RESTRICTIONS ARE APPROPRIATE.
UH, AND THAT'S THANKS TO THE GREAT WORK OUR COMMUNITY HAS DONE TO CONTINUE THE MASKING, CONTINUE THE DISTANCING CONTINUE, UH, GETTING VACCINATED.
UH, THESE INVESTMENTS ARE PAYING OFF, UH, BY THE DECREASING NUMBERS OF CASES AND THESE DECREASING HOSPITALIZATIONS.
UH, THIS IS AN UPDATE OF OUR, UH, HOSPITALIZATIONS.
UM, AGAIN, THE BLUE IS SHOWING OUR, UH, OVERALL HOSPITAL BED UTILIZATION, THE ORANGE, OUR ICU, THE GRAY OR VENTILATORS BEING USED.
UH, YESTERDAY WE REPORTED 85 INDIVIDUALS HOSPITALIZED FROM COVID-19 WITH A MOVING AVERAGE OF ONE OH ONE, UH, WHICH IS A 24% SINCE THE BEGINNING OF MAY, OUR ICU NUMBERS 29 YESTERDAY WITH A MOVING AVERAGE OF 35, THAT'S A 22% DECREASE, UH, AND OUR VENTILATORS, UH, 17 WITH A MOVING AVERAGE OF 18 TO 25% DECREASE SINCE MAY 1ST.
SO AGAIN, MAKING VERY GOOD PROGRESS.
UH, WE HAVEN'T HAD, UH, ADMISSION NUMBERS IN THE EIGHTIES SINCE, UH, THE, THE, THE FIRST OR SECOND WEEK OF OCTOBER.
UH, SO VERY, VERY GOOD PROGRESS.
AGAIN, IT'S TAKEN US SEVEN MONTHS TO GET BACK DOWN TO THOSE LEVELS.
UH, SO WE STILL NEED TO BE CAUTIOUS.
WE STILL NEED TO, UH, TO MASK AND GET VACCINATED, BUT CERTAINLY A BETTER SITUATION THAN WE HAVE BEEN, UH, IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS.
UH, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE HOSPITALIZATIONS OVERALL FOR LAST WEEK, UH, 103 DOWN FROM ONE 35, THAT'S A 24% DECREASE IN THE OVERALL ADMISSIONS WEEK, OVER WEEK, SORT OF IMPRESSIVE AND RAPID DECREASE.
UH, WE CAN SAY THAT WE'VE SEEN SOME, UH, FURTHER COMPRESSION OF, OF SOME OF THESE, UH, NUMBERS BY AGE GROUP, UM, RELATIVELY STABLE OVERALL, AND THAT, UH, THAT 50 PLUS AGE GROUP, UH, WE HAVE SEEN THE 50 TO 59 GROUP DECREASE.
UH, WE HAVE SEEN THE 60, 69 INCREASE A LITTLE BIT 20 TO 24 LAST WEEK, BUT WE ARE STARTING TO SEE SOME COMPRESSION IN THE YOUNGER AGE GROUPS, PARTICULARLY IN THAT 30 TO 39 AGE GROUP.
UH, SO AGAIN, WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO SEE YOUNG PEOPLE GETTING VACCINATED YOUNG PEOPLE WHILE THEIR RISK OF HOSPITALIZATION AND DEATH IS MUCH LOWER THAN OLDER INDIVIDUALS.
UH, WE STILL HAVE, YOU KNOW, A DOZEN OR MORE PEOPLE, UH, IN, UH, IN THAT YOUNGER AGE GROUP THAT 20 TO 29, 30 TO 39 AGE GROUPS, UH, BEING HOSPITALIZED EVERY WEEK.
UH, SO IT'S IMPORTANT FOR OUR SUCCESS, UH, AND FOR THEIR OWN PERSONAL PROTECTION TO GET VACCINATED.
THIS IS A BREAKDOWN OF THE HOSPITALIZATIONS BY RACE AND ETHNICITY.
NOW WE SEE A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN THE NUMBERS OF, UH, INDIVIDUALS FROM THE LATIN X COMMUNITY AND THE GREEN HOSPITALIZED LAST WEEK AS COMPARED TO THE PREVIOUS 55 TO 34, UM, RELATIVELY STABLE IN OUR WHITE, NON HISPANIC COMMUNITY, 41 TO 46, UH, AND A DECREASE IN OUR AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY EMISSIONS 22 TO 16.
AGAIN, UH, WE HAVE SEEN DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACTS THROUGHOUT THE PANDEMIC IN OUR COMMUNITIES OF COLOR, UH, AND WE WILL CONTINUE THOSE OUTREACH EFFORTS.
WE'LL CONTINUE THE VACCINATION PUSH, UH, IN THOSE AREAS, UH, IN PARTICULAR, IN, IN, UH, INTERIM DIRECTOR.
UH,
UH, THIS IS AN UPDATE OF OUR, UH, POSITIVITY WEEK OVER WEEK.
AND, UM, I'M EXCITED, UH, TO REPORT THAT FOR THE FIRST TIME, SINCE WE'VE BEEN TRACKING THIS DATA, WE ARE UNDER 3%.
SO 2.7% FOR LAST WEEK, AND THAT'S WITH MORE THAN 9,000 TESTS REPORTED IN THROUGH OUR DATA FEED.
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UH, SO A SIGNIFICANT DROP, UH, FROM THE 3.6, THE PREVIOUS WEEK, UH, WE ANTICIPATED THAT WE WOULD NEED TO DROP BELOW 3% TO, TO ENTER INTO STAGE TWO.AND WE'RE CERTAINLY SEEING THAT ALIGN, UH, WITH THE HOSPITALIZATION NOW.
SO AGAIN, VERY EXCITED, UH, THAT WE ARE DOWN THAT LOW AT THIS STAGE.
LET ME LOOK AT THE, UH, POSITIVITY DATA BY RACE AND ETHNICITY.
UH, WE'VE SEEN IMPROVEMENTS ACROSS THE BOARD, OUR LATIN X COMMUNITY MOVED FROM 5.4% LAST WEEK TO 5.2% THIS WEEK, AFRICAN-AMERICAN, UH, POSITIVITY 4.7% TO 3.6%, OUR ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY 4.2%, 0.7%.
AND OUR WHITE NON-HISPANIC, UH, UH, TESTS, UH, 3.0% TO 1.8%.
SO AGAIN, UH, IMPROVEMENTS ACROSS THE BOARD, WE OBVIOUSLY HAVE MORE WORK TO DO, PARTICULARLY IN OUR COMMUNITIES OF COLOR.
UH, SO WE ENCOURAGE FOLKS TO, UH, CONTINUE TO, TO GET TESTED.
UH, IF YOU HAVE ANY SYMPTOMS ASSOCIATED WITH COVID-19 YES, IT COULDN'T BE A COLD.
YES, IT COULD BE ALLERGIES, BUT IF WE CONTINUE WITH THE ASSUMPTION THAT IT'S COCONUT 19, SO THAT WE CAN FIND OUT WE CAN QUARANTINE, WE CAN PROTECT OTHER MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY.
WE'LL CONTINUE TO DRIVE THESE CASES OF THE HOSPITALIZATIONS TOWARDS ZERO.
THERE ARE PLENTY OF PLACES STILL THERE TO, TO, UH, GIVE, KEEP FREE TESTING, SOME ENCOURAGE FOLKS TO DO THAT.
UH, THIS IS AN UPDATE OF THE POSITIVITY BY AGE GROUP.
AGAIN, WE SEE THAT RELATIVELY ACROSS THE BOARD, UH, THE CRISIS, EVERYBODY, EVERY AGE GROUP IS UNDER 5%.
WE DID SEE AN INCREASE IN OUR, UH, UH, YOUNGER AGE GROUPS IN PARTICULAR ARE LESS THAN ONE AND ONE TO NINE AGE GROUPS.
CAN THESE AGE GROUPS, BECAUSE THEY'RE SMALLER NUMBERS OF PEOPLE AND SMALLER NUMBERS, YOUR TESTS ARE MORE LIKELY TO HAVE WEAKNESS, UH, SIGNIFICANT VARIATIONS.
UH, BUT YEAH, AGAIN, IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THAT INDIVIDUALS UNDER THE AGE OF 12, HAVE A VACCINATION RATE OF ZERO.
UH, SO WE EXPECT THAT THE RELATIVE IMPACT OF CASES IS GOING TO SHIFT YOUNGER, UH, AS MORE AND MORE PEOPLE IN THE OLDER AGE GROUPS GET VACCINATED.
AGAIN, THE RISK IS NOT DISSIPATED IN THE SAME WAY FOR THE YOUNGER AGE GROUPS, AS IT HAS FOR AGE GROUPS WHERE VACCINATION IS AVAILABLE.
SO WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO PROTECT OUR YOUNG PEOPLE.
WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO PROTECT OUR SCHOOLS TO PROTECT SUMMER CAMPS AND THOSE OTHER PLACES WHERE YOUNG PEOPLE CONGREGATE, UH, BECAUSE THEIR RISK IS NOT GOING AWAY.
THIS IS AN UPDATE OF OUR POSITIVITY BROKEN DOWN BY A SCHOOL AGE GROUPS.
SO FOR OUR HIGH SCHOOL AGE INDIVIDUALS POSITIVE, IT WAS 4.4% MIDDLE SCHOOL, A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE.
WE SAW AN INCREASE IN OUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL POSITIVITY TO 3.1% LAST WEEK AND PRESCHOOL 2.3%.
AGAIN, ALL OF THESE GROUPS ARE UNDER 5%, WHICH IS GREAT, BUT AGAIN, WE HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT THAT RISK IS STILL THERE FOR OUR SCHOOL CHILDREN.
UH, THOSE SCHOOL CHILDREN STILL NEED TO MASK, UH, THE SCHOOLS, CHILDREN STILL NEED TO AVOID CONGREGATING IN GROUPS BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE WE'RE SEEING TRANSMISSION.
YEAH, THIS IS AN UPDATE OF OUR LONG-TERM CARE FACILITY DASHBOARD.
AGAIN, UH, WE MAINTAIN A LOW NUMBERS IN OUR LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES.
LAST 14 DAYS, ONLY SIX CASES, 17 CASES IN THE LAST 28 DAYS.
AGAIN, UH, WE SEE SOME VERY SMALL CLUSTERS, UH, IN, UH, IN, IN A COUPLE OF FACILITIES.
THE VAST MAJORITY OF FACILITIES HAVE ZERO CASES.
UH, AGAIN, AS THE CDC POINTED OUT, THIS WILL BE A PLACE WHERE MASKING AND THOSE PRECAUTIONS REALLY NEED TO STAY STRONG.
UH, BECAUSE WE HAVE A CONCENTRATION OF PEOPLE WHO ARE AT HIGH RISK.
WE KNOW THE VACCINATIONS ARE NOT 100% EFFECTIVE.
SO IN CIRCUMSTANCES LIKE NURSING HOMES LIVE LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES, LIKE WHEN YOU VISIT A LOVED ONE WHO HAS SIGNIFICANT UNDERLYING HEALTH CONDITIONS, UH, WE NEED TO CONSIDER STRONGER PROTECTIONS IN THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES, EVEN THE FOLKS WHO ARE VACCINATED, UH, THIS IS, UH, UH, A NEW SLIDE THAT I'M SHARING.
UM, AND THIS IS RELATED TO OUR VARIANTS OF CONCERN THAT WE'VE DETECTED IN TRAVIS COUNTY.
UH, SO YOU CAN SEE THAT THE PRIMARY VARIANT THAT WE'RE SEEING IS B ONE 17.
THAT'S THE UK VARIANT, A TOTAL OF 147 OF THOSE
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CASES HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED.ONE OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS HAS BEEN HOSPITALIZED, UH, THE P ONE, WHICH IS THE, UH, BRAZILIAN VARIANT THREE CASES, ZERO HOSPITALIZATIONS.
UH, THE TWO OTHER ONES ARE CALIFORNIA VERUS THE V1 FOUR 27 TO BE ONE, FOUR 29, A TOTAL OF 48, UH, CASES BETWEEN THOSE TWO, NO HOSPITALIZATIONS AND NO DEATHS RELATED TO THOSE VARIANTS.
SO AGAIN, UM, AS WE'VE SEEN OVER THE PAST WEEK, THE, UH, THE CURRENT VACCINATIONS, PARTICULARLY THE, THE PFIZER AND THE MADRONA HAVE SHOWN TO BE VERY GOOD AGAINST THESE VARIANTS.
UM, AND, UH, WE WE'RE, WE'RE HOPEFUL THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO VACCINATE PEOPLE AND DRIVE DOWN THE RISK OF TRANSMISSION, UH, SO THAT WE CAN NEW VARIANTS FORMING AND THE INTRODUCTION OF OTHER BIRDS, WHICH MAY BE MORE ELUSIVE, UH, IN TERMS OF THE PROTECTIONS OF THE CURRENT VACCINES.
AND THIS IS A NEW SLIDE AS WELL, UH, RELATED TO BREAKTHROUGHS.
AND RE-INFECTION, UH, SO WANTED TO PROVIDE THIS TO, FOR THIS INFORMATION, BUT I'LL SHOW YOU AGAIN, THE COMPARISON BETWEEN, UH, BREAKTHROUGH CASES AND THE REINFECTION RISK.
SO WE HAVE A TOTAL OF 103 RE-INFECTION OR SORRY, A BREAKTHROUGH INFECTIONS FROM FOLKS WHO'VE BEEN FULLY VACCINATED.
THAT'S OUT OF 526,255 OF OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS, FULLY VACCINATED.
UH, SO VERY LOW RATES OF, OF, UH, BREAKTHROUGH INFECTIONS.
UH, WE DID HAVE SIX HOSPITALIZATIONS AS A RESULT OF THOSE, UH, BREAKTHROUGH INFECTIONS, ALL OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS OVER THE AGE OF 50, UH, AND HAVE EXPERIENCED TWO DEATHS, ALL OF WHICH WERE OVER THE AGE OF 70.
UH, SO AGAIN, VERY, VERY EFFECTIVE, UH, UH, PROTECTION AGAINST COVID-19 VERY PROTECTIVE AGAINST HOSPITALIZATION AND DEATH.
UH, AGAIN, THE HOSPITALIZATION DEATH NUMBERS ARE NOT ZERO, SO THERE IS STILL RISK, UH, BUT IT'S CERTAINLY MUCH, MUCH LOWER THAN, UH, THAN THE RISKS OF GETTING COVID-19.
WHEN WE LOOK AT RE-INFECTION, UH, THESE ARE REINFECTION, WHICH ARE STILL UNDER INVESTIGATION, SO THESE NUMBERS MAY CHANGE, BUT THIS IS THE DATA WE HAVE IN HAND CURRENTLY, UH, 387 POTENTIAL RE-INFECTION IS IDENTIFIED SO FAR OUT OF 83,366 CONFIRMED CASES.
UH, SO THIS IS, IS 200 TIMES THE RATE OF, UH, BREAKTHROUGH CASES.
UH, IN OTHER WORDS, IF YOU'VE HAD COVID-19 AND YOU'VE RECOVERED, YOU NEED TO GET A VACCINE BECAUSE YOU STILL HAVE A SIGNIFICANT RISK OF REINFECTION ASSOCIATED WITH COVID-19, EVEN THOUGH YOU'VE HAD IT, UH, THE VACCINE IS MUCH, MUCH MORE PROTECTIVE THAN THE DISEASE ITSELF.
SO WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE THOSE FOLKS.
WHO'VE HAD IT TO GET IT OUT OF THOSE RE-INFECTION 46 HOSPITALIZATIONS AND FIVE DEATHS, AGAIN, SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER NUMBERS OF HOSPITALIZATIONS AND DEATHS FROM THOSE REINFECTION THAN FROM BREAKTHROUGH INFECTIONS.
IN ADDITION TO CHANGING INTO STAGE TWO OF OUR RISK-BASED GUIDANCE, UH, WE HAVE PUBLISHED OUR, UH, HOW 30 ROLES I WANT TO GO THROUGH SOME HIGHLIGHTS.
THERE ARE IT'S, IT'S NINE OR 10 PAGES, SO THERE'S LOTS OF DETAILS, BUT I WANT TO COVER SOME OF THE BIG AREAS, UH, HERE WITH YOU ALL.
UH, SO WE, WE STARTED OUT WITH SOME EXPECTATIONS FOR INDIVIDUALS, AND THIS IS INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR ANYWHERE THEY ARE, UH, FOR UNVACCINATED OR PARTIALLY VACCINATED INDIVIDUALS.
WE EXPECT THEM TO CONTINUE TO WEAR A FACE COVERING WHEN THEY'RE OUTSIDE OF, OF THEIR HOME.
UM, SO WHEN THEY'RE IN A PUBLIC PLACE, WHEN THEY'RE VISITING OTHERS, WHEN THEY'RE AT PRIVATE GATHERINGS, ANY OF THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES, THEY SHOULD BE WEARING A MASK.
UH, THEY SHOULD BE MAINTAINING THREE FEET OF DISTANCE FROM OTHERS.
AND THAT THREE FEET IS BASED UPON THE EVIDENCE THAT WE HAVE IN HAND, WHICH IS THAT, UH, IN THE PRESENCE OF MASKING THREE FEET APPEARS TO BE A GOOD ENOUGH PROTECTION, UH, FOR THOSE, UH, WHO ARE WEARING A MASK.
UH, AGAIN, THERE ARE CIRCUMSTANCES WHERE YOU MAY NEED TO BE MORE PROTECTIVE, BUT AS A GENERAL RULE, UH, THE THREE FEET SEEMS TO BE PROTECTIVE ENOUGH.
UH, THOSE INDIVIDUALS SHOULD ALSO AVOID LARGE GATHERINGS.
UH, AGAIN, WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THE ONGOING RISK AND I WELCOME CDCS SHARE OF THEIR GUIDANCE AND DATA, WHICH IS IF YOU'RE VACCINATED, YOU'RE VERY WELL PROTECTED.
IF YOU'RE NOT VACCINATED, YOU'RE NOT.
UH, SO THE REAL RISK RIGHT NOW, UH, FOR FOLKS WHO ARE UNMASKED ARE TO THOSE FOLKS WHO ARE UNVACCINATED, YES, THERE'S STILL A RISK OF BREAKTHROUGH INFECTIONS, UH, BUT IT'S MUCH LOWER THAN IT IS FOR FOLKS WHO ARE UNVACCINATED
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FOR FULLY VACCINATED INDIVIDUALS.THE EXPECTATION FOR, FOR OUR COMMUNITY IS THAT THEY WILL CONTINUE TO WEAR A FACE COVERING AND OR DISTANCE, UH, FROM OTHERS WHEN THERE IS AN INCREASED RISK TO UNVACCINATED INDIVIDUALS.
AND I'LL TALK IN MORE DETAIL ABOUT WHAT WE MEAN BY THAT.
UH, SO W WE, WE'VE ALSO BROKEN IT DOWN TO INDOOR AND OUTDOOR SITES AS THE CDC SHARE.
THERE'S CERTAINLY STRONG EVIDENCE THAT OUTDOOR SITES, UH, HAVE MUCH LESS RISK THAN INDOOR SITES DUE TO THE INCREASED VENTILATION.
SO FOR OUTDOOR SITES, WHEN THERE'S LESS THAN 2,500 PEOPLE GATHERED, THOSE OUTDOOR SITES MAY IMPLEMENT A POLICY AND POST SIGNS THAT FULLY VACCINATED INDIVIDUALS CAN BE PRESENT WITHOUT MASKING OR GATHERINGS THAT ARE 2,500 OR GREATER.
THEY MUST MAINTAIN A MASKING REQUIRED, UH, POSITION IN POLICY, UM, UNLESS THEY RECEIVE SPECIFIC WRITTEN APPROVAL FROM AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH.
AGAIN, THERE ARE SOME CIRCUMSTANCES WHERE LARGER EVENTS, UH, MAY BE ABLE TO, TO OFFER THIS, UH, MASKING OPTIONAL FOR FULLY, FULLY VACCINATED INDIVIDUALS, BUT DUE TO THE SIZE AND THE CHALLENGES WITH OBTAINING ACCURATE INFORMATION ABOUT VACCINATION STATUS.
UM, AND THEY, THE HIGHER RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH CONCENTRATIONS OF INDIVIDUALS, UH, IS GOING TO BE REQUIRED FOR, FOR THOSE GALLERIES THAT ARE OVER 2,500 FOR NOW, UH, FOR INDOOR SITES WITH LESS THAN 500 PEOPLE GATHERED.
SO THIS IS GOING TO BE YOUR TYPICAL RESTAURANT, UH, SHOPPING STORE, UH, YOUR TYPICAL BUSINESS, IF 500 OR LESS PEOPLE ARE GATHERED, UH, THAT BUSINESS MAY IMPLEMENT A WRITTEN POLICY, ALSO IMPOSED SIGNS WHERE FULLY VACCINATED INDIVIDUALS MAY BE PRESENT WITHOUT MASKING.
UM, IF IT'S OVER 500 OR 500 OR MORE, THEY HAVE TO HAVE A FACIAL COVERINGS REQUIRED AGAIN, DUE TO THAT HIGHER RISK.
SO THERE'S SOME EXCEPTIONS TO THESE, UH, TO THESE RULES WHERE MASKING IS GOING TO BE MANDATORY, REGARDLESS OF THE SIZE OF THE GATHERING OR SIZE OF THE FACILITY.
UH, THE, UH, ONES THAT ARE INCLUDED IN THE, UH, HEALTH AUTHORITY, ROLES, HOSPITALS, HEALTH CARE FACILITIES, LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES AND, AND CONGREGATE SHELTERS.
UH, SO THESE ARE, THESE ARE HOMELESS SHELTERS.
THESE ARE OTHER SHARED LIVING, UH, FACILITIES WHERE, UH, WE'RE HAVE FOLKS WHO MAY BE MORE VULNERABLE THAN OTHERS.
UH, ALSO COVERED UNDER OTHER, UH, POLICY OR LAW, UH, OUR JAILS AND PRISONS, MASS TRANSIT, INCLUDING BUSES, TRAINS, UH, IN AIR TRAVEL, AS WELL AS SCHOOLS.
AGAIN, I WANT TO POINT OUT AND STRESS THE IMPORTANCE OF, OF MASKING IN SCHOOLS.
UH, SCHOOLS ARE LARGELY UN-VACCINATED IN TERMS OF THE STUDENTS, UH, WE'RE STILL HAVE HIGHER RISK FOR TRANSMISSION IN SCHOOLS.
YES, THEIR RISK IS LOWER FOR HOSPITALIZATION AND DEATH.
UH, BUT WHEN WE LOOK AT OTHER COUNTRIES, UH, THAT, THAT RAISED WHERE WE ARE THE REAL SURGE IN CASES THEY SAW FOR, FOR YOUNGER PEOPLE, UH, PEOPLE UNDER THE AGE OF 19 SCHOOL AGED CHILDREN.
SO AGAIN, WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO, UH, TO PROTECT THOSE SCHOOLS, TO PROTECT THOSE STUDENTS IN THOSE SCHOOLS, UH, AND CONTINUE MASKING IN THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES.
AGAIN, THEY, THE CDC, UH, IN OUR FOCUS IS ON THREE REAL SITUATIONS WHERE MASKING IS, IS MORE IMPORTANT.
UH, THAT'S WHEN THERE'S HIGH CONCENTRATIONS OF HIGH-RISK PEOPLE, NURSING HOMES, HOSPITALS, ET CETERA, UH, HIGH CONCENTRATIONS OF UNVACCINATED PEOPLE LIKE SCHOOLS AND HIGH CONCENTRATIONS OF PEOPLE CROWDS, UM, LARGE EVENTS.
UH, SO AGAIN, WE'VE TAKEN AWAY THE CAPS ON EVENTS WE'VE TAKEN AWAY, UH, SOME OF THE, UH, RESTRICTIONS WE'VE LIGHTENED, UH, THE RESTRICTIONS ON DISTANCING, UH, AND, AND CERTAINLY BELIEVED THAT THIS IS A MEASURED STEP OF RELAXATION, CONSISTENT WITH WHERE WE ARE AS A COMMUNITY.
AGAIN, WE'RE HOPEFUL THAT WE WILL CONTINUE THE PROGRESSION DOWN TOWARDS ZERO.
AND AS WE DO, AS WE ENTER INTO STAGE ONE OF RISK, I ANTICIPATE THAT THESE RULES WILL LIGHTEN FURTHER.
UH, I DON'T ANTICIPATE THAT WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE THE NEED TO HAVE THESE KINDS OF RESTRICTIONS, UH, FOR VERY MUCH LONGER, BUT THAT DEPENDS ON ALL OF US, CONTINUING THOSE PROTECTIONS, UH, CONTINUING TO, UH, MASK AND DISTANCE WERE APPROPRIATE AND CONTINUE TO GET VACCINATED, WHICH IS THE BEST PROTECTION THAT WE HAVE.
AND SO, AGAIN, WE'RE MOVING TO STAGE TWO, UH, HAVING DROPPED BELOW THAT 15 THRESHOLD, UH, AND BEEN THERE 10 OF THE LAST 14 DAYS.
[00:30:01]
FOLKS WHO WERE VACCINATED FOR PRIVATE GATHERINGS, UH, CAN GO WITHOUT MASKS.THOSE WHO ARE, ARE PARTIALLY VACCINATED AND UNVACCINATED, AND THOSE PRIVATE GATHERS STILL NEED TO WEAR THEIR MASKS, UH, FOR, UH, FOR TRAVELING AND DINING AND SHOPPING.
AGAIN, THE MASKING DEPENDS UPON, UH, THE, UH, THE POLICY OF WHERE THEY ARE FOR MASS TRANSIT AND TRAVEL.
IT'S GOING TO REQUIRE MASKS EVEN FOR VACCINATED FOLKS, UH, FOR DINING AND SHOPPING.
UH, THE MASK DEPENDS UPON THE POLICY OF THE BUSINESS THAT THEY'RE ENTERING.
UH, SO AGAIN, UH, WE NEED FOLKS TO CONTINUE THOSE EFFORTS.
WE NEED THEM TO BE RESPECTFUL OF, OF THE POLICIES THAT ARE IN PLACE IN THE, IN THE, IN THE PLACES THEY'RE VISITING, UH, BECAUSE IT IS UP TO THAT BUSINESS TO DETERMINE JUST LIKE IF, IF THEY REQUIRE SHIRTS AND SHOES TO GO IN THE SHOP, THEY REQUIRE MASKS.
YOU'RE REQUIRED TO WEAR A MASK.
IF AN INDIVIDUAL DOESN'T WEAR A MASK AND A MASK IS REQUIRED, THEY CAN BE ASKED TO LEAVE.
AND, AND AGAIN, WE GET BACK INTO THAT TRESPASSING SITUATION.
IF AN INDIVIDUAL DOESN'T LEAVE AGAIN, OUR COMMUNITY HAS DONE VERY, VERY WELL.
UH, THEY'VE BEEN VERY COMPLIANT WITH THESE GUIDELINES IN MY EXPECTATION AND HOPE IS THAT THAT WILL CONTINUE.
UH, THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT I JUST SAID.
UH, AGAIN, I, I WANT TO STRESS ONE OTHER POINT, AND THAT IS THAT THE SAFEST POSITION IS VACCINATED AND MASKED.
UH, AND I WANT TO STRESS THIS BECAUSE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE FOLKS WHO ARE FULLY VACCINATED LIKE MYSELF, WHO MAY WANT TO CONTINUE TO WEAR A MASK IN A PUBLIC PLACE.
UH, MAYBE THEY WANT TO ENSURE THAT OTHER PEOPLE AROUND THEM FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH THEM BEING THERE.
MAYBE THEY HAVE A HIGH-RISK MEDICAL CONDITION AND WANT TO HAVE THAT EXTRA LAYER OF PROTECTION.
MAYBE THEY HAVE A LOVED ONE AT HOME, UH, THAT, UH, THAT IS IMMUNOCOMPROMISED AND THEY DON'T WANT TO TAKE THAT RISK.
IT IS OKAY FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE FULLY VACCINATED, CONTINUE TO WEAR A MASK THAT IS THE MOST PROTECTIVE THING TO DO.
UH, BUT OUR HOPE IS THAT PEOPLE WILL CONTINUE TO GET VACCINATED.
AND AS OUR SITUATION IMPROVES, AS OUR CASES AND OUR HOSPITALIZATIONS CONTINUE TO DECLINE, WE CAN FURTHER RELAX.
I WILL TURN IT OVER TO INTERIM DIRECTOR, ADRIAN STIR.
ADRIAN, START FROM AUSTIN, PELVIC HEALTH.
UH, FIRST OFF, I'D LIKE TO GIVE A BRIEF UPDATE ON, UH, OUR VACCINE DASHBOARD.
THESE NUMBERS REPRESENT, UM, THE VACCINATIONS DELIVERED BY COMMUNITY CARE AND APH COMBINED.
SO ENDING LAST WEEK, WE WERE AT 13,115 DOSES DELIVERED, AND OUR CUMULATIVE TOTAL FOR THE COMMUNITY, WHICH WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT.
WE PASSED OUR 400 K BENCHMARK WITH 412 OF 174,000 VACCINES DELIVERED.
OUR DATA FROM, UH, DSHS SHOWS, UM, TRAVIS COUNTY VACCINATIONS BY AGE, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT OUR AID FOR AGE 12 AND UP AT LEAST 60% OF OUR POPULATION HAS ONE DOSE WITH 47 AND A HALF PERCENT BEING FULLY VACCINATED, OR OUR AGE GROUP OF 65 AND OLDER, ALMOST 81% HAVE BEEN VACCINATED WITH AT LEAST ONE DOSE.
AND ABOUT 69% ARE FULLY VACCINATED.
SO SOME UPDATES ON OUR OPERATIONS.
I KNOW AT THE LAST SET, AND THERE WERE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT OUT WHERE WE COULD TELL THE COMMUNITY TO GO TO GET THEIR KIDS VACCINE VACCINATED.
AND SO THERE ARE A FEW, UM, PUBLIC OPERATED SITES, UT HEALTH IS ONE OF THEM.
THE OTHER IS AT THE TRAVIS COUNTY EXPO CENTER, BILL ENCOURAGING PARENTS TO VISIT VACCINES.GOV FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION ON CLINICS AND PHARMACIES THAT ARE PROVIDING THE PFIZER VACCINATION.
AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH IS IN THE PROCESS OF PREPARING TO BE ABLE TO DELIVER THE PFIZER VACCINE.
WE HOPE TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT, UM, AS SOON AS THE MIDDLE OF NEXT MONTH.
AND IF WE ARE SUCCESSFUL IN RECEIVING THAT AUTHORIZATION, WE WILL BE OFFERING THOSE SHOTS AT OUR SHOTS FOR TOTS CLINIC.
YEAH, I CAN SEE IT, BUT IT'S NOT ADVANCING.
SO THESE ARE WHERE OUR CLINIC LOCATIONS ARE.
YOU CAN SEE THAT WE'RE STILL AT THE DELCO CENTER.
[00:35:01]
WE'RE AT LITTLE WALNUT CREEK LIBRARY, AND WE ARE CONTINUING OUR OPERATIONS AT THE SOUTH EAST LIBRARY.UM, ADDITIONALLY, WE CONTINUE TO WORK WITH TRAVIS COUNTY TO, UM, SET UP VACCINE POP-UP CLINICS IN THE DEL VALLEY AREA.
IS THAT THE BOTTOM? THERE WE GO.
AND SO IF YOU HAVE, UH, EVENTS TO LET YOU ALL KNOW ABOUT, WE'RE GOING TO BE AT SACRED HEART CHURCH AGAIN THIS WEEKEND ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, UM, I REFERRED TO THE PARTNERSHIP WITH TRAVIS COUNTY.
SO IT WILL BE AT DEL VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL THIS SATURDAY AS WELL.
AND, UM, LAST WEEK WE TALKED ABOUT AN LGBTQ PLUS EVENT AT GIVENS, WHICH WAS UNFORTUNATELY RAINED OUT.
AND SO WE'RE HOPING TO BE ABLE TO HOLD THAT EVENT ON THE 23RD OF MAY.
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, AND WE REALLY WANT TO CONTINUE TO ENCOURAGE OUR COMMUNITY TO COME TOGETHER TO, UM, PROTECT ONE ANOTHER AND BE VACCINATED AND WHO DOESN'T LIKE A TACO.
SO THIS SATURDAY, UM, TORCHY'S TACOS IS GENEROUSLY PROVIDING A FREE TACO TO THE FIRST 500 PEOPLE WHO SHOW UP TO GET A VACCINE.
SO I CAN'T THINK OF A BETTER REASON TO COME OUT AND KEEP YOURSELF SAFE AND ENJOY A TASTY TREAT.
AND WITH THAT, I WILL TURN IT OVER TO THE COMMISSIONERS AND THE COUNCIL, IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER GRANDMAS.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? UH, NO, SIR.
UH, COMMISSIONER TREVELYAN YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? UH, YES.
UM, WELL, FIRST OF ALL, I WOULD LIKE TO, UH, TO THANK YOU FOR THE SIGNIFICANT WORK THAT, UH, CONTINUES TO BE DONE.
UM, WHEN I, WHEN I LOOKED AT THIS NUMBER AND I WAS FIXATED ON 12 AND, AND, UH, I AS A 12 YEAR OLD, HOW MANY 12 YEAR OLDS, BUT I THINK THIS NUMBER ISN'T EVERYBODY 12 AND OVER NOT JUST 12 YEAR OLDS, DO WE KNOW NUMBER FOUR, 12 YEAR OLDS WHO, WHO HAVE BEEN, UM, INOCULATED SINCE LAST WEEK? SO CURRENTLY WE ARE ABLE TO PRESENT THAT ADA AIM IS WORKING ON BREAKING IT OUT BY CADE.
AND SO, UH, UH, ONCE WE WERE ABLE TO GET IT IN THAT FASHION TO BE ABLE TO SHARE.
ONE QUICK THING, HAVE YOU ALL SEEN, UH, THE, UH, COVID DISTRIBUTION AND RACIAL DISPARITY STUDY DONE BY THE COMMUNITY RESILIENCY TRUST? IT WAS RELEASED, UH, LAST WEEK.
I THINK I, IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT, IT ADDRESSES SPECIFICALLY, UM, WHAT'S GOING ON ON THE EASTERN CRESCENT AND IT LAYS OUT STRATEGIES FOR TRANSPORTATION AND IT SAYS ZIP CODE, SPECIFIC STRATEGIES, AND THEN OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR COLLABORATION.
SO I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO OPT TO SIT DOWN AND TAKE THE REPORT AND GO THROUGH IT THOROUGHLY AND THINK ABOUT THINGS THAT WE CAN DO, PARTICULARLY I AM FAMILIAR.
ARE YOU WITH THAT? THAT AREN'T FAMILIAR, I GUESS YOUR AUDIO IS KIND OF BREAKING UP DIRECTOR STIRRUP.
THEN I'VE BEEN, WHAT I'LL OFFER THEM IS I'D REALLY LIKE TO SIT DOWN WITH YOU AND, UM, AND WORK OUT SPECIFIC THINGS THAT WE CAN DO AS WE WORK TOWARDS JIM TEENTH EVENTS.
I THINK SHE'S HAVING A DEFINITELY, UH, I, WE HAVE SEEN THE REPORT, UM, DEVELOP.
COMMISSIONER HOWARD, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? GOOD.
SCOTT, ARE YOU ABLE TO HEAR ME? OKAY.
[00:40:01]
UM, JUST WANTED TO GO THROUGH A COUPLE SCENARIOS IF YOU DON'T MIND ON MASKCARA OR NOT.UH, I KNOW THE NEW RULES MIGHT BE CONFUSING FOR SOME FOLKS.
I THINK THERE'S BEEN WITH WHAT THE CDC SAID LAST WEEK, AND THEN WHAT WE'RE DOING NOW.
I JUST WANT TO TRY TO CLARIFY A FEW THINGS.
UM, DO YOU KNOW, LIKE A COUPLE OF SITUATIONS, SO IF I'M WALKING DOWN THE STREET, SO I'VE BEEN VACCINATED, UM, DO I NEED TO BE WEARING A MASK? YEAH.
SO THERE'S NOT AN AID FOR FULLY VACCINATED PERSONS, PARTICULARLY IF THEY'RE WALKING, ALLOWED THEM TO WEAR A MASK, THEY HELP YOU WITH YOUR, YOUR ALLERGIES.
UH, BUT COVID-19 PROTECTION IS NOT NECESSARY.
SO NOW SOME FOLKS WILL STILL WANT TO WEAR A MASK AND THAT'S, AGAIN, IF MORE PROTECTIVE TO WEAR A MASK THAN NOT EVEN IF YOU'RE VACCINATED, BUT IT'S CERTAINLY NOT REQUIRED.
AND THEN ONE, I'VE GOT TWO KIDS THEY'RE FOUR AND SIX YEARS OLD.
AND IF THEY GO TO A PLAYGROUND AND THERE ARE OTHER KIDS THERE, SHOULD EVERYONE BE WEARING ALL THE KIDS BE WEARING MASKS IN YOUR OPINION? UH, AGAIN, THE MOST PROTECTIVE THING IS TO WEAR MASS, PARTICULARLY AMONGST INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE UNVACCINATED AND THAT'S GOING TO BE EVERYBODY UNDER THE AGE OF 12.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT, IT DEPENDS UPON WHAT KIND OF PLAYGROUND IT IS, WHETHER OR NOT IT'S, UH, IT'S CLASSIFIED AS A SITE OR NOT.
UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S WISE FOR THOSE NEIGHBORHOOD, UH, PLAYGROUNDS, COMMUNITY PLAYGROUNDS, OTHER AREAS THAT THE NEIGHBORHOODS MAY HAVE TO POST SIGNS, UH, WITH THOSE EXPECTATIONS.
UH, THE SIGN SHOULD SAY, IF YOU'RE UN-VACCINATED PLEASE WEAR A MASK, IF YOU'RE FULLY VACCINATED AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO.
UM, AND, AND THAT'S THE MINIMUM IN SOME COMMUNITIES MAY CHOOSE TO STILL REQUIRE MASKING FOR EVERYBODY.
BUT WHAT WE'VE DONE IS LEAVE IT UP TO THOSE INDIVIDUAL COMMUNITIES, UH, TO DECIDE IF THEY WANT EVERYBODY MASKED OR IF, UH, IF THEY WANT TO ALLOW FULLY VACCINATED PEOPLE TO GO UNMASKED.
UM, AGAIN, DIFFERENT BUSINESSES, DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES ARE GOING TO MAKE DIFFERENT DECISIONS ABOUT THAT.
THOSE OPTIONS ARE, ARE SAFE, UM, IN TERMS OF, UH, OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE CURRENT DATA IS SHOWING US.
AND THEN, SO MY PARENTS WHO ARE OLDER AND VACCINATED, UH, SOMETIMES SEE MY KIDS QUITE OFTEN SEE MY KIDS NOW, THANKS TO THEIR VACCINATIONS.
IS THERE SINCE MY KIDS, OBVIOUSLY AREN'T VACCINATED.
IS THERE ANY, WHAT'S YOUR THOUGHT IF THEY'RE LIKE INDOORS WITH MY PARENTS WHO ARE VACCINATED, BUT STILL OTHERWISE I WOULD SAY AT HIGH RISK, BECAUSE THEIR AGE SHOULD, IS A BEST PRACTICE FOR THE KIDS TO WEAR MASKS IN THAT SITUATION, IF THEY'RE INDOORS, IT IS BEST PRACTICE FOR THEM TO WEAR A MASK.
AGAIN, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT DECISION IS, IS PERSONAL, UH, FOR INDIVIDUAL FAMILIES, UH, SOME FAMILIES HAVE A HIGHER TOLERANCE FOR RISK THAN OTHERS.
UH, AND, AND SOME ARE, YOU KNOW, OKAY WITH ACCEPTING A LITTLE MORE RISK.
UH, SO AGAIN, THAT'S A, THAT'S AN INDIVIDUAL, UH, FAMILY DECISION ON WHETHER OR NOT THOSE THE CHILDREN'S OR MASK, IT IS SAFER FOR THEM TO MATCH.
AND THEN IN GENERAL, INDOORS IS STILL LESS SAFE, ESPECIALLY FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT VACCINATED AND WOULD BE NOT A BAD IDEA FOR THEM TO STILL WEAR MASKS, INDOORS, WHEREVER THEY ARE.
IF THEY'RE WITH US, TH THE, THE RISK OF EXPOSURE INDOORS IS MUCH MORE SIGNIFICANT THAN OUTDOORS.
THE MORE RECENT EVIDENCE, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT WE DISCUSSED A FEW WEEKS AGO NOW, UH, IS THAT AIRBORNE TRANSMISSION PLAYS A LARGER ROLE THAN, THAN WE EXPECTED, UH, WHICH MEANS THAT AIR FLOW AND VENTILATION IS, IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN WE THOUGHT IN DISTANCING A BIT LESS IMPORTANT, UH, IN THAT CIRCUMSTANCE, INDOOR SPACES, PARTICULARLY INDOOR SPACES THAT ARE POORLY VENTILATED ARE GOING TO LEAVE THE HIGHER RISK FOR TRANSMISSION.
AND THAT'S WHY THINGS LIKE BUSES AND TRAINS AND, AND THOSE REALLY ENCLOSED SPACES WITH NOT GREAT VENTILATION ARE STILL REQUIRING MASKING AS A MANDATORY, UH, UH, POLICY, UH, SIMILARLY IN PRIVATE SETTINGS, IF YOU FIND YOURSELF IN THOSE KINDS OF CIRCUMSTANCES, YOU NEED TO USE MORE CAUTION.
SCOTT MAYOR, I WILL PASS IT OVER TO YOU.
WE'RE GOING TO GO, UH, DISTRICTS ONE THROUGH 10 MAYOR PRO TEM IS NOT WITH US TODAY.
UM, SO MY QUESTIONS ARE WITH, AND THANK YOU, UH, TO OUR AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH TEAM FOR GETTING THE VACCINE MAP UP ON THE WEBSITE.
[00:45:01]
JUST WANT TO HIGHLIGHT FOR ANYONE WHO'S WATCHING THAT IS ON THE CITY OF AUSTIN WEBSITE, WHERE YOU CAN FIND, UM, A MAP THAT SHOWS OUR VACCINE CLINICS.I DID WANT TO ADD THAT WE'RE STILL MISSING THE POP-UP VACCINE EFFORTS THAT THE COUNTY IS DOING.
UM, AND IF WE CAN GET THE DEL VALLEY LOCATION ADDED TO THE MAP, SINCE THAT IS HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND, THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL IN GETTING THAT INFORMATION OUT.
ONE ITEM, ONE COMMENT I WANTED TO SHARE IS THAT WE HOSTED A POP-UP CLINIC AT HILLCREST ELEMENTARY, UH, IN THE FOUR, FOUR ZIP CODE THIS PAST WEEKEND, WHERE THE DEL VALLEY COMMUNITY COALITION ADVERTISE IN ADVANCE, THAT THEY WOULD BE HANDING OUT, UH, HEB GIFT CARDS.
I BELIEVE THERE WERE 10, $15 GIFT CARDS, AND THAT INCENTIVE WORKS REALLY WELL.
AND GETTING PEOPLE OUT TO THIS VACCINE POP-UP CLINIC, WE HAD, THE FEEDBACK I RECEIVED IS THAT THERE WERE, THERE WERE INDIVIDUALS WHO SHOWED UP AND SAY, HEY, WE HEARD ABOUT THIS GIFT CARD.
UH, SO JUST WANTED TO SHARE THAT ANECDOTAL NOTES OF THIS PAST WEEKENDS EFFORT.
AND I'M VERY HAPPY TO SEE THAT WE HAVE, UM, UH, AN INCENTIVE PLAN FOR DELCO THIS WEEKEND AND OFFERING THAT, UH, TORCHY'S GIFT CARD FOR THE FIRST 500.
AND SO MY QUESTION IS AROUND INCENTIVES, AND I WANTED TO SEE IF YOU COULD SPEAK TO A LITTLE BIT MORE ON ANY OTHER PLANS THAT WE HAVE AROUND DOING INCENTIVES, ANY OTHER STRATEGIES WE CAN EXPECT THAT OUR PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT WILL BE PROPOSING AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER FIND TEST.
HOPEFULLY MY AUDIO IS A LITTLE BIT BETTER NOW.
SO WE ARE WORKING WITH THE INVISIBLE, OUR LEGAL TEAM TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE OKAY.
IF YOU TURN OFF YOUR VIDEO TO GIVE YOU HER BETTER.
BUT YES, WE DO UNDERSTAND THAT.
YOU ARE HERE DIRECTOR SYRUP OR NO, NO DIRECTOR, SIR.
IF YOU TURNED OFF YOUR VIDEO, I THINK YOUR AUDIO MIGHT BE BETTER.
IF NOT, I CAN TRY TO CALL IN THAT SOUNDED BETTER IF YOU COULD JUST KEEP TALKING, BUT WE'VE LOST WHAT YOU SAID.
SO WHAT I WAS SAYING IS THAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE VACCINE PLANNING TEAM TO FIGURE OUT OTHER WAYS THAT WE CAN SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGE OUR COMMUNITY TO BECOME VACCINATED.
I THINK YOU WERE MENTIONING IT, THERE WAS A RESTRICTION AROUND MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS OFFERING INCENTIVES.
COULD YOU SPEAK A LITTLE BIT MORE TO THAT? AND I JUST WANT TO HIGHLIGHT FOR THE PUBLIC THAT, YOU KNOW, WE SEE THE NEWS HEADLINES AND I BELIEVE THE STATE OF OHIO IS OFFERING A LOTTERY.
UM, YOU KNOW, IF YOU GET VACCINATED TO GET INTO, INTO A $1 MILLION WEEKLY LOTTERY, UM, AND SO CERTAINLY OTHER GOVERNMENTS ARE MOVING TOWARDS THIS EFFORT AND OFFERING INCENTIVES.
UM, IT WOULD BE WONDERFUL IF OUR TEXAS LEGISLATURE ALSO WOULD, UH, PUT SOME ATTENTION TO THIS, ESPECIALLY SINCE WE ARE IN A LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
UH, BUT IF YOU COULD SPEAK A LITTLE BIT TO ANY RESTRICTIONS AT THE MUNICIPAL LEVEL THAT WE'RE ENCOUNTERING, WHAT I, WHAT I SAID WAS THAT WE WANT TO WORK WITH OUR LEGAL TEAM TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE WITHIN, YOU KNOW, A GOOD GUIDANCE AND GOOD PRACTICE FOR A LOCAL GOVERNMENT, BUT WE DO HOPE TO CONTINUE TO WORK ON INCENTIVE PLANS.
I'M SORRY THAT MY VIDEO IN MY AUDIO IS NOT WORKING FOR ME TODAY, BUT DOING THE COUNSELOR REFUND US, UH, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE FIND THE BALANCE BETWEEN ENCOURAGEMENT AND COERCION.
UM, AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE'RE SAYING.
SOME OF THE CRITICISM ABOUT THE OHIO SYSTEM, UM, WE WANT TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE WE DON'T WANT TO, BUT WE STILL NEED THEM TO MAKE A FREE AND INFORMED DECISION ABOUT WHAT TO DO.
UH, SO I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S PART OF WHAT WE HAVE TO DO IS FIND THAT APPROPRIATE BALANCE.
[00:50:03]
THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBERSCOTT CANNOT GET A CONTRACT CONTRACT, THE, UM, THE, THE VIRUS AND, AND IF THEY'RE VACCINATED AND THEY'RE VACCINATED AND THEY GO AND, UH, AND ONE WITH THEIR CHILDREN, CAN THEY ALSO BE A, I MEAN, CAN THEY, CAN THEY, I HEAR DIFFERENT REPORTS SAYING THAT IF YOU'RE VACCINATED, YOU'RE, YOU'RE NOT GONNA, IT'S NOT GONNA AFFECT YOU OR YOU'RE NOT GONNA HAVE IT SO THAT YOU CAN TRACK THE POSSIBILITY OF TRANSMITTING IT TO YOUR PARENTS.
I MEAN, TO YOUR KIDS, WHAT'S A, WHAT'S A, WHAT'S THE STANDARD ON THAT? I MEAN, DO YOU HAVE ANY OPINION ON HOW PARENTS SHOULD HANDLE THAT? UH, YES.
COUNCIL MEMBER FIRST ONE MADE, I'M JUST GOING TO SHARE SOMETHING REAL QUICK TO CLARIFY SOME COMMENTS AND NUMBERS FROM EARLIER.
UH, WHEN I SPOKE EARLIER, I REPORTED THE RE-INFECTION RATE AT 4.6%.
SO MORE THAN 20 TIMES THE, THE BREAKTHROUGH RATE, BUT I DID WANT TO CLARIFY THAT, THAT PARTICULAR NUMBER, UM, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE, THE RISK OF, OF EXPOSING OTHERS, ONCE YOU'VE BEEN VACCINATED, THE DATA IS STILL BEING GATHERED, BUT I WILL SAY THIS, THERE ARE CERTAINLY INDICATIONS OF VIRAL LOAD FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE HAD A BREAKTHROUGH INFECTION IS MUCH LOWER THAN FOLKS WHO'VE BEEN UN-VACCINATED, UH, THAT HAVE HAD THE INFECTION.
SO THAT MEANS A DECREASE RISK OF TRANSMITTING TO OTHERS.
IS IT POSSIBLE? YES, IT'S PROBABLY STILL POSSIBLE, UH, FOR THOSE BREAKTHROUGH INFECTIONS TO CAUSE INFECTION CIRCUMSTANCES, UH, BUT IT'S MUCH LESS LIKELY, UM, WHICH IS WHY THE, YOU KNOW, THE CDC AND WHY, UH, WHY WE HAVE RELAXED THOSE STANDARDS OR FULLY VACCINATED PEOPLE, BECAUSE THE RISK IS VERY LOW.
UH, AGAIN, UH, IF YOUR TOLERANCE FOR RISK IS CLOSE TO CLOSER TO ZERO, WHERE A MASK, IN ADDITION TO THE VACCINE, IF YOU'RE, IF THE RISK, YOU KNOW, 90% RISK REDUCTION IS ENOUGH FOR YOU, THEN, THEN VACCINATION ALONE IS PROBABLY OKAY.
AND THE REASON I ASKED IS THAT, YOU KNOW, I HAVE GREAT-GRANDKIDS THAT I GO TO THERE TO VISIT NOW BECAUSE, AND IT'S ALWAYS IN THE BACK OF MY MIND SAYING, YOU KNOW, SHOULD I HUG HIM AND KISS HIM, YOU KNOW? AND, UH, AFTER I'D BEEN OUT, YOU KNOW, AND WAS IN, UH, WITH, UH, WALKING OR BEING INSIDE A, UH, UH, A RESTAURANT OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, AND THEN TELL HIM BACK, AND, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, VISITING YOUR, YOUR FAMILY, WHO YOU HAVE, THEY HAVE YOUNG CHILDREN, AND THAT'S ALWAYS A BIG CONCERN OF MY ACCESS BACK OF MY HEAD.
SHOULD I JUST, I MEAN, WHAT DO YOU SUGGEST THAT IF, SHOULD I GO OUT THERE AND HUG THEM AND KISS THEM, OR SHOULD I JUST WAIT BACK? AND I MEAN, HOW MANY DAYS SHOULD I WAIT UNTIL I GO OUT THERE AND DO THAT? SO AGAIN, COUNSELOR FOR FULLY VACCINATED PEOPLE, IT, AGAIN DEPENDS ON THAT RISK TOLERANCE, UH, IN THE VALUE OF THAT HUG AND KISS.
SO I, I DO WILLING TO TAKE THE RISK.
UH, BUT IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW THAT THE VACCINE, THIS IS REAL LIFE DATA.
THIS IS POST STUDY DATA IS 90 PLUS PERCENT PROTECTIVE.
IT'S 50% BETTER THAN THE BEST FLU SHOT THAT WE'VE EVER HAD.
THAT'S HOW GOOD THESE VACCINES ARE.
SO, YOU KNOW, FEELER BULLET FULLY VACCINATED, IT CAN START TO BEHAVE IN A WAY THAT THEY WOULD DURING FLU SEASON, UH, YOU KNOW, DEPENDING ON, ON THE ALLOWANCES, WHEN THEY'RE IN PUBLIC PLACES, DEPENDING ON THE ALLOWANCE OF THE PARTICULAR BUSINESS THAT THEY ENTER.
BUT PRIVATELY, IT'S GOING TO BE MORE LIKE FLUID RISK IN TERMS OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE FULLY VACCINATED.
SO I HAD TO MISS THE FIRST, UH, LIKE NINE MINUTES OF YOUR PRESENTATION.
SO TELL ME, UH, I HOPE THAT MY QUESTION, ISN'T SOMETHING THAT YOU PRESENTED RIGHT AT THE BEGINNING.
DID YOU ALL PRESENT, UM, DEMOGRAPHICS AND, OR GEOGRAPHIC WISE WHO IT IS THAT APH HAS BEEN VACCINATING MOST HEAVILY TO HERE IN THE LAST COUPLE OF, UH, SINCE WE PIVOTED TO THE, TO THE LAST MASS VACCINATION AND THE MORE TARGETED VACCINATION STRATEGY? I'M ASSUMING THOUGH, BECAUSE I THINK I MISSED THE BEGINNING
[00:55:01]
OF DR.SCOTT'S PRESENTATION, UH, COUNSELING.
I DID NOT SPEAK ABOUT, UH, UH, THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE VACCINATIONS.
UH, WE DO HAVE THAT ON THE DASHBOARD.
I DON'T KNOW IF WE HAVE IT BROKEN DOWN BY THE LAST TWO WEEKS VERSUS, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE PREVIOUS VACCINATION EFFORT.
UH, BUT WE CAN, WE CAN CERTAINLY TRY TO RETRIEVE THAT, THAT DATA FOR YOU.
YEAH, NO, I THINK IT WOULD BE USEFUL.
I DON'T THINK YOU HAVE TO DO IT EVERY TIME, BUT I THINK IT WOULD BE USEFUL TO PRESENT IN ONE OF THESE WORK SESSIONS, HOW THINGS HAVE SHIFTED FROM THE MASS STRATEGY TO LATELY AND LOOKING AT THE DASHBOARD.
IT SEEMS LIKE, AND IT'S A LITTLE HARD TO TELL EXACTLY THE DATES, BUT IT REALLY, BUT IT DOES SEEM LIKE THE PLACES THAT MOST VACCINES ARE BEING DISTRIBUTED THAT ARE BEING TRACKED HERE BY APH AND COMMUNITY CARE RN, SEVEN, EIGHT, SEVEN, FIVE, THREE, AND FIVE, EIGHT AND FOUR, FOUR AND FOUR, ONE AND OH FOUR AND FOUR FIVE.
AND SOME OF THE PLACES WHERE WE KNOW THAT THERE'S BEEN LESS VACCINES AND WE'VE HAD A LOT OF HIGH RISK INDIVIDUALS IN CASES AND DEATHS.
SO I THINK AS WE PIVOT THE STRATEGY, IT COULD BE USEFUL TO SHOW WHAT OUR ROLE IS AND HOW WELL WE'RE DOING IT.
SO THAT ONE, WE CAN BE ACCOUNTABLE TOWARDS DOING IT BETTER, BUT TWO, IF WE'RE REACHING THOSE GOALS, REACHING THOSE GOALS.
AND INDEED MY LOOK AT THE DASHBOARD SHOWS THAT THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING.
I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT TO SHOW AS WELL.
UM, BECAUSE I THINK YOU WERE SHOWING THAT AS WELL, WE WERE DOING THE MASS VACCINATION STRATEGY.
I THINK WE SAW SOME OF THE SKEW, UM, TOWARDS CERTAIN ZIP CODES.
AND NOW I THINK AS YOU'RE DOING THE MORE TARGETED STRATEGY, IT SEEMS THAT THAT AT LEAST FROM THE DASHBOARD, IT LOOKS LIKE YOU ARE HITTING SOME OF THOSE, THAT CODES THAT WE'RE GETTING LESS.
SO I THINK JUST A PRESENTATION ON THAT OR SOME CLEAR INFO BEYOND THE DASHBOARD COULD BE USEFUL SO THAT, UM, WE'RE NOT, UH, READING BETWEEN THE LINES, BUT REALLY BEING ABLE TO ASK YOU QUESTIONS AND SEE THAT DATA.
AND WE WILL WE'LL WORK ON GETTING YOU THAT DATA COUNCILOR, I WILL SAY.
AND ONE OF THE REASONS WHY I PRESENTED THE, THE BREAKTHROUGH AND, UH, THE, THE RE-INFECTION RATES, WHICH WERE 20 TIMES HIGHER THAN THE BREAKTHROUGH RATES AND INFECTION IS MY CONCERN IS THAT BECAUSE THOSE COMMUNITIES OF COLOR HAS, HAVE BEEN HIT SO HARD BY INFECTION, THAT THERE MAY BE THE MISPERCEPTION THAT PEOPLE WHO'VE HAD INFECTION DON'T NEED THE VACCINE.
AND THAT IS ABSOLUTELY NOT THE CASE.
UM, THERE, AGAIN, MORE THAN 20 TIMES AS LIKELY TO GET THE INFECTION AGAIN, THEN IF THEY GET THE VACCINE.
UH, SO IT IS REALLY VERY IMPORTANT FOR US TO ALL SHARE THAT MESSAGE THAT EVEN IF YOU'VE HAD COVID-19, THE VACCINE IS BETTER, UH, THE IMMUNITY IS BETTER, IT'S MORE COMPREHENSIVE, UH, AND, UH, AND WE NEED TO GET THOSE FOLKS VACCINATED.
I HEAR THAT'S A REALLY STRONG FACT TO SHARE THAT IT'S 20 TIMES BETTER.
UM, OH, AND I THINK THAT PAIRED WITH, UM, THE TARGETED STRATEGY THAT WE'RE PIVOTING TOWARDS, UH, ALONG WITH WHATEVER INCENTIVES WERE ILLEGALLY, UH, ABLE TO THOUGHTFULLY DO AS COUNCIL MEMBER POINTS AS MENTIONED, I THINK WILL GO A LONG WAY.
SO THANK YOU FOR INCLUDING THAT RE-INFECTION AND BREAKTHROUGH CASE DATA.
AND THEN I THINK, UM, DIRECTOR STIR UP WHATEVER WE CAN DO TO SHOW WHAT THE PIVOTED STRATEGIES LOOK LIKE IN THE LAST FEW WEEKS.
UNLESS YOU, UH, REGISTER, IF I KNOW YOU'RE HAVING SOME TROUBLE WITH YOUR AUDIO, DO YOU HAVE ANY FACTS OFF THE TIPS OF YOUR FINGERS? UM, I DON'T WANT TO BUMP YOU TO LATER IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING NOW.
THIS IS, UM, AS OTHERS HAVE SAID, AND DR.
ESCADA, THIS IS GOOD NEWS FOR US.
UM, AND IF WE CAN CONTINUE REALLY PUSHING THE VACCINATIONS AND BEING CAREFUL ABOUT WHEN WE MASK AND UNMASKED, I THINK THAT WE CAN CONTINUE ON THIS TRAJECTORY.
I JUST HAVE ONE FOLLOW-UP QUESTION.
UH, AND I KNOW IT'S SOMETHING THAT, UH, I'VE BEEN ASKING ABOUT, AND I JUST WANT TO SEE WHAT SHELL'S CURRENT THINKING IS ON IT.
WE HAD, UM, HAD SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT THE USEFULNESS OR WHETHER IT WOULD BE USEFUL TO DO.
UM, SO WE, WE STARTED TALKING ABOUT IT AS REVERSE NINE ONE ONE, AND THEN WENT TO A, UM, PERHAPS ANOTHER APPROACH, BUT I'D LIKE TO UNDERSTAND YOUR CURRENT THINKING ON A MORE TARGETED OUTREACH OR MORE SPECIFIC OUTREACH THROUGH ONE, UH, THROUGH A MECHANISM LIKE THAT.
I KNOW IT WAS SOMETHING THAT YOU
[01:00:01]
ALL WERE LOOKING INTO.CAN YOU TELL ME THE STATUS OF THAT, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER? UH, I'M NOT SURE OF THE STATUS OF THAT.
UH, IT LOOKS LIKE, UH, DIRECTOR STIRRUP IS STILL HAVING TROUBLES.
I'D ASK, UH, ACM HAYDEN HOWARD, IF, IF SHE MIGHT BE ABLE TO COMMENT ON THAT.
UM, WE HAVE OUR STAFF HAVE, HAVE DONE SOME ADDITIONAL, UM, KIND OF DUE DILIGENCE.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, AS WE'RE WORKING WITH THE SEVEN OUTREACH ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE HAVE ON CONTRACT, AS WELL AS THE ONES THAT UNITED WAY HAS ON CONTRACT, UM, IT'S ESSENTIAL FOR US TO REALLY, UM, BE ABLE TO GET THAT INFORMATION FROM, FROM THOSE, UM, FROM THE PEOPLE THAT THEY'RE WORKING WITH.
IT SEEMS TO US THAT THAT IS A GREAT TARGET FOR US TO BE ABLE TO REACH OUT TO.
AND SO OUR STAFF, UM, IN THAT MEETING, THAT THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE THE JOINT MEETING, UM, AS I STATED LAST WEEK, UM, UNITED WAY JOINED US WITH OUR SEVEN OUTREACH PROVIDERS.
UM, AND SO NOW THEY'RE GOING TO CONVENE A FULL MEETING WITH ALL OF THE PROVIDERS THERE, UM, BECAUSE THAT IS GOING TO BE ABLE TO HELP US TO BE ABLE TO MOVE THAT FORWARD.
WE DO HAVE A COUPLE OF MECHANISMS THAT STAFF HAVE IDENTIFIED THAT WE HAVE USED THUS FAR.
UM, AND SO BEING ABLE TO GET THAT, THOSE, UM, PHONE NUMBERS FROM INDIVIDUALS AND BEING ABLE TO TEXT THEM.
SO BEING VERY COMPREHENSIVE, KIND OF MOVING EVEN BEYOND TECHNOLOGY, THE DOOR TO DOOR IS ALSO A METHOD THAT THEY ARE USING.
THEY'RE GOING DOOR TO DOOR, BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE CELL PHONES, A LOT OF FOLKS ARE NOT WANTING TO BE FORTHCOMING TO GIVE THEIR PHONE NUMBER AWAY BECAUSE OF ALL OF THE FOLKS THAT ARE KIND OF SITTING, CALLING RANDOMLY TO PHONES ANYWAY.
SO IT HAS TO BE A COMBINATION OF THOSE EFFORTS.
SO WE'LL HAVE MORE INFORMATION AFTER THAT MEETING OCCURS AND WHAT THAT STRATEGY LOOKS LIKE AND HOW MANY FOLKS THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO REACH OUT THROUGH WITH THAT METHOD.
THE REASON I KEEP ASKING IS IT SOUNDS LIKE MAYBE YOU ALL ARE THINKING, THIS IS NOT AN APPROACH, THAT THAT IS A HIGH PRIORITY APPROACH AND THAT'S FINE.
BUT THE REASON I KEEP ASKING IS THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT WE DID DURING THE, UH, DURING THE, UM, UH, DURING THE WINTER STORM, WE ACTUALLY WORKED WITH A, YOU KNOW, A VOLUNTEER GROUP AND MADE HUNDREDS OF PHONE CALLS AND TEXTS BECAUSE THAT DATA IS, UH, IS PUBLICLY AVAILABLE, THOSE, THOSE PHONE NUMBERS AND THINGS.
AND SO, UM, I'M REALLY JUST WANTING TO UNDERSTAND, UH, IF YOU ALL THINK IT'S NOT SOMETHING TO PURSUE THEN, THEN, THEN, OKAY.
I, I THINK THE MORE TARGETED EFFORTS YOU'RE MAKING RIGHT NOW ARE IMPORTANT.
I JUST THINK THAT THOSE ARE NOT GOING TO REACH THE WHOLE COMMUNITY AND THAT, YOU KNOW, ONCE OR TWICE, OR MAYBE THREE TIMES SOME KIND OF PUSH OUTREACH TO, TO PEOPLE THROUGH TEXTING OR THROUGH AUTOMATED PHONE CALLS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, IT'S CHEAP AND EASY TO DO.
AND PERHAPS IT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
UH, I'M JUST, I'M JUST WANTING US TO, UM, I'M JUST WANTING US TO DO EVERYTHING WE POSSIBLY CAN TO CONTINUE TO PUSH.
I'M VERY HAPPY ABOUT THE 53% THAT WE'RE AT RIGHT NOW, BUT WE KNOW THAT WE CAN NEED TO CONTINUE TO UP THAT IN OUR COMMUNITY, PARTICULARLY WITH NO CONCERNS ABOUT THE POTENTIAL FOR VARIANCE IN THE FUTURE.
AND I'M, I'M JUST NOT SURE MAYBE WE CAN HAVE AN OFFLINE CONVERSATION ABOUT IT.
I, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS FOR A NUMBER OF WEEKS AND, UM, AND LIKE I SAID, I CERTAINLY UNDERSTAND IF YOU ALL THINK IT'S NOT, NOT SOMETHING THAT'S GOING TO PRODUCE MUCH, BUT IT JUST FEELS LIKE WE'RE NOT DOING EVERYTHING WE POSSIBLY CAN TO DO THAT KIND OF OUTREACH.
SO I'LL REACH OUT TO YOU OFFLINE AND TO UNDERSTAND THIS BETTER.
AND THANK YOU FOR THAT PRESENTATION ABOUT WHERE WE'RE HEADED AND WHAT'S HAPPENING REGARDING COVID-19.
I'M VERY EXCITED THAT WE'VE GOTTEN TO WHERE WE ARE, BUT WE DO NEED TO REMEMBER TO STILL BE CAREFUL.
MY QUESTION TODAY ACTUALLY HAS TO DO WITH THAT A LITTLE BIT OF A CONVERSATION DR.
SCOTT AND I HAD, UH, LAST WEEK, I'D LIKE YOU TO HELP US UNDERSTAND SOME OF THE OUTREACH THAT'S BEING DONE TO HELP GET VACCINES TO INDIVIDUALS IN OUR COMMUNITY WHO ARE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS, HOW THAT'S GOING AND WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.
[01:05:02]
I CAN JUMP IN AND LOOK FIRST, DR.SCOTT, AND THEN MORE THAN HAPPY TO HAVE YOU AT SAP JOINING FROM MY PHONE.
HOPEFULLY EVERYONE CAN HEAR ME CLEARLY.
UM, SO INITIALLY WE HAVE WITH COMMUNITY CARE TOO, AND THEIR, UM, TEAM THAT, UH, PROVIDES SERVICES AT THE ART TO VACCINATE THE GUEST, STAYING AT THE PRO LODGE, AND WE ARE WORKING TO EXPAND THOSE EFFORTS FOR THOSE WHO ARE EXPERIENCING UNSHELTERED HOMELESSNESS.
UM, I CAN COME BACK NEXT WEEK WITH NUMBERS, BUT, UM, I'M, I'M NOT SURE THAT WE CAN PULL THE DATA THAT WAY, BUT I CAN ASK THE TEAM, BUT, UM, WE WILL CONTINUE TO EXPAND THOSE EFFORTS WITH COMMUNITY CARE.
AND AS WE SHIFT AWAY FROM MASS VACCINATION CLINICS, WE'LL USE OUR MOBILE STRIKE TEAMS TO, UM, PARTNER WITH HOST AND PATH AND PARTNERS WHO DO OUTREACH IN THAT SPACE TO PROVIDE VACCINATIONS FOR THOSE WHO ARE WILLING.
AND AGAIN, I DON'T HAVE MUCH TO ADD TO THAT.
THERE'S A GREAT SUMMARY FROM, UH, FROM DIRECTOR STIRRUP.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAVE WORKED HARD TO PROTECT OUR, OUR, UH, POPULATION OF INDIVIDUALS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS.
I THINK WE'VE DONE MUCH BETTER THAN, THAN MANY OTHER CITIES WHOSE POPULATIONS WERE DEVASTATED, UH, BY COVID-19 EARLY ON.
UH, AND WE LEARNED LESSONS FROM THOSE WHO, WHO FACE SEARCH BEFORE WE DID, UM, AS WE LOOK AT IT SHIFTING, UH, SITUATION IN TERMS OF, OF OUR POPULATION OF, OF INDIVIDUALS SPRAYS, HOMELESSNESS, THINGS, AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO, TO PROVIDE THAT OUTREACH, UH, PARTICULARLY FOLKS, YOU KNOW, AS, UH, THEY'RE MOVING LOCATIONS, UH, TO, TO OFFER THAT VACCINATION AS, AS A, UM, OPPORTUNITY TO DECREASE THAT RISK OF TRANSMISSION.
UM, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, UM, WE'VE, WE'VE DONE WELL SO FAR, BUT WE'VE GOT SOME MORE WORK TO DO.
UH, WE CERTAINLY HAVE HESITANCY AMONG OUR, UH, POPULATION EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS.
SO WE WERE WORKING ON STRATEGIES TO, UH, TO FIND OUT HOW WE CAN ENCOURAGE FOLKS FURTHER TO, TO GET THAT, UH, THAT VACCINE.
AND THANKS TO EVERYBODY WHO'S WORKING DAILY ON THESE FRONT LINES.
I APPRECIATE THE CONTINUED DILIGENCE AND EXCELLENCE.
I HAVE NO SPECIFIC ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS.
I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT CHILDREN UNDER 12.
IS THERE ANY UPDATED TIMELINE OF WHEN THE NEXT AGE GROUP MIGHT BE CLEAR TO START GETTING VACCINES OR ALL THE WAY DOWN INTO THE LITTLE ONES? IS THERE AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHEN EVERYONE MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET A VACCINE? NO MATTER WHAT AGE? WELL, IT'S STILL UP IN THE AIR FOR YOUNGER KIDS.
UM, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, THE BURDEN FOR SAFETY IS HIGHER AS THE RISK GOES DOWN, UH, FOR THE ACTUAL DISEASE THAT'S WE EXPECT IT'S GOING TO TAKE LONGER TO GET TO THE YOUNGER AGES THAN IT DID TO MOVE FROM, FROM 16 TO 12.
UH, HAVING SAID THAT THOSE STUDIES ARE UNDERWAY, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE MAY CONTINUE TO SEE, UH, DROPS, UH, IN, IN AGE GROUPS AS THE SUMMER GOES ON.
UM, I THINK IT'S LIKELY THAT THE CHILDREN DOWN TO AGE TWO WILL HAVE AN OPTION FOR A VACCINE BY THE END OF THE YEAR.
UH, BUT AGAIN, THOSE, THOSE TIMELINES ARE NOT CLEAR SOLID RIGHT NOW.
UH, SO AGAIN, WHEN WE LOOK FORWARD TO THE NEXT SCHOOL YEAR, UH, WHAT'S IT GONNA LOOK LIKE? I THINK FOR MIDDLE SCHOOLS AND HIGH SCHOOLS, IT'S GONNA LOOK RELATIVELY NORMAL DEPENDING UPON OUR SUCCESS AT VACCINATION OVER THE SUMMER.
UH, CERTAINLY THERE'S ENOUGH TIME THROUGHOUT ABOUT 60,000 KIDS BETWEEN THE AGES OF 12 AND 15, UH, WHO WERE, YOU KNOW, JUST BECAME ELIGIBLE.
SO RELATIVELY SMALL NUMBER, A NUMBER THAT WE COULD DO IN A SINGLE WEEK IN THIS COUNTY.
UM, IF WE WORK HARD, IF PARENTS WORK HARD TO TAKE THEIR KIDS, LIKE I'M GOING TONIGHT TO TAKE MY SON TO CVS TO GET HIS FIRST DOSE.
UH, IF WE DO THAT NOW, THEN SCHOOL YEAR, NEXT YEAR, IT LOOKS RELATIVELY NORMAL, PARTICULARLY FOR, UH, FOR THOSE OLDER KIDS, UH, IN MIDDLE SCHOOLS AND HIGH SCHOOLS DOWN HER CHILDREN, ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS, PRESCHOOLS, THERE MAY STILL BE SOME PRECAUTIONS IN PLACE, UH, WHERE APPROPRIATE TO TRY TO REDUCE THAT RISK WITH SPRINT.
AND I HAVE APPRECIATED ALL THE QUESTIONS IS WHERE PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT
[01:10:01]
HOW THEY INTERACT WITH KIDS YOUNG ENOUGH, NOT TO BE VACCINATED WHEN THEY'RE VACCINATED.I PERSONALLY AM HAPPY TO KEEP WEARING MY MASK IN PUBLIC WHEN I'M WITH PEOPLE THAT AREN'T IN MY POD.
UM, AND IT'S JUST TAUGHT A LOT OF US ABOUT HOW MUCH COUGHING AND SNEEZING HAS BEEN SPREADING ALL SORTS OF VIRUSES.
AND I'M MORE THAN HAPPY TO KEEP WEARING MINE UNTIL THAT MEANS THAT EVERYBODY, EVERYBODY CAN BE SAFE AND EVERYONE QUALIFIES FOR A VACCINE.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, LOVE YOUR NEIGHBORS IS A UNIVERSAL TRUTH.
AND THAT'S WHAT THIS IS ABOUT.
THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT NOW, WHAT CAN I DO TO, TO BE NEIGHBORLY IT'S, IT'S GOT LESS TO DO WITH, YOU KNOW, WITH, UH, INDIVIDUAL LIBERTIES AND, AND SOME OF THE, THE STANCES THAT HAVE BEEN TAKEN, THIS IS ABOUT LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR.
IF YOU DON'T WANT TO GET VACCINATED FOR YOURSELF, GET VACCINATED FOR YOUR NEIGHBOR, FOR YOUR MOM, FOR YOUR DAD, FOR YOUR KID.
UM, IT IS A REMARKABLY GOOD VACCINE AND A REMARKABLY SAFE VACCINE.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, IF WE CAN REALLY EMBRACE, LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR, UH, WE'LL GET THROUGH THIS QUICKLY, UH, AND WE WILL BE FREE FROM, FROM PELVIS ALREADY RULES AND, AND MASKS AND SO FORTH.
UH, BUT NOT UNTIL WE'RE ALL THERE.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT MY, MY TEENS WERE, UM, ARE AMONG THAT 60% AND I'M JUST SO ABSOLUTELY THRILLED TO HAVE THAT, TO HAVE THAT NEW AGE GROUP OF 12 AND UP, UM, BE ELIGIBLE FOR VACCINATION AND TO HAVE SO MANY AVENUES FOR, FOR GETTING VACCINES, UM, AMONG THAT AGE GROUP HERE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND I JUST WANT TO GIVE, UH, YOU KNOW, A SPECIAL PLUG TO, TO THOSE IN THAT AGE GROUP.
I MEAN, I WAS REALLY AMAZED AS SOON AS THAT CHANGED, JUST TO SEE, UM, ON MY DAUGHTER'S SOCIAL MEDIA, THE NUMBER OF KIDS WHO WERE SHARING THAT INFORMATION ABOUT WHERE KIDS COULD GET VACCINES AND, UM, THOSE OPPORTUNITIES AND, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST ANECDOTALLY I KNOW WITHIN, WITHIN A DAY, ONE OF MY DAUGHTERS CIRCLE OF FRIENDS HAD ALL GOTTEN VACCINE APPOINTMENTS, UM, BECAUSE OF THAT KIND OF SHARING OF INFORMATION.
SO LET'S, YOU KNOW, AS WE NEED TO CONTINUE GETTING THAT MESSAGE OUT AMONG YOUTH, SOME OF OUR YOUNG PEOPLE MAY, MAY HELP US IN THAT AND, AND COULD BE GOOD SOURCES OF INFORMATION.
I DID WANT TO SAY, I HAD A QUICK QUESTION BACK TO JUDGE BROWNS.
OH, AND I WANT TO JUST PINPOINT THAT AND SAY HOW IMPORTANT IT IS.
YOU KNOW, WE ARE ALL BEGINNING TO SEE THE END OF, OF SOME OF THE ISOLATION THAT'S, UM, AND SOME OF THE QUARANTINING AND THE, THE OTHER REQUIREMENTS DURING THIS PERIOD OF TIME, BUT WE ARE BY NO MEANS IN A COMPLETELY SAFE PLACE YET BOTH OF MY DAUGHTERS SCHOOL SENT OUT COVID NOTICES YESTERDAY.
SO, YOU KNOW, AS WE CONTINUE TO, TO GET MORE AND MORE VACCINATED IT, JUSTICE IS SO IMPORTANT.
S SCOTT, UM, UH, DIRECTOR STIRRUP, THANK YOU FOR CONTINUING TO EMPHASIZE THE NEED FOR PRECAUTIONS AND SAFETY, EVEN AS, EVEN AS MORE AND MORE INDIVIDUALS IN OUR COMMUNITY ARE VACCINATED.
I WANT TO GET BACK TO JUDGE BROWN'S SCENARIO SCENARIO, AND THANK YOU FOR THANK YOU FOR RUNNING THROUGH THOSE.
I THINK THOSE ARE ANSWERING A LOT OF THE QUESTIONS THAT MANY IN OUR COMMUNITY CONTINUE TO HAVE IN THAT SCENARIO WHERE, WHERE THE PARENTS ARE VACCINATED AND UNVACCINATED KIDS AND DR.
S SCOTT, YOU RESPONDED THAT IT IS PROBABLY BETTER TO MASK INSIDE AND THAT'S IN THAT SITUATION IS THE RECOMMENDATION THAT IT'S BETTER TO MASK FOR THE PARENTS' PROTECTION OR FOR THE CHILDREN'S PROTECTION AS THEY'RE UNVACCINATED OR BOTH.
I THINK THAT'S GETTING KIND OF CONFUSED IN SOME OF THE CONVERSATIONS AND IN ARTICLES AND OTHER ADVICE.
THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION, COUNSELOR.
AND THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THAT OUT.
WE TALK ABOUT KIDS AND PARENTS IN THE SAME HOUSEHOLD.
UH, YOU HAVE UNAVOIDABLE, UNAVOIDABLE RISK THERE.
SO MASKING AROUND YOUR OWN CHILDREN, UM, IS, IS NOT, NOT GOING TO BE THAT HELPFUL BECAUSE OF THIS AIRBORNE, UH, PRIMARY METHOD OF TRANSMISSION.
UM, WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT VISITING OTHER CHILDREN, GRANDCHILDREN, OR PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF YOUR HOUSEHOLD, UH, THAT PROTECTION IS REALLY, IT GOES TWO WAYS.
NUMBER ONE, THE VACCINATED PERSON CAN STILL GET IT AND SPREAD IT, PARTICULARLY THE CONTACT IS CLOSE AND PROLONG.
UH, BUT IF YOU HAVE AN INDIVIDUAL WHO'S AT HIGHER RISK, UH, WHO WAS VACCINATED, THERE'S STILL THE RISK OF, OF BREAKTHROUGH INFECTIONS.
[01:15:01]
INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE FULLY VACCINATED AND HIGH RISK ARE AROUND THOSE WHO ARE, UM, MORE LIKELY TO BE INFECTED NOW, UH, THEY SHOULD CONSIDER AN EXTRA LAYER OF PROTECTION, UH, BECAUSE THERE ARE BREAKTHROUGH CASES.UH, THERE ARE SOME CIRCUMSTANCES WHERE INDIVIDUALS SHOULD BE MORE WORRIED ABOUT THAT.
SO IF THEY'RE IMMUNOCOMPROMISED, UH, IF THEY'RE TAKING IMMUNO COMPROMISING DRUGS, IF THEY'RE ON CHEMOTHERAPY, UM, THOSE ARE SITUATIONS WHERE THE VACCINE MAY NOT MOUNT A SIGNIFICANT IMMUNE RESPONSE FOR THEM.
SO THEY MAY NOT HAVE THE SAME PROTECTIONS AS OTHERS FOR THESE KINDS OF SITUATIONS.
IT'S IMPORTANT FOR FOLKS TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION WITH THEIR PHYSICIAN ABOUT THEIR PARTICULAR SITUATION, UH, WHICH MAY PROVIDE ADVICE.
I'M SURE THAT ADVICE WILL BE WHERE I'M ASKING.
IN ADDITION, UM, IN SOME CIRCUMSTANCES, INDIVIDUALS CAN, UH, RECEIVE ANTIBODY TESTING TO TEST THEIR LEVEL OF IMMUNITY, UH, AFTER THE VACCINE HAPPENS, UH, TO SEE IF, IF IT WAS A SUCCESSFUL VACCINATION SERIES, THAT'S SUPER FOLKS, PARTICULARLY IMMUNOCOMPROMISED FOLKS.
UH, THEY MAY WANT TO CONSIDER THAT AS AN OPTION TO DISCUSS THEIR POSITION.
AND I SHOULD HAVE SAID IT WAS THE GRANDPARENT.
THE SCENARIO I WAS ASKING ABOUT WAS THE GRANDPARENT AND THE KID, BUT I THINK IT STILL HOLDS THAT, UM, YOU'RE, YOU'RE, YOU'RE REALLY PROTECTING BOTH PARTIES IN THAT BOTH THE UNVACCINATED CHILDREN, AS WELL AS THE GRANDPARENTS WHO MAY BE AT HIGHER RISK, EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE VACCINATED.
AND AGAIN, WHEN WE SEE THE BREAKTHROUGH CASES, THE HOSPITALIZATIONS AND THE TWO DEATHS, UH, THOSE ARE IN OLDER INDIVIDUALS, UH, DEATHS IN INDIVIDUALS OVER THE AGE OF 70, I THINK BOTH OF THOSE, UH, NURSING HOME RESIDENTS.
UH, SO AGAIN, YEAH, USE MORE CAUTION IN THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES.
THANK YOU GUYS FOR THROUGH AND LEARNING.
UM, I, AN EMAIL THIS MORNING FROM, UM, LBJ LASA THAT THEY ARE, YOU KNOW, OPENING UP MORE APPOINTMENTS FOR THE VACCINATION TODAY.
WALGREENS IS PROVIDING NOW 2000 VACCINES TODAY BECAUSE THE DEMAND IS SO HIGH.
I'M VERY EXCITED THAT THE PARENTS AND THE KIDS IN THOSE AGE GROUPS ARE STEPPING UP.
UM, I HAD A TWO-PART QUESTION FIRST WAS IF YOU COULD SPEAK A LITTLE BIT TO, UM, HOW APH OR, OR THE COUNTY IS WORKING WITH THE SCHOOLS, UM, TO COORDINATE THOSE VACCINE CLINICS.
UM, AND THEN SECONDLY, UM, I'M HOPING YOU CAN PROVIDE SOME ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE FOR BUSINESSES THAT ARE TRYING TO DECIDE, UM, HOW THEY TRANSITIONED FROM THE MASK MANDATE TO THIS NEW WORLD.
UM, WE DO NOT HAVE VACCINE PASSPORTS.
UM, PEOPLE DO NOT WEAR A THING ON THEIR HEAD THAT SAYS THEY WERE VACCINATED.
SO CAN YOU PROVIDE MORE GUIDANCE, UM, YOU KNOW, THROUGH THIS CONVERSATION? AND CAN YOU ALSO DETAIL WHAT KIND OF GUIDANCE THE CITY PLANS TO BE, UH, PROVIDING OR HAS PROVIDED THAT I MAY HAVE JUST MISSED? I CAN ANSWER THE FIRST PART, DR.
S SCOTT, ABOUT THE PARTNERSHIP WITH THE SCHOOLS, AND THEN I'LL LET YOU TAKE IT AWAY ABOUT THE GUIDANCE.
AND SO, AS PART OF THE SOCIAL SERVICE BRANCH UNDER THE EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER, THE CHILDCARE CHILDCARE SCHOOLS TASK FORCE HAS REACHED OUT TO AND SURVEYED, UM, THE LOCAL AISD, ALL THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS, INCLUDING CHARTER SCHOOLS TO SEE IF THEY WOULD BE WILLING TO PARTNER AS A VACCINE SITE.
AND, UM, WE, WE GOT OF COURSE, A LOT OF, A LOT OF TAKERS ON THAT.
AND SO NOW WE'RE WORKING THROUGH, UM, OUR PARTNER PROVIDERS TO SEE WHO WILL BE ABLE TO ACTUALLY PROVIDE THE VACCINES.
UM, WE DO HAVE ONE CONTRACT WITH A PROVIDER WHO IS EXPERIENCED WITH PFIZER, AND SO WE WOULD, WE WILL LEVERAGE THOSE SERVICES OR THAT CONTRACT TO BEGIN PARTNERING WITH SCHOOLS TO, TO BE HUBS OR VACCINE SITES.
UM, AND AS YOU KNOW, WE COME ONLINE, WE'LL BE ABLE TO DO SOME OF THAT, BUT OUR PLAN REALLY IS TO ENGAGE OUR PROVIDER COMMUNITY, TO MATCH UP WITH THOSE SCHOOLS WHO SAY THEY ARE READY AND WILLING TO BE VACCINE SITES.
AND I'LL RESPOND TO THE SECOND PART OF YOUR QUESTION, COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, AND WE WILL HAVE SOME FAQ'S COMING OUT THIS AFTERNOON TO, UH, ANSWER SOME OF THOSE COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS.
UH, IF WE LEFT IT OPEN TO BUSINESSES FOR A COUPLE OF REASONS, NUMBER ONE, OUR STANCES THAT MASKS IN PUBLIC PLACES, VACCINATED, UNVACCINATED ARE STILL REQUIRED,
[01:20:01]
UH, INDOORS IN PARTICULAR, UH, AS THE DEFAULT POSITION, BECAUSE IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW THAT WE ARE NOT THERE YET TO GO TO A MASKS OPTIONAL, UH, SITUATION.SO WILL REQUIRE IF A BUSINESS DECIDES THEN THEY CAN IMPLEMENT A POLICY AND POST SIGNS OF ABOUT THEIR POLICY.
UM, AND I THINK THE DECISION FOR BUSINESSES REALLY DEPENDS ON THE NATURE OF THEIR BUSINESS AND THEIR CLIENTS.
SO BUSINESSES THAT ARE CATERED TO, UH, UNVACCINATED PEOPLE, UH, SO BUSINESSES RIGHT NOW THAT THAT ARE PRIMARILY FOCUSED ON CHILDREN.
IT'S PROBABLY WISE TO HAVE A EVERYBODY MASKS POLICY, BECAUSE YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE A LARGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO ARE VULNERABLE TO COVID-19 IF YOUR BUSINESS CATERS TO HIGH RISK INDIVIDUALS, UH, IT'S PROBABLY WISE TO CONTINUE TO HAVE AN ALL MASKED POLICY.
UM, IF YOUR BUSINESS INVOLVES, UH, INTERACTION OF INDIVIDUALS FACE TO FACE FOR LONGER DURATIONS OF TIME, UH, BARBERSHOPS, BEAUTY SALONS, NAIL SALONS, AND THESE KINDS OF THINGS, IT'S PROBABLY BETTER AT THIS STAGE TO CONTINUE AN ALL MASK POLICY.
UM, SO IT DEPENDS ON, ON A LOT OF FACTORS AND WE WANT TO LEAVE THAT UP TO THE BUSINESSES TO DECIDE WHAT IS BEST BASED ON THEIR BUSINESS MODEL.
UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK RIGHT NOW, UM, THE, THE STATUS QUO HAS BEEN MASKING.
UM, I THINK PEOPLE TO A LARGE EXTENT THIS COMMUNITY WOULD BE OKAY WITH CONTINUING THAT FOR A LITTLE WHILE LONGER.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S ALSO PART OF, UH, READING THEIR CUSTOMERS, UH, AND CERTAINLY IF THEY GET AN INDICATION THAT A SIGNIFICANT MAJORITY OF THEIR CUSTOMERS ARE FULLY VACCINATED, THEY MAY CONSIDER THAT OPTION FOR, UH, FOR THEIR PARTICULAR BUSINESS.
WELL, WE SHOULD BEGIN THANKING, UH, DR.
S SCOTT YOU'RE, YOU'RE NOT LONG FOR THESE MEETINGS AND TALKING TO US, BUT YOU TEND TO JUST DO AN INCREDIBLE JOB OVER THE LAST YEAR PLUS, SO THANK YOU FOR THAT.
UH, UH, DIRECTOR STREP, UH, IN HER NEW ROLE, JOINING US AND WELCOME HOME TO A DOCTOR, A DOCTOR WALKS.
UH, SO I GET YOU TO WRITE DOWN, OR, YOU KNOW, THE, AT A REALLY HIGH LEVEL, THE PRESENTATION TODAY, GOING DOWN TO TWO RISKS, LEVEL TWO IS ANOTHER INDICATION JUST HOW WELL WE'RE DOING AS A COMMUNITY AND THE VACCINATION IS DOING, UM, IT'S, UM, UH, JUST A REAL REMINDER, JUST HOW EFFECTIVE THE VACCINE HAS BEEN.
WE'RE ALL SHOULD BE CELEBRATING THAT AS WELL AS HOW WELL WE'VE DONE AS A COMMUNITY WITH A MORTALITY RATE, THAT'S AS LOW AS IT IS.
SO I GUESS WHAT YOUR NEW RULES SAY BASICALLY IS THAT, UH, UH, MOST PLACES CAN CHOOSE THEIR OWN MASK RULES.
UH, GOOD NEWS SCIENCE SAYING ANYONE VACCINATED IS PROTECTED, AND THAT SADLY VACCINATED PEOPLE ARE EVEN GREATER AT RISK, ESPECIALLY IN THEIR PLACES WHERE PEOPLE AREN'T MASKING.
WE'RE TALKING REALLY ABOUT CHILDREN UNDER 12 AND THE COMMUNITIES THAT DISPROPORTIONATELY OF COMMUNITIES OF COLOR, WHO REMAIN ON BACKS AND INVADED.
SO THE NEW RULES BALANCE FREEDOMS FOR VACCINATED PEOPLE WITH INCREASED RISK TO THOSE WHO AREN'T ON ANY BUSINESSES AND PEOPLE AND OUR CUSTOMERS MAKE CHOICES.
SO GENERALLY SPEAKING BUSINESSES CAN MAKE CHOICES, BUT THERE ARE SOME PARAMETERS YOU'VE PLACED IN THAT.
DO I UNDERSTAND CORRECTLY GAFFERS OVER 2,500 PEOPLE JUST BY A RULE, PEOPLE WHO WOULD NEVER DATE TO WEAR MASKS, IF THEY'RE OUTSIDE GATHERINGS OVER 2,500 AND INSIDE, UH, GATHERINGS OVER 500 NEEDED TO BE WEARING MASKS BELOW THAT, UH, BUSINESSES CAN MAKE CHOICES, AND THEN PEOPLE GET MADE CHOICES ABOUT WHERE THEY GO IN.
UM, I THINK THAT'S PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD AND, AND, UH, AND WE'LL BE GOOD.
AND I APPRECIATE YOU CONTINUING TO DO THAT.
AND THE NEW RISK CHART GETTING OUT, I THINK ALSO HELPS.
UH, I DON'T HAVE ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS, JUDGE.
UH, I THINK WE'LL TURN IT BACK OVER TO, TO YOU.
SCOTT, ALSO FOR ALL OF YOUR HEALTH, IT'S BEEN GREAT WORKING WITH YOU IN THIS CAPACITY.
LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU IN YOUR, UH, NEW AND RETURNING CAPACITY GOING FORWARD, BUT YOU'VE REALLY DONE, UH, BEEN A GREAT PARTNER IN ALL OF THIS.
UM, WITH THAT, I WILL, WE WILL ADJOURN THE TRAVIS COUNTY COMMISSIONERS COURT,
[01:25:01]
UH, FOR FIVE MINUTES AND COME BACK AT 10 30 AFTER THE MAYOR, UH, AFTER YOU DO SIMILAR WITH THE CITY COUNCIL.I HAVE US AT 10 30 NOW, AND WE'RE GOING TO, UH, UH, ADJOURN THE JOINT SESSION, UH, WE'LL RECONVENE, UH, OR CONVENE OUR, UH, SPECIAL CALL OUR REGULAR WORK SESSION.
UH, AND LET'S, UM, UH, DO THAT AT 10 40 AND 10 40.
WE'LL BE BACK ON THAT OTHER CHANNEL JUDGE, UH, COURT.