| | Travis County also surpasses 60% of those 12+ vaccinated with at least one dose |
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| Austin, Texas – Austin Public Health (APH) staff and volunteers have worked tirelessly since December 2020 to administer COVID-19 vaccines to the community, with Travis County joining the effort in early 2021. Monday, May 17 that work was exemplified as APH and Travis County surpassed 400,000 total vaccines administered.
"I want to thank our staff and volunteers for their dedication to this community," Interim APH Director Adrienne Sturrup said. "Not only have we been able to come together to reach a remarkable goal for vaccinations, but we have worked for many months in the COVID-19 emergency response to protect our friends, family and neighbors from the severe impacts of the virus."
APH received its first vaccine allocation the week of Dec. 28, 2020, but it was not until Jan. 11, 2021, that APH was designated a hub provider by the Texas Department of State Health Services and began receiving 12,000 first doses every week.
Since then, APH has operated multiple mass vaccination sites, both walk-in and drive-thru, as well as smaller neighborhood sites, pop-up clinics and mobile vaccinations, all with the goal of getting as many shots in arms as possible. In total, APH has administered 311,000 first and second doses.
"It is through the hard work and dedication of our health professionals and community coming together that we can celebrate yet another milestone in vaccinations," said Austin Mayor Steve Adler. "In a few months, we have administered at least one vaccine dose to 60% of our residents and are closer to reaching herd immunity. We must continue to help our neighbors and students get a vaccine."
Travis County, in partnership with CommUnityCare and Ascension Seton, began planning their efforts in December 2020 and stood up the first drive-thru vaccine clinic in Texas on Jan. 9, 2021. Those efforts have expanded to include partnerships with three surrounding counties and nearly 20 clinical partners, resulting in 170,000 doses being administered at Circuit of the Americas, the Travis County Exposition Center, and community based pop-up clinics. The majority of the doses administered by the county collaborative have been provided to communities hardest hit by COVID-19 and in the Eastern Crescent.
"This is a big milestone for our community. I'm grateful for everyone who helped us get here, including the doctors, nurses, firefighters, first responders, school districts, and community members across our region that volunteered to help get our neighbors vaccinated," said Travis County Judge Andy Brown. "We are not done yet. If you or the 12 and older children in your life haven't gotten vaccinated yet, now is the time to do so."
Travis County as a whole recently reached another milestone in the vaccine rollout. According to state data, more than 60% of Travis County residents who are 12 years of age and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
With estimates for reaching herd immunity through vaccination ranging from approximately 70% to 90% of the population being fully vaccinated, the county-wide milestone bears significance. However, there is a large group of individuals who have been unable to receive the vaccine until recently – those under 16.
"When we account for the entire Travis County population, we have achieved another important goal of having over 50% of people partially or fully vaccinated," said Dr. Mark Escott, Interim Austin-Travis County Health Authority. "At a time when we are seeing increasing hospitalization of children, we not only need adults to be vaccinated, but also our middle school and high school students."
Dr. Escott added: "With the Pfizer vaccine now authorized for children 12 years of age and older, our community will be able to progress closer toward that herd immunity goal. It will continue to be important for our communities, schools, and faith groups to provide active outreach to advocate for the importance of vaccination for personal and public health."
Receive Moderna vaccine through APH by: - Scheduling an appointment online
- Scheduling an appointment by phone
- Call 3-1-1 or 512-974-2000, leave your name and phone number
- Going to a walk-up clinic (see clinic hours here or call 3-1-1):
- Delco Activity Center
- Southeast Library
- Little Walnut Creek Library
- Coordinating a home visit (for homebound)
- Call 3-1-1 or 512-974-2000, leave your name and phone number
Receive Pfizer vaccine through Travis County Expo: - 7311 Decker Ln, Austin, TX 78724
- Additional information available here
Locate additional vaccine providers near you at www.Vaccines.gov or by texting your zip code to 438829 (GETVAX) or 822862 (VACUNA) for Spanish. The website and texting service are operated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
For additional COVID-19 information and updates, visit www.AustinTexas.gov/COVID19.
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