Austin, Texas – Austin Public Health (APH) shares the latest adaptations of the operations and update of the COVID-19 vaccine. This information is available on Friday, January 29, 2021 this afternoon.
Vaccinations of COVID-19
To improve access to COVID-19 vaccines in Austin-Travis County, APH is opening a third vaccination site in northern Travis County. This site is also by appointment only and does not accept hiking tours. The site’s location will be shared with those who have appointments.
This week, APH began providing second doses to those who received their first doses in APH’s first grant from the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). These individuals are in Phase 1A and include residents of nursing homes and staff not covered by the state program, APH and other health care workers who administer vaccine and do COVID-19 testing, and first responders.
Individuals who have received their first vaccine through APH will be proactively contacted when it is time for their second dose. As a reminder, individuals do not need to receive their second dose exactly four weeks after their first dose (for Moderna). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the vaccine will be just as effective if they receive it up to 40 days later.
Visit: austintexas.gov/vaccine-faqs for more information on vaccines and answers to frequently asked questions. This website is regularly updated.
As of Friday, January 29, APH has given a total of approximately 30,000 first doses of the vaccine. There are approximately 80,000 individuals who have signed up through the APH pre-registration website that fits into Phase 1A or 1B, and more than 500,000 in 1A or 1B in Austin-Travis County. We ask the public to be patient with our teams as the vaccine doses are still very limited. APH strives to vaccinate the community as fairly and effectively as possible. While the vaccine is still limited in Austin-Travis County, we will continue to investigate the community to identify those in Phase 1A and 1B.
DSHS has informed APH that they will receive 12,000 doses for the week of February 1st.
Operational adjustments
To make better use of APH’s resources, the Givens and Little Walnut Creek COVID-19 test sites were closed. These closures do not affect the number of tests that APH can deliver within a week, which is still around 11,000. Persons with insurance are encouraged to be tested by their doctor or pharmacy.
The Texas Emergency Management Division (TDEM) has entered into a new vendor for the Pflugerville test site. Individuals will still be expected to make an appointment; the new URL to register for a test is: texas.spartancovidtesting.com. The new working hours for the site are from 09:00 to 18:00 from Monday to Saturday.
For more information about the COVID-19 vaccine in Texas, visit the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) information page.
For more information on COVID-19 in Austin-Travis County, visit AustinTexas.gov/COVID19-Vaccines.