Austin Public Health releases COVID-19 vaccine distribution dashboard
AUSTIN, Texas - Austin Public Health (APH) has released its COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Dashboard to provide up-to-date information about vaccinations in Austin-Travis County.
The dashboard will be updated weekly and includes the total of APH-administered doses organized by priority age group, zip code, race/ethnicity, and the estimated 2019 Travis County population with the percentage of those 65 years of age and older for context.
There are more than 150,000 people who qualify as 1A or 1B, and APH has only received 12,000 vaccines per week since Jan. 11.
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According to the American Community survey, Travis County has 129,645 people over the age of 65 composed of 68.2% White, 18% Hispanic, 7.6% African American, 5.1% Asian, and 3.9% two or more races. The data indicates that that the proportions of COVID-19 vaccines administered by APH are consistent with the percentage of people age 65 years of age for individuals identifying as Asian, Hispanic, and White, but falls short for those who identify as African American.
Even though 18% of the vaccines administered by APH are to those who identify as Hispanic, officials say that is not enough to counter the transmission levels among this population. Additionally, only 4% of African Americans in Travis County have received the vaccine from APH, despite making up 7.6% of the Travis County population aged 65 and older.
Officials say they've implemented some strategies to address these concerns, that include:
- Working with grassroots organizations on communicating the importance of receiving the vaccine.
- Partnering with Travis County to proactively call community members of vulnerable populations and register them in the system and, if appointments are available, schedule an appointment.
- Exploring options such as mobile vaccine clinics which could also administer the vaccine to homebound residents.
- Strategically identifying where communities are hardest hit to establish vaccine distribution sites.
- Partnering with CapMetro to offer transportation to vaccine appointments.
- Continuing PPE distributions with community organizations.
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Other notes about the dashboard:
- There are over 350 COVID-19 vaccine providers in Travis County that have been approved by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). The APH COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Dashboard is limited to data about the doses administered by APH.
- The allocation data shown on the dashboard is different than the current allocation received by APH. The data does not include vaccinations which were performed prior to the electronic registration process. This information is being manually entered by staff. As APH vaccine distribution fully transitions to using the technology available, the data will be more reflective of APH’s our weekly allocation.
- The DSHS vaccine map shows the total amount of vaccines being providing in Travis County in addition to a link to the John Hopkins vaccine tracker.
- APH will continue making improvements to the dashboard as more information becomes available
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