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Williamson County launches COVID-19 vaccine outreach for seniors
Williamson County is launching an outreach program called Vaccination Registration Technical Assistance, or VTRA, sites.
WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas - The Sun City Ballroom, one of Williamson County's two COVID-19 vaccine HUB locations, is where a new senior outreach idea got a trial run.
On Friday, County Judge Bill Gravell announced the pilot program will expand starting on Monday.
"Right now we have 81,282 senior adults that are age 65 and older. As of a few moments ago, only about 3,000 of these individuals have been vaccinated," said Gravell.
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Update on Williamson County’s COVID-19 vaccination plan
A virtual press conference with Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell.
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To increase that number, Gravell said the county is launching an outreach program called Vaccination Registration Technical Assistance, or VRTA, Centers. "And by the way, the VRTA Centers won’t be just for Senior Adults, it for anyone who needs help in assistance in signing up for the vaccination," he said
The football stadium parking lot at Georgetown High School will open as a drive-up vaccine site on Wednesday. That will allow the Sun City ballroom to continue with the outreach campaign. VRTA sites are also planned for Cedar Park and Taylor. The Dell Diamond in Round Rock may also be used.
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The Curative medical group, which has been doing COVID-19 testing, will soon start running vaccine locations on the east side of the county. Family Hospital Systems will operate sites on the west side.
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Gravell is also recruiting houses of worship. Tom Deviney, the pastor at Bethany United Methodist, likes the idea. The church, like others during the pandemic, has an outreach group. They have even helped members set up computers in order to see worship services online.
Deviney tells FOX 7 that he has not yet been contacted by the county but believes adapting what they do now can be done.
RELATED: Williamson County working on tackling COVID-19 vaccine waitlist
"I think that part of it is pretty straight forward, I think the more challenging part might be getting them to the location, to actually receive the vaccine, some of them, I'm sure will be fairly nervous about that, and so that will be more of a logistical issue to deal with, but connecting with them is something we can do pretty easily I think," said Deviney.
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To help, the number for a telephone assistance hotline will be announced on Monday. However, Gravell made a point to say one more team player is needed.
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"Let's assume that everyone needs a helping hand, and so I call on all residents not just in Williamson County but in Texas to check with your neighbor and ask them if they need some help signing up at one of the vaccination centers."
More details are expected next week, especially regarding official church locations. Gravell also said the county has already closed one senior gap by finding four nursing homes that had not yet scheduled vaccines for their residents.
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