AUSTIN, Texas — Minority group advocates are disappointed with vaccination numbers in Austin-Travis County, and Austin Public Health officials said they're working on outreach efforts for Austin Black and Latino communities.
Austin Public Health reports in its vaccination distribution dashboard that Travis County has 129,645 people over the age of 65 – 68.2% White, 18% Hispanic, 7.6% African American, 5.1% Asian and 3.9% two or more races.
Of all the vaccines APH has given, it reports 3.7% have gone to Black people, even though the community makes up almost 8% of the population 65 and older. APH's distribution map shows that 18.1% of the vaccines have gone to Hispanics, but APH said that's not enough for Latinos because COVID-19 transmission is high among the population.
Folks with the Austin Latino Coalition and Black Leaders Collective said they aren't surprised.
"Despite the fact that Latinos and minorities in general are being disproportionately impacted by COVID, we are not the ones who are getting the vaccines," said Paul Saldaña of the Austin Latino Coalition.
"I know it's been frustrating for individuals," said Marva Overton with the Black Leaders Collective. "We have to have the vaccinations in places where people are getting it to them and that process being easier."
Health leaders said they simply don't have enough vaccines for everyone, but they're trying to make more efforts to reach these communities. Saldaña and Overton said their organizations need help spreading the word.
"The sad and unfortunate reality is there are a lot of people still in the Latino community who've never even had a COVID test," said Saldaña. "We were disappointed, but not surprised. I mean, the numbers that we saw pretty much mirror what we've seen on the national level, on the state level, and then now it's been sort of solidified or quantified by the local numbers."
“Our mission has always been to reach and serve our most vulnerable populations. Based on the demographic data, we are encouraged by the results so far. But we remain deeply concerned that vaccine distribution is not reaching individuals who identify as Hispanic or African American, especially given the pandemic’s disproportionate impact to these communities,” said APH Director Stephanie Hayden-Howard in a press release. “We must expand current efforts to provide vaccines to more members of our Hispanic and African American communities, especially in areas where disease transmission is high.”
Some of the strategies Austin Public Health plans to implement to reach these minority communities is to:
- Work with grassroots organizations on communicating the importance of receiving the vaccine.
- Partner 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.
- Explore options such as mobile vaccine clinics, which could also administer the vaccine to homebound residents.
- Strategically identify where communities are hardest hit to establish vaccine distribution sites.
- Partner with CapMetro to offer transportation to vaccine appointments.
- Continue PPE distributions with community organizations.
“Our dashboard includes our population size and the amount of vaccine the department administers. For a community with over 1.3 million people and receiving 12,000 doses per week, we have a long way to go,” said Dr. Mark Escott, Interim Austin-Travis County Health Authority. “We simply do not have enough of the vaccine to give to everyone who needs and wants it. While we wait for supplies to increase, we need everyone to help slow the spread by practicing the three Ws – wear a face covering, wash your hands and watch your distance.”
Austin Public Health said it received the second vaccine dose shipment for people who got their first dose through APH the week of Jan. 11. Later this week and next week, APH will call or email those people with information for scheduling appointments, which are required for both doses. Walk-ups will not be accepted.
The Austin Latino Coalition is planning a PPE distribution event this weekend, on Sat., Feb. 20, from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Travis County Expo Center - Show Barn at 7311 Decker Lane in Austin. The event is called Uplift Austin and will focus on the distribution of PPE, cleaning and hygiene supplies for Black and Latino communities in Travis County.
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