AUSTIN, Texas — COVID-19 case numbers and hospitalizations are down in Austin-Travis County, but we aren't completely in the clear yet.
During a COVID-19 Q&A on Friday, Feb. 18, Austin Public Health leaders were optimistic about the area's current situation but urged residents to remain vigilant.
Health Authority Dr. Desmar Walkes indicated that this is a time of transition and we seem to be on "the other side" of the recent omicron surge. But while she said it does look as though we're approaching a time when we can say we have herd immunity, it is not time to relax.
"It's not over. The pandemic's still a pandemic," Walkes said.
Below are some of the key takeaways from Friday's COVID-19 Q&A.
Focus on boosters
APH leaders continue to encourage everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated and those who have gotten their primary series of vaccines to also get boosted.
Cassandra DeLeon, APH's chief administrative officer for disease prevention, said the community has done well with getting the vaccine. As of Friday, 72% of the population is fully vaccinated. But DeLeon also said only a little over 30% of fully vaccinated individuals have gotten their booster, despite the fact that the majority of the area's fully vaccinated population is due for that shot.
"We have a new task," DeLeon said. "We really need to think about the population getting up-to-date on the vaccine."
Changes coming to COVID-19 testing operations, dashboards
APH Chief Epidemiologist Janet Pichette echoed Walkes' statements that local COVID-19 numbers are looking better, with the area seeing a substantial decrease in cases as we come off of the omicron surge.
Because of this, Austin-Travis County is changing some of its operations.
Pichette said that demand for APH's testing operations has decreased significantly. Therefore, APH will be consolidating its testing sites. Starting next week, there will no longer be testing operations at the Travis County Expo Center or Dove Springs Recreation Center.
Federal contractors have been operating a testing site at Metz Elementary School. APH teams will assume testing duties at Metz starting on Tuesday, Feb. 22. Clinic hours will be Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., with the flexibility to expand if necessary.
Pichette also said major revisions are on the way for the area's COVID-19 dashboards and key indicators.
She said part of the reason for the dashboard revisions is to align more with the Texas Department of Health Services, which has recently made dashboard revisions of its own. But APH also wants to provide the community with the opportunity to see what the "true disease burden" is in Austin-Travis County.
One way APH plans to do that is to include lab-confirmed positive cases, or probable cases, as part of the dashboard revisions. Pichette said "major changes" to the dashboard and key indicators can be expected sometime next week.
"I think the best information we have, the best we can fine-tune and prepare this data for you, will help you with your decision-making as you move forward," Pichette said.
Pichette also cautioned that while much of the data indicates a positive trend for our area, 66 people still died from COVID-19 in Austin-Travis County in the last two weeks, so the risk is not entirely gone.
What happens next depends on community action
APH Director Adrienne Stirrup also placed an emphasis on the community remaining vigilant as the pandemic continues – no matter how exhausting the process is.
"Yes, we are making great strides. Yes, some of the key indicators are moving down. And we’re all tired of wearing masks. But we can’t simply make this virus go away just because we’re tired or because we’re fatigued or because we want to get back to what we feel is normal. We do have to continue to pay it forward," Stirrup said.
"If the easiest thing that you can do is to wear a mask to keep yourself safe, to keep a colleague from having to go to a funeral for a close relative or a loved one, to keep your elderly grandma, papa safe, then this is a seemingly easy thing to do," Stirrup continued.
Austin-Travis County remains in Stage 5 for now, though Walkes said the area could possibly be in Stage 4 within the "next 10 days or so." Whether that happens, however, will depend on the community's actions.
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