COVID-19 vaccine appointments canceled due to severe weather, Austin health officials say – Austin American-Statesman

Heather Osbourne|Austin American-Statesman

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Austin Public Health officials on Monday canceled all coronavirus vaccine and testing appointments scheduled for Tuesday because of thesevere winter weather affectingmost of Texas.

Austin-area residents on Monday were urged to stay indoors and avoid driving in dangerous road conditions, which ultimately led Austin Public Health to cancel vaccination appointments for the fourth day in a row.

Austin Public Health had canceled all vaccination appointments Saturday when roads began to ice over, leading to multiple vehicle crashes across Central Texas. ByMonday, Travis County's icy roads were covered in powdery snow as temperatures dipped into the single digits.

More: Take a drone tour over Austin after snowfall amid freezing temperatures

Dr. Mark Escott, interim Austin-Travis County health authority, and Austin Public Health Director Stephanie Hayden-Howard on Fridaysaid their staffs would work with individuals to reschedulevaccination appointments onceweather conditions improved.

Austin Public Health officials again on Monday afternoon said the power outages did not affect the vaccine doses and that they will not expire beforelater this week when appointments are rescheduled.

Before Saturday, Austin Public Health was working to administer 12,000 first doses and 12,000 second doses it received from the state last week. It's unclear when the Texas Department of State Health Services willdeliver more doses to Central Texas because of the road conditions.

Austin-Travis County residentssuch as 77-year-old Jerry Griffin on Monday said they werealready struggling to sign up for a first doseof the coronavirus vaccine even before the winter stormrolled into Austin.

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Those who currently qualify for a coronavirus vaccine, many of whom are 65 and older, have remained frustrated and confusedabout Austin Public Health's distribution efforts, including problems with its registration website. SinceAustin Public Health receives only about 12,000 first doses everyMonday, vaccineappointments bookquickly.

Griffin said he wasn't surprised that Austin Public Health pushed back appointments because of the snowstorm, but he just hoped it wouldn't delay doses for him and his wifetoo long.

"My wife and I are both still struggling," Griffin said. "We are registered at a couple of places. I really want to receive a vaccine, but every time someone gets a shot it helps.

"We tend to shut down pretty quickly around here when we have weather conditions like this. We'll just hangin there, keeping our fingers crossed and hoping for the best."

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COVID-19 vaccine appointments canceled due to severe weather, Austin health officials say - Austin American-Statesman