County’s vaccine push shifts into high gear

Caldwell County’s push to vaccinate its citizens will ramp up on Monday, May 3 when Curative begins giving shots daily in the Adams Gym located next to the Lockhart ISD administration building.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday that fully vaccinated people can go without masks outdoors when walking, jogging or biking, or dining with friends at outdoor restaurants.
County Judge Hoppy Haden encouraged Caldwell County residents to sign up for a slot through a link available on the county’s homepage.
However, Haden said there was a possibility walk ins could also receive the vaccine, depending on the day’s pace.
“We’ll have 300 vaccines drawn up daily at first, and if demand calls for it, we could push that to 500 a day,” Haden said. “We have to use what we draw up, so if we have vaccines left over, we need to use them.”
Once you have signed up and are officially on the waitlist, you will receive an email from Eventbrite when a vaccine appointment becomes available. You will have 12 hours to respond to the email and set your appointment.
Those without a computer, internet access, or an email address can call (512) 359-4637 for assistance with signing up for the waitlist. You will be contacted by phone or e-mail when vaccine clinics are available. Once you provided contact and address (location) information, you move to the standby list.
After a no-appointment-needed vaccine drive last weekend, the Central Texas Counties Vaccine Collaborative will again require appointments this weekend for its drive-thru clinic at the Circuit of the Americas. Anyone age 16 and over will qualify to get their first free dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
To get an appointment there, visit https://covid19.communitycaretx.org/VaccSched/Authentication/Login?, and sign up for an account. You can also get an appointment by signing up via the portal on the county’s home page.

Texas lifts pause
on J&J vaccine

The Texas Department of State Health Services has notified vaccine providers in the state that they should resume using the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. The announcement comes after a thorough safety review and a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory committee’s determination that the vaccine’s benefits outweigh its risks.
“The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is an important tool in our fight against COVID-19, and the scientific review over the last 11 days has affirmed its safety and effectiveness,” said Dr. John Hellerstedt, DSHS commissioner. “We know some Texans prefer the simplicity of a single-dose vaccine, and the ease of storing and handling this vaccine gives providers more flexibility. Resuming the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will prevent hospitalizations and save lives in Texas.”
The CDC estimates that using the vaccine in the United States will prevent more than 2,200 intensive care admissions and 1,400 deaths over the next six months. The vaccine was paused April 13 after the vaccine safety system identified six rare but serious cases of blood clots in combination with low blood platelet counts, known as thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, or TTS. A total of fifteen cases of TTS have been identified in the U.S. out of the more than seven million people who have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Most were in women between the ages of 18 and 49 who experienced the first symptoms one to two weeks after vaccination.