I'm hunkered down in the Austin area for a few months, and the chaos here is mind-boggling. The Public Health authority has a registration system that is total chaos -- and the screening questions go on for 10 pages online!
The local news reported today that roughly half of the residents of the Austin SMSA fall in categories 1A and 1B -- so more than 500,000 people are currently "eligible" for vaccinations. At the current rate, the report noted, it will take 10 months to get through 1A and 1B, if everyone wants a jab.
I've been following Austin's NextDoor community. Folks are alerting when appointments open up at the mega-sites (and they are gone within minutes). A spreadsheet is circulating which lists all the vaccine hubs within a 2-hour drive with instructions on how to get on the waitlists. Some folks are on more than a dozen lists scattered around the state.
Fancy a 800 mile r/t roadtrip? Twice? Vaccine appointments are available in Pecos, far west Texas....
One person posted yesterday that she had monitored local sites starting at 6:00am, and after refreshing 97 times (every five minutes) snagged an appointment in March for her 80yo DF.
Other people, entrepreneurial, will monitor vaccine sites and book your appointment, for a price.
This is almost beyond comprehension.
The local news reported today that roughly half of the residents of the Austin SMSA fall in categories 1A and 1B -- so more than 500,000 people are currently "eligible" for vaccinations. At the current rate, the report noted, it will take 10 months to get through 1A and 1B, if everyone wants a jab.
I've been following Austin's NextDoor community. Folks are alerting when appointments open up at the mega-sites (and they are gone within minutes). A spreadsheet is circulating which lists all the vaccine hubs within a 2-hour drive with instructions on how to get on the waitlists. Some folks are on more than a dozen lists scattered around the state.
Fancy a 800 mile r/t roadtrip? Twice? Vaccine appointments are available in Pecos, far west Texas....
One person posted yesterday that she had monitored local sites starting at 6:00am, and after refreshing 97 times (every five minutes) snagged an appointment in March for her 80yo DF.
Other people, entrepreneurial, will monitor vaccine sites and book your appointment, for a price.
This is almost beyond comprehension.
Last edited: