Public Health
County pays tribute to joint vaccination efforts during pandemic
On Tuesday, the Travis County Commissioners Court recognized the departments and organizations whose efforts were crucial in the county’s emergency response at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. “A dedicated group of public and private partners, including a cross section…
Public Health • By Seth Smalley • Feb 23, 2023
Homeless Austinites report conditions improving at shelters
Results from a recent client survey indicate that the new operator of the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless is making progress in efforts to turn around the downtown men’s shelter. The December survey of ARCH and Southbridge shelter residents…
Public Health • By Nina Hernandez • Feb 22, 2023
Austin receives $2 million in federal funding for drug overdose prevention efforts
After a spike in the number of fatal drug overdoses last year, Austin is getting $2 million in federal funding for prevention programs, U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Austin) announced Tuesday. The money will be used to hire more peer-recovery coaches and for…
Public Health • By Haya Panjwani, KUT • Jan 18, 2023
Audit shows flaws in city’s plans for cold weather shelters
An audit presented to the City Council Audit & Finance committee last week says the city is not keeping up with planning for cold weather shelters and that city staff have not received sufficient training in dealing with people seeking…
Public Health • By Jo Clifton • Dec 20, 2022
Downtown Alliance praises 'transformation' of ARCH under new management
Just months after the management switch-up at the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless, the Downtown Austin Alliance is praising what it calls “transformational change” at the downtown men’s shelter. The alliance’s safety and hospitality committee toured the facility in…
Public Health • By Nina Hernandez • Dec 20, 2022
County gets creative to counter 'staggering' number of fentanyl deaths
In the first half of this year, from January to June, 118 people in Travis County died from an overdose of fentanyl. This equaled the number of fentanyl-related overdoses from the entirety of last year. The outsized opioid-overdose figures spurred…
Public Health • By Seth Smalley • Nov 29, 2022
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Travis County puts millions toward food access
On Tuesday, Travis County commissioners unanimously approved a series of contracts with local nonprofits and community groups, totaling $3.1 million, to help at-risk residents access healthy and fresh food. “The organizations receiving these funds will use the money in various…
Public Health • By Seth Smalley • Nov 10, 2022
Travis County secures nearly 10,000 doses of life-saving overdose drug naloxone
Travis County has secured a bulk order of the life-saving drug naloxone in an effort to prevent opioid deaths. The shipment comes after the county issued an emergency declaration triggered by a record-high number of overdoses related to fentanyl last year. At…
Public Health • By Andrew Weber, KUT • Oct 25, 2022
Austin Public Health expands eligibility for the monkeypox vaccine
Austinites at risk of contracting monkeypox are now eligible for the vaccine, health officials said Monday. Previously, the vaccine was limited to people directly exposed to the virus or diagnosed with the disease. “We are really just classifying anyone at…
Public Health • By Laura Morales, KUT • Oct 5, 2022
County hears calls to center voices of people impacted by overdose crisis
Last week, the Travis County Commissioners Court received a monthly update on the opioid overdose crisis, which the county declared a public health emergency in May. A lot of the conversation focused on the testimony of Aaron Ferguson, a local…
Public Health • By Seth Smalley • Sep 9, 2022
Travis County DA's vow not to prosecute abortion crimes likely won’t make a difference, expert says
Texas’ so-called trigger law went into effect Thursday. The law, which the Legislature passed in 2021, was designed to be ready should the U.S. Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade and make abortion no longer a constitutional right. While the law makes it…
Public Health • By Seema Mathur, KUT • Aug 26, 2022
Update shows slow but steady rise of monkeypox in Travis County
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control, there are just over 15,000 confirmed cases of the monkeypox virus in the United States, and about 1,280 of those cases are in Texas. Travis County currently has 76 presumptive cases…
