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University of Texas at Austin football athletic trainer Johnathan Tran receives the COVID-19 vaccine on Dec. 20.
The COVID-19 positivity rate in Austin and Travis County continues to fall as more people in the area are inoculated against the virus.
Dr. Jason Pickett, deputy medical director for the city, said Tuesday positivity rates for people of all races in the area are down below 5% for the first time in the pandemic, with an overall community positivity rate of 2.5%. The positivity rate is the percentage of tests administered that come back positive.
About 56% of the area s population is partially or fully vaccinated against COVID-19, including more than 60% of people age 12 years and older.
As winter storms swept the state last month, Texans were left juggling two worst-case scenarios: life-threatening temperatures amid power outages and a coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 42,000 people across the state.
Health experts say it s too early to know whether the storm might have supercharged the spread of the virus as thousands fled to warming centers and friends and neighbors homes for heat and safety. However, local health experts
have urged residents to self-quarantine if they gathered outside their homes during the freeze. There were people who were sheltering together to flee homes that lacked heat or power or water, Dr. Jason Pickett, Austin-Travis County alternate health authority, said in a Friday news conference. At the same time, the weather and the horrific road conditions did limit people s movement broadly through the community and kept them from going to work and being around more strangers. So we ll keep an eye on this and see wha
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