AUSTIN (KXAN) — Two Austin Public Health leaders are taking new positions within the city and more details about the moves are expected to be discussed at 10 a.m. Friday.
APH’s interim health authority Dr. Mark Escott is now the Chief Medical Officer for the city, and APH Director Stephanie Hayden-Howard will transition to become an Assistant City Manager specializing in health and environment and culture and lifelong learning.
In a letter to city and county leaders, Escott said now is the opportune time to move in the new role for the city as COVID-19 cases improve.
Hayden-Howard announced Escott’s replacement via a memo Friday as Desmar Walkes M.D. She has been the health authority in neighboring Bastrop County since 2007.
According to data on the Austin-Travis County COVID-19 dashboard, the rolling average of new hospitalizations is flirting with Stage 2 risk levels. As of Friday morning, the average is 15.7 and the threshold to move from Stage 3 to Stage 2 is 14. When last calculated May 1, the COVID-19 positivity rate was at 4%.
Vaccination data from the Texas Department of State Health Services shows 60% of Travis County’s population aged 16 years and older have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and almost 40% are fully vaccinated. More than half of all Texans aged 16 years and older have received at least one shot, and 37% are fully vaccinated.
We will stream Friday’s APH briefing in this story and on Facebook.
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