AUSTIN, Texas - The Austin Public Health (APH) COVID-19 Dashboard, which served as a first-of-its-kind navigation tool, is retiring. Thousands of staff hours were poured into this page to visually demonstrate the sheer numbers that represented loved ones, neighborhoods, and communities impacted by COVID-19. The data presented in this dashboard, which had millions of views during its run, informed and influenced everything from individual behaviors and emergency operational decisions to published research and policy making. At the height of Austin-Travis County's emergency response in January 2022, more than 22,000 cases were reported in just one week.  

“This is the end of an era for Austin Public Health and the community we serve. We launched the dashboard at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it has been invaluable to our work for the last four years,” said Austin–Travis County Health Authority Dr. Desmar Walkes. “The dashboard highlighted zip codes and populations that called for additional outreach, it showed us the effectiveness of our immunization and prevention campaigns and it served as a stark reminder of those who were lost and the importance of our continued efforts to fight this virus.”

Providers are no longer required to report individual cases of COVID-19 to public health, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). However, they should still notify public health in the event of a suspected or known outbreak. This is following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated respiratory virus guidance to include influenza, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), citing fewer people are getting seriously sick, more have immunity from vaccines or prior infection and there are better treatments available.

As part of returning to sustainable operations, APH will continue to respond to any reported outbreaks, provide vaccines to those who qualify and share updates on any new COVID-19 variants. APH's COVID-19 surveillance efforts will continue to incorporate various strategies, such as wastewater surveillance, COVID-19 death tracking and detecting outbreaks among at-risk communities, including congregate settings such as long-term care facilities, schools and childcare centers.

“From data entry and case investigation to IT and communications, it was all hands on deck working 24/7 to ensure we were providing the best information that reflected the situation in our community in a timely manner,” said Chief Epidemiologist Janet Pichette. “Thank you to our leadership, city and county departments, hospital and community partners and staff who made this vital data tool happen.”

The strategies to fight COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses remain the same:

1. Make sure you’re up to date with the COVID-19 vaccine.

2. Follow proper hygiene practices, including washing your hands often and covering any coughs or sneezes.

3. Practice social distancing when in large groups, especially indoors.

4. Stay home if you feel sick.

“These aren’t just numbers - the dashboard illustrated tragic loss as COVID-19, followed by its highly transmittable variants, ripped through our community surge after surge. It also shows just how successful prevention methods and getting vaccinated were in curbing the impact of the virus,” said APH Director Adrienne Sturrup. “The tools to fight this virus are widely available. We owe it to ourselves to take what we’ve learned from this pandemic to provide information to the community for a healthier Austin.”

APH is working to archive the data from our dashboard. In the meantime, DSHS has combined the individual weekly flu, RSV and COVID-19 surveillance reports into one Texas Respiratory Virus Surveillance Report.

Vaccines are readily available through doctor’s offices, pharmacies and APH’s Shots for Tots and Big Shots clinics.

Vaccine Providers  

Visit Vaccines.gov (Vacunas.gov in Spanish) to find flu and COVID-19 vaccine providers near you.

Vaccine Events

APH’s calendar of vaccine clinics throughout Austin-Travis County can be found here.