Ascension Celebrates Vaccination Effort with Travis Co. Vaccine Collab

Ascension Seton Celebrates Vaccination Effort with Travis County Vaccine Collaborative

Ascension vaccination efforts continue with Dell Children’s program to address vaccine hesitancy, particularly among underprivileged populations

Austin, Texas – On Tuesday, Feb. 21, Ascension Texas will celebrate an unprecedented vaccination effort in Central Texas along with the Travis County Vaccine Collaborative and other community partners.

From the very first drive-through vaccine operation at the Travis County Constable 4 Precinct headquarters to large-scale vaccination services provided at Circuit of the Americas and Travis County Expo Center, Ascension Seton clinical staff has administered vaccines to some 348,000 community members and counting. Ascension Seton also made a concerted effort to reach vulnerable populations in Travis and surrounding counties, resulting in 70% of the most recent 25,000 vaccines being given to the Hispanic population of Central Texas.

As child COVID-19 vaccines became available, these vaccine efforts continued through Dell Children’s Medical Center and its partners, resulting in 22,000 children being vaccinated to date.

This work continues through a $1 million COVID-19 Vaccine Education and Outreach Grant awarded to Dell Children’s Medical Center to address vaccine hesitancy. Dell Children's “Conversations with the Community" has a goal of reaching at-risk members of the community and beyond to reduce vaccine hesitancy and increase the numbers of fully vaccinated children and adults by empowering families, caregivers and healthcare providers to make evidence-based decisions about vaccines for themselves and their children by providing trusted, relevant, timely, culturally and language sensitive education.

“The tireless work of our Ascension Texas Medical Response Unit and hundreds of Ascension clinical staff resulted in the administration of some 348,000 vaccines in our community and counting,” said Andy Davis, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ascension Texas. “We are grateful to the Travis County Vaccine Collaborative for their shared effort in keeping our communities healthy and safe, and we look forward to continuing equitable access to vaccines and healthcare for all.”

“From day one, our partnership with Ascension and others helped ensure our community had access to COVID-19 vaccines,” said Travis County Judge Andy Brown. “Today, both children and adults will continue to have access to information that allows them to make the best clinical decisions for their families, as a result of Dell Children's 'Conversations with the Community' program to reduce vaccine hesitancy.”

About Ascension Texas
In Texas, Ascension operates Ascension Providence in Waco and Ascension Seton, which includes Dell Children’s Medical Center, the region’s only comprehensive children’s hospital and pediatric Level I trauma center, and Dell Seton Medical Center at The University of Texas, the region’s only Level I trauma center for adults. Ascension Seton partners with Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin and shares a common vision of transforming healthcare through a focus on quality and value. Serving Texas for more than 120 years, Ascension is a faith-based healthcare organization committed to delivering compassionate, personalized care to all, with special attention to persons living in poverty and those most vulnerable. Ascension is one of the leading non-profit and Catholic health systems in the U.S., operating 2,600 sites of care – including 145 hospitals and more than 40 senior living facilities – in 19 states and the District of Columbia. Visit www.ascension.org and www.dellchildrens.net.