Kerr County COVID-19 Mass Vaccination Phone Bank nearing start up

On Monday, the Kerr County Commissioner’s Court learned that there are currently 420 active cases of the novel coronavirus and the DSHS has confirmed three additional virus related deaths of Kerr County residents which brings the county’s official COVID-19 death toll to 46. There are currently 30 patients hospitalized at Peterson Regional Medical Center due to virus related complications, including six in the Intensive Care Unit.

Kerr County Emergency Management Coordinator Dub Thomas told commissioners that he is in the process of procuring a community wide phone bank system that would allow citizens to call ahead and schedule appointments to receive COVID-19 vaccinations. The plan also identifies several sites where the vaccines could be administered to a centralized waiting list of people in each tier as designated by the state.

Thomas told commissioners that he is in the process of procuring the phone bank’s telephone numbers, and as soon as they become available, will be publicly announced on the county’s website, co.kerr.tx.us. “We appreciate Hill Country Telephone Corporation for providing us the phone numbers and service that will be the backbone of our communitywide effort to vaccinate and protect our friends, family and neighbors.”

The COVID-19 Community Vaccination Phone Bank will be headquartered at 333 Earl Garrett Street, and the phone bank will be using volunteers from the Kerr County Community Response Team (CERT.) As an added precaution for volunteers, the Kerrville Fire Dept. has pledged to provide rapid return COVID-19 screening to any phone bank worker before they enter the facility to volunteer.

Anyone interested in volunteering with the phone bank is asked to call either Kerr County Human Resources Director Jennifer Doss at (830) 792-2271 or Kerr County Treasurer Tracy Soldan at (830) 792- 2276 during regular business hours.

Thomas added, “I would also recommend that any citizens who have not done so yet sign up for the completely free emergency notification system we have in Kerr County called CodeRed. We plan to use CodeRed heavily to make announcements regarding vaccine clinics and COVID-19 in the months ahead.” To register for CodeRed alerts, visit co.kerr,tx.us/eservices/ and click on the underlined link that reads “Click here to sign up for free.”

In the meantime, citizens are encouraged to receive the vaccine in any location they may be able to get in the soonest. There are two main hubs in the San Antonio area dispensing COVID-19 vaccines. For more information on the San Antonio Metro Health District, call (210) 207-6000.

As individuals continue getting vaccinated against COVID-19, Thomas stressed, “For the safety of everyone you know and even those you don’t, please wear a face mask, wash your hands frequently, keep six feet of space between yourself and the next person, disinfect your vehicle, home and workspaces often, stay home when possible. We owe a debt of gratitude to the healthcare workers in our community who are being stressed to the max right now, with no certain end in sight. The least we can do to show our appreciation is taking a few steps to help contain the spread of this virus.”