COVID-19 News

'Inappropriately shared' appointments for COVID-19 vaccines in Austin causes confusion

UT Health Austin says misinformation about open vaccine portals caused massive lines today on the campus.

Photo by Brian Bell/KVUE News

KVUE — Long lines were seen at a University of Texas COVID-19 vaccination site on Monday after a COVID-19 vaccine scheduling link was "inappropriately shared widely through unofficial networks with false information," according to UT.

UT told KVUE this misinformation led to thousands of people signing up for appointments who "did not follow the UT Health Austin registration process." All of the appointments scheduled using this link were being canceled, UT officials told KVUE. The only way people can register for vaccine appointments through UT Health Austin is by completing the registration process at UTHealthAustin.org.

The only eligible people for vaccination through UT Health are those who fit in the 1A and 1B categories, UT said.

Here is the full statement UT officials sent KVUE Monday afternoon:

"Over the weekend, we became aware of an active scheduling link that was inappropriately shared widely through unofficial networks with false information about vaccine availability and who was eligible to sign up for appointments at UT Health Austin this week. This resulted in thousands of individuals signing up for appointments who did not follow the UTHA registration process, did not meet the criteria, and did not receive a personalized email from the university asking them to schedule. All appointments scheduled in this manner are in the process of being canceled; however, some individuals have showed up on-site today, resulting in longer than normal lines. UTHA is actively working to implement a technological solution to prevent this from occurring again in the future and anticipates having this in place later this week. The only way to validly request a vaccine through UT Austin is by completing the registration process at UTHealthAustin.org. At this time, we are vaccinating those individuals in Phase 1A and Phase 1B, who have completed the COVID-19 Vaccination Request Form. To avoid misinformation regarding vaccine distribution at UT Austin, we encourage you to visit this page for the latest information. We appreciate your patience and will continue to provide the most up-to-date information as it becomes available. Individuals who followed the appropriate sign up process will be vaccinated as scheduled."

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To read the full story, head to KVUE News.

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Self-driving Roller Coaster

More self-driving cars expected to roll out in Austin for 2025

Photo courtesy of Waymo via KVUE

Various brands offering self-driving cars are on-and-off in Austin.

Expect to see more self-driving rideshare vehicles, also known as robotaxis, on Austin roads next year.

Robotaxi company Waymo, which you may have already seen on Austin's roads, is partnering with Uber. At some point next year, customers will be able to use the Uber app to call a self-driving ride.

Austin-based company Avride is in the testing phase and plans to roll out its robotaxis next year.

Currently, Volkswagen ADMT and Amazon's Zoox are in the testing phase in Austin, while Hyundai's Motional is in the mapping phase.

Last year, robotaxi company Cruise paused operations in Austin after the California Department of Motor Vehicles revoked the company's permits to operate driverless vehicles in the state. And last week, General Motors said it would no longer fund the company because of the time and resources needed.

This way of getting around has come with its safety concerns and issues. The city is tracking those concerns. According to the Transportation Department, the problems span from blocking the roads and parking in front of people's homes for weeks with lights beaming through their windows, to actual wrecks.

Since July 2023, robotaxis have been involved in 75 incidents. Only 21 of those incidents happened in 2024. It's important to note that Cruise has not been operating in Austin this year.

Since July 2023, driverless rideshare vehicles have been involved in 22 near collisions, eight collisions and seven instances where driverless taxis ignored directions from the Austin Police Department (APD).

According to the data, at least four of those Austin police incidents happened in recent months. The issues varied from driving through police checkpoints, to malfunctioning and getting stuck at an APD road closure near pedestrians, causing safety concerns.

A Waymo spokesperson said their vehicles have gesture recognition capabilities, which they've been training APD officers on using.

As the report shows, sometimes it does not work and Waymo said it is working to improve that. The spokesperson said that as of just last week, Waymo's First Responder Program has been independently verified by TÜV SÜD, making Waymo the first autonomous vehicle (AV) company to receive third-party validation for our emergency response protocols. They also said the data to date indicates the Waymo Driver is already reducing traffic injuries and fatalities in the places where the company currently operates.

Read the full story and watch the video at KVUE.com.

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