Feb. 18, 2021
It’s not unusual to be concerned about side effects of a vaccine, especially a new one. But don’t forget: Side effects after COVID-19 vaccination “are normal signs that your body is building protection,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
We talked with some Oregon medical professionals about their vaccination experiences.
“I got my [second] shot at about 2 p.m., and at about 2 a.m. that night, 12 hours later, I woke up with chills and I knew I had a fever,” said Dr. Jennifer Lincoln of Providence St. Vincent Medical Center (pictured). “When I felt these symptoms, I got excited because I knew it was my immune system doing what it’s supposed to do.”
For Cindy Shields, a respiratory therapist at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center, the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine caused chills, headache and fatigue for a couple of days.
“I was expecting some side effects to occur,” Shields said. “I think I would have been concerned as to whether my body was building immunity if I had not had any.”
Dr. Jennifer Huang, assistant professor of pediatric cardiology at OHSU, said her second dose of COVID-19 vaccine also caused a pronounced reaction.
“I just had about 24 hours of fevers and chills and a little bit of nausea,” said Dr. Huang, “The way I thought of it, it just meant that the first vaccine had been effective.”
The reactions, while uncomfortable, proved to be temporary. All three recovered within 36 hours.
“There is no way to describe the sense of relief of being able to take control as health care providers,” said Dr. Lincoln.
“I consider the discomfort I experienced a minor inconvenience as compared to the devastation that I have seen from many who contract the disease,” Shields said.
“Even with the side effects, I’d do it again,” Dr. Huang said. “I had a great sense of relief once I got the second shot.”
|
Some people in Oregon are hesitant to receive the new COVID-19 vaccines. Some don’t want to be “first in line” to receive a new vaccine and may be concerned about long-term side effects. These are good questions and concerns.
The COVID-19 vaccines were developed in record time, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t safe. The vaccines went through rigorous testing ─ and included a large cross-section of society including those who have been systemically affected by the COVID-19 pandemic ─ before being offered to the general public. So far, more than 52 million doses have been administered in the United States since mid-December, and adverse reactions have been found to be very rare.
In a fireside chat with the National Education Association on Jan. 28, 2021, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, and chief medical adviser to the Biden administration, was asked about the long-term side effects of COVID-19 vaccines.
Dr. Fauci answered, “If you look at the history of vaccines, you know that virtually all long-term adverse effects of a vaccine occur between 15 and 30 days after you get the dose – 45 days at the most. When you get a vaccine allowed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), such as with the emergency use authorization, you have to wait 60 days from the time half the people in the trials got their last dose and observe safety before it can be used on the public. If almost all of the long-term adverse effects occur within 45 days, you’ve gone beyond that if you wait 60 days, so the chances of there being long-term effects are vanishingly small.”
Are you enrolled in Oregon Health Plan and eligible for a vaccine? You may qualify for transportation to vaccine clinics.
After getting an appointment for vaccination, you may be wondering how to get to the clinic.
If you are enrolled in Oregon Health Plan (OHP) either with a Coordinated Care Organization (CCO) managed-care plan or under an OHP Open Card (fee for service) plan, you can use Non-Emergent Medical Transportation (NEMT) to get to a clinic and get back home. Here is a map of NEMT brokerages. Call the brokerages directly to schedule a ride.
If you are an older adult or an adult with a physical disability, there may also be other services in your community to assist with transportation. To learn more:
“Today’s update on the number of COVID-19 related deaths includes an infant who had tested positive for COVID-19 and died the same day,” said Dr. Dean Sidelinger, OHA’s health officer and state epidemiologist. “Every death from COVID-19 is a tragedy, even more so the death of a child. The death of an infant is extremely rare. This news represents a tremendous loss to the mother and family. My thoughts are with them during this difficult time.”
“We have all worked together for nearly a year in Oregon to protect the lives of those we hold most dear,” said Governor Kate Brown. “The loss of a life so young is an indescribable tragedy for a family. Dan and I send our thoughts and condolences to the mother and family of this child, whose grief must be unimaginable in this moment. The hearts of all Oregonians are with you today.”
“Children infected with COVID-19 are less likely to develop severe illnesses compared to adults,” Dr. Sidelinger added. “Risks still remain to children of developing more severe illnesses from COVID-19, and we continue to encourage all parents to seek emergency medical care for their children if certain symptoms are present.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the hospitalization of children for COVID-19 related illnesses remains low compared to adults, and only 1.3% of all positive and presumed cases of COVID-19 have been reported among Oregonians 9 years old or younger. The CDC notes that children with certain underlying medical conditions and infants younger than 1 year old might be at increased risk for severe illness from SARS-CoV-2 infections, and among those who experienced severe illness from COVID-19, most have had underlying medical conditions.
Information and resources for families with young children can be found on our webpage.
OHA’s COVID-19 Weekly Data report, released today, shows sharp decreases in daily cases and increases in hospitalizations and deaths from the previous week. Here are some key findings:
-
OHA reported 3,453 new daily cases of COVID-19 during the week of Monday, Feb. 8 through Sunday, Feb. 14 — a 15% decrease from last week.
-
New COVID-19 related hospitalizations increased from 230 to 272.
-
COVID-19 related deaths also increased — from 66 to 114.
-
There were 102,112 tests for COVID-19 for the week of Feb. 7 through Feb. 13, which represents a drop from the previous week. The percentage of positive tests was 3.4%, down from 4.2% the previous week. That’s the lowest percentage of weekly positive tests since Oregon implemented its test-based method in mid-November.
-
People age 20 to 49 still account for more than half of COVID-19 cases, while people 70 and older have accounted for 76% of deaths associated with the virus.
Today’s COVID-19 Weekly Outbreak report shows 96 active COVID-19 outbreaks in senior living communities and congregate living settings, with three or more confirmed cases and one or more COVID-19 related deaths.
There are six new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 2,149, the Oregon Health Authority reported at 12:01 a.m. today.
OHA also reported 466 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. today, bringing the state total to 151,713.
Vaccinations in Oregon
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continues to report COVID-19 vaccine shipments across the country, including in Oregon, are delayed due to severe weather. Winter weather has hampered shipments of Moderna vaccine out of Memphis, Tenn.
Today, OHA reported that 22,663 new doses of COVID-19 vaccinations were added to the state immunization registry. Of this total, 14,414 doses were administered on Feb. 17 and 8,249 were administered on previous days but were entered into the vaccine registry on Feb. 17.
Cumulative daily totals can take several days to finalize because providers have 72 hours to report doses administered and technical challenges have caused many providers to lag in their reporting. OHA has been providing technical support to vaccination sites to improve the timeliness of their data entry into the state’s ALERT Immunization Information System (IIS).
Oregon has now administered a cumulative total of 729,823 first and second doses of COVID-19 vaccines. To date, 922,300 doses of vaccine have been delivered to sites across Oregon.
These data are preliminary and subject to change. OHA's dashboards provide regularly updated vaccination data, and Oregon’s dashboard has been updated today.
In addition to delaying vaccine shipments, severe weather in Oregon has also impacted the ability for vaccine sites to actually administer vaccines. These weather-related issues may cause changes to daily number trends reported by OHA in its updates on the cumulative number of doses administered, the daily number of administered doses and the number of doses delivered to Oregon. OHA remains in regular contact with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for updates on delivery schedules and to ensure Oregon doses are safely delivered to Oregon vaccination sites.
If you are scheduled for a vaccination and have questions about potential delays or disruptions, check with your scheduled vaccine provider for the latest updates.
Cases and deaths
The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported today are in the following counties: Baker (6), Benton (17), Clackamas (31), Clatsop (2), Columbia (6), Coos (8), Crook (9), Curry (4), Deschutes (19), Douglas (25), Harney (1), Hood River (2), Jackson (27), Jefferson (12), Josephine (13), Klamath (6), Lake (3), Lane (41), Lincoln (1), Linn (5), Malheur (3), Marion (46), Morrow (2), Multnomah (66), Polk (13), Tillamook (3), Umatilla (21), Union (2), Wasco (4), Washington (54) and Yamhill (14).
Oregon’s 2,144th COVID-19 death is a 76-year-old man in Deschutes County who tested positive on Feb. 10 and died on Feb. 15 at St. Charles Bend Hospital. He had underlying conditions.
Oregon’s 2,145th COVID-19 death is an 84-year-old man in Deschutes County who tested positive on Feb. 8 and died on Feb. 12 at his residence. He had underlying conditions.
Oregon’s 2,146th COVID-19 death is a 68-year-old man in Marion County who tested positive on Nov. 18 and died on Feb. 14 at Kaiser Permanente Westside Medical Center. He had underlying conditions.
Oregon’s 2,147th COVID-19 death is an 84-year-old man in Josephine County who tested positive on Jan. 25 and died on Feb. 12 at his residence. He had underlying conditions.
Oregon’s 2,148th COVID-19 death is a 72-year-old man in Coos County who tested positive on Jan. 16 and died on Feb. 11 at Oregon Health & Science University Hospital. He had underlying conditions.
Oregon’s 2,149th COVID-19 death is an infant boy in Umatilla County who tested positive on Jan. 17 and died on Jan. 17 at Kadlec Regional Medical Center. He had underlying conditions.
COVID-19 hospitalizations
The number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 across Oregon is 169, which is 21 fewer than yesterday. There are 52 COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit (ICU) beds, which is two fewer than yesterday. The total number of patients in hospital beds may fluctuate between report times. The numbers do not reflect admissions per day, nor the length of hospital stay. Staffing limitations are not captured in this data and may further limit bed capacity. More information about hospital capacity can be found here.
Learn more about COVID-19 vaccinations
To learn more about the COVID-19 vaccine situation in Oregon, visit our webpage (English or Spanish), which has a breakdown of distribution and other information.
Did someone forward this to you? You can subscribe here.
|
