Sept. 23, 2021
Oregon is ready to make booster shots available to people who are eligible to receive one, if the Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup approves a federal recommendation to make booster shots of the Pfizer vaccine available to seniors and people in high-risk categories.
While Oregon currently has an adequate supply of Pfizer vaccines, provider capacity could mean that booster shots may not be available on-demand in some communities.
Medical evidence shows that all three COVID-19 vaccines are safe and highly effective at preventing severe COVID-19 illness and death. The recommended Pfizer booster maintains the Pfizer vaccine’s long-term effectiveness, especially for older adults.
Earlier today, a panel of medical and public health experts convened by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended a booster dose of the Pfizer vaccine for people aged 65 and older, as well as residents of long-term care facilities and people 18 and older who have certain underlying conditions – all of whom had received their second dose of the vaccine at least 6 months ago.
The Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup convenes later today to consider the federal recommendations.
Rain Jordan describes herself as a pragmatic and “safety-first” person, so it’s not surprising that she has continued to take COVID-19 precautions, including wearing a mask when appropriate, since getting vaccinated early in the summer.
A former college professor, Rain shares that having auto-immune risk factors, previous adverse reactions to vaccines and some skepticism about the vaccine recommendation process contributed to her having “hesitated for a long time” before getting vaccinated.
“I believe in doing the safest thing and there came a point when it was clear that COVID was getting worse with no end in reasonable sight,” says Rain. “I needed to get the vaccine to best ensure I’d be here for those who depend on me.”
A certified canine behavior consultant and professional dog trainer, with expertise working with traumatized and fearful rescue dogs, Rain says the most meaningful part about being fully vaccinated is resuming “hands-on sessions with pups and guardians” after working Zoom-only for more than a year from her home in a “semi-rural suburban-feeling” town on Oregon’s north coast.
After doing research, lots of reading and listening to how others reacted to getting their shots, Rain felt confident about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine and reports experiencing minor side effects. Even so, she does empathize with others who might “have difficulty getting on board” because the information can be overwhelming and confusing.
Rain ultimately trusted the science and while she didn’t necessarily celebrate after becoming fully vaccinated, she did breathe “a sigh of relief for the increased protection.” That is certainly pragmatic.
Vaccines are safe and the most effective way to protect us against serious illness and hospitalizations due to COVID-19. Find more information and a vaccine site near you today by visiting our Find a COVID-19 Vaccine in Oregon web page.
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Today, OHA published more features to the dashboard report of pediatric COVID-19 case data in Oregon. This dashboard is published weekly on Thursdays with the most recent full week’s (Sun. through Sat.) data.
Here are some key findings:
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In addition to reporting the cumulative percent of cases that are pediatric, the dashboard now shows these data by week. People under age 18 were disproportionately represented in the cases with illness onset last week (9/12/2021 – 9/18/2021).
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Pediatric case rates are highest among people ages 12-17 at 283.2 cases per 100,000, followed closely by people ages 6-11 at 259.2 cases per 100,000.
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In addition to reporting cumulative case rates by race or ethnicity, the dashboard now shows these data by week. This applies to weeks with 10 or more cases by race or ethnicity. Weekly inequities across case rates have decreased, but continue to persist.
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The pediatric population estimates by race and ethnicity have been updated using data from the 2019 Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) from the American Community Survey. This change provides data that are more precise. As a result, case rate calculations by race and ethnicity have been updated.
“OHA understands children in communities of color have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 and have experienced more cases than White children. We are working to address this by partnering with community organizations to hold testing and vaccine webinars and events across the state, and providing information and services in a variety of languages,” said Dr. Bukhosi Dube, senior health advisor, OHA. “While we are pleased the gap is closing, we continue to expand our work to ensure all those living in Oregon have access to vital vaccines and health care.”
OHA’s most recent update on COVID-19 breakthrough cases, released today, found that 76.8% of the 11,994 reported COVID-19 cases between Sept. 12 through Sept. 18 occurred in people who were unvaccinated.
There were 2,778 breakthrough cases, accounting for 23.2% of all cases.
The number of vaccine breakthrough cases identified in Oregon remains very small when compared to the more than 2.71 million Oregonians who have completed a COVID-19 vaccination series.
We want to keep you informed about COVID-19 in Oregon. Data are provisional and change frequently.
• Samples for 440,534 tests have been reported positive.
• Samples for 6,364,229 tests have been reported negative.
COVID-19 hospitalizations
The number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 across Oregon is 885, which is 54 fewer than yesterday. There are 263 COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit (ICU) beds, which is seven fewer than yesterday.
There are 56 available adult ICU beds out of 642 total (9% availability) and 381 available adult non-ICU beds out of 4,234 (9% availability).
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.
Note: Please do not visit an emergency department for COVID-19 testing, unless you require emergency care for your symptoms.
Emergency departments in Oregon are under significant strain responding to the current surge in COVID-19. You can find a test here.
If you have a medical condition that doesn’t require emergency care, contact your provider. An urgent care center may also help you get the care you need and will save emergency departments from added strain.
Today, OHA reported that 7,964 new doses of COVID-19 vaccinations were added to the state immunization registry on Sept. 22. Of this total, 3,924 were administered on Sept. 22: 1,612 were initial doses, 1,762 were second doses and 505 were third doses. The remaining 4,040 were administered on previous days but were entered into the vaccine registry on Sept. 22.
The seven-day running average is now 7,713 doses per day.
Oregon has now administered 2,937,158 doses of Pfizer Comirnaty, 1,893,550 doses of Moderna and 212,116 doses of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines.
As of today, 2,717,918 people have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 2,483,452 people have completed a COVID-19 vaccine series.
These data are preliminary and subject to change.
Updated vaccination data are provided on Oregon’s COVID-19 data dashboards and have been updated today.
Cases and COVID-19 deaths
There are 12 new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 3,661, the Oregon Health Authority reported at 12:01 a.m. today.
Oregon Health Authority reported 1,836 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. today, bringing the state total to 318,914.
The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported today are in the following counties: Baker (9), Benton (22), Clackamas (133), Clatsop (18), Columbia (18), Coos (66), Crook (20), Curry (2), Deschutes (185), Douglas (67), Gilliam (2), Grant (4), Harney (11), Hood River (10), Jackson (90), Jefferson (39), Josephine (34), Klamath (49), Lake (11), Lane (141), Lincoln (8), Linn (65), Malheur (26), Marion (166), Morrow (7), Multnomah (231), Polk (48), Sherman (4), Tillamook (4), Umatilla (105), Union (13), Wallowa (11), Wasco (15), Washington (148) and Yamhill (54).
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.
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