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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
The convening of the 81st Legislative Assembly is just around the corner. The House will convene in-person at 9:00 a.m., Monday, January 11, 2021, on the first day of Organizational Session, for approximately three hours to swear in members, organize, and introduce bills. As the session begins, members and the Chief Clerk’s staff will be the only people allowed in the House chamber including the side aisles and galleries. Credentialed press will be allowed in the north gallery only.
Yesterday, the Speaker and Senate President announced the 2021 Capitol Operations plan (this is specific to addressing the COVID pandemic, and is separate from other physical safety-related security planning). This plan will be the guide for the legislative operations for the session set to begin next week.
Town Hall Meeting Registration Links
Saturday, 1/9 at 11:30am: REGISTER HERE
Monday, 1/11 at 5:30pm: REGISTER HERE
I would like to take a moment to express my gratitude for our congressional delegation in Washington, D.C. My heart goes out to all the legislators who feared for their safety on Wednesday in light of the insurrection at the Capitol.
Governor Brown to deploy National Guard to assist with vaccinations
- Governor Kate Brown said she will deploy the Oregon National Guard to administer COVID-19 vaccines and help the state reach its vaccination goals.
- At a press conference held Friday, she said she will call up the Oregon National Guard to help administer the vaccine this weekend from the state fairgrounds in Salem. Their goal is to vaccinate 250 people an hour.
- Read more about the vaccine rollout below.
Oregon has a plan to ramp up COVID-19 vaccination
Oregon Health Authority Director Patrick Allen and Dr. Dana Hargunani, OHA’s chief medical officer, held a media briefing today to discuss the steps OHA is taking to scale up Oregon’s vaccine program and achieve Governor Brown’s goal of 12,000 COVID-19 vaccinations per day within the next two weeks.
Oregon’s pace of COVID-19 vaccinations is on par with other states, with more than 1.2 percent of the population having been vaccinated as of yesterday.
Director Allen and Dr. Hargunani announced that this week OHA will take the following steps:
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Speed Phase 1A prioritization by simplifying the staging and sequencing among groups.
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Speed the number of doses delivered to nursing home staff and residents by activating Part B of federal pharmacy partnerships. OHA anticipates this change will speed vaccinations to approximately 80,000 staff and residents.
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Speed the number of doses delivered to health care workers and other Phase 1A groups by giving them the option to get vaccinated at retail pharmacies.
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Make more doses available to Phase 1A workers by leveraging every available public health capability at our disposal.
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Speed the number of doses delivered to unaffiliated health care workers, nursing home staff and others by supporting innovative partnerships, such as a collaboration between OHSU and labor union SEIU to launch a pilot vaccination effort.
Oregon is currently in Phase 1A of the vaccination effort. So far, members of Group 1 of Phase 1A are receiving vaccine, which includes staff who work in hospitals, urgent care settings, skilled nursing and memory care facilities (and residents) and tribal health programs, as well as emergency medical service providers and other first responders.
The changes give providers more flexibility to vaccinate people in other groups in Phase 1A, rather than each group getting vaccinated sequentially.
Others who are eligible for Phase 1A vaccinations include people who work in:
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Congregate care sites, such as nursing homes and residential behavioral health programs.
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Outpatient providers who serve specific high-risk groups.
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Home health providers.
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All other outpatient providers.
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Public health programs, and a range of other front-line roles.
According to Director Allen, speeding up the process within Phase 1A will mean that critical workers and vulnerable populations, followed by the general population, will be served sooner.
“That will save more lives and end the pandemic in Oregon sooner, too,” Allen said. “But as we roll out the vaccines, all of us need to keep taking the steps that have saved thousands of lives in Oregon and staved off the worst extremes of the crisis that we’ve seen in other states: Keep wearing your masks, maintain physical distancing, minimize your indoor social get-togethers, stay home if you feel sick, and wash your hands well and often.”
Sequencing for future phases will be determined by the new Vaccine Advisory Committee, which meets for the first time on Thursday. We will share updates from these meetings in the newsletter.
More information can be found on OHA's COVID-19 vaccine webpage (English or Spanish).
Vaccines for Residents in Long-Term Care Facilities
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Oregon is participating in a Federal Pharmacy Partnership Program with CVS, Walgreens and Consonus pharmacy for vaccination of long-term care residents and staff.
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These pharmacy partners are providing on-site vaccination clinics in partnership with long-term care and congregate care settings throughout Oregon.
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The vaccines are being delivered directly to the pharmacies, which are connecting with each facility to set up on-site vaccination clinics.
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Vaccination began in skilled nursing facilities with these pharmacy partners on Dec. 21. Read more about the Federal Pharmacy Partnership Program here: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/long-term-care/pharmacy-partnerships.html
Should people who have recovered from COVID-19 get vaccinated?
We’ve received questions from people who have had COVID-19 and recovered, wondering whether they should still get the vaccine.
Unfortunately, re-infection is possible with COVID-19. Therefore, even if you have already had the virus and recovered, you may still be advised to get a COVID-19 vaccine. According to the CDC, COVID-19 vaccination should be offered to persons regardless of a history of COVID-19 infection, with or without symptoms. They don’t recommend testing to check for prior infection when deciding to get the vaccine. Natural immunity, which is gained from having the infection, varies from person to person. It is still unknown how long natural immunity lasts, though some evidence already indicates that it is not for an extensive period of time.
To learn more about the COVID-19 vaccines, visit OHA’s COVID-19 webpage (English and Spanish).
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National Numbers:
- Confirmed Cases: 21,539,398 (up 279,401 from yesterday)
- Deaths: 364,029 (up 4,180 from yesterday)
These national numbers come from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. You can view their national and state by state data here.
- Oregon Status Report: Oregon now has 118,453 total cases (confirmed and presumptive) of COVID-19.
- Today we have 1,775 new confirmed and presumptive cases, and 7 new deaths.
- A total of 1,575 Oregonians have died from COVID-19.
(previous daily case updates from OHA here)
- Washington County still has one of the highest case counts at 16,902 confirmed cases, including 152 deaths. You can review on-going updates from OHA by clicking on the table below.
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The Oregon Health Authority recently provided a Public Health Indicators Dashboard to enable communities across Oregon to monitor COVID-19 in the state.The dashboard, which will be updated weekly on Thursdays, provides a transparent report that presents complex epidemiological data in an interactive, easy-to-understand way on a state and county level.
Free COVID-19 Testing Event this Saturday
**Pre-Registration is required. Go here to pre-register: https://www.doineedacovid19test.com/
ODOT to assume control of Cornelius Pass Road
Northwest Cornelius Pass Road will transfer to the Oregon Department of Transportation jurisdiction this spring. Portions of the road are currently owned by Multnomah County (between Highway 30 and Northwest Kaiser Road) and Washington County (between Northwest Kaiser Road and Highway 26), but the transfer to the state has been expected for years:
- Once the transfer is finalized, which is expected to be in March, the road will become a state highway, officially signed as Oregon Route 127.
- ODOT will install new route signs along the road, likely soon after the transfer is complete,
- Once the transfer is complete, the road will be subject to ODOT standards for maintenance, signage, illumination, and more. However, Estes said, the department doesn't expect the change in standards "to make much of a difference in what people see and experience compared to today."
- For managing winter weather, ODOT will consider the road at a level of priority below freeways like Interstate 5, meaning it will be plowed after ODOT clears 1,260 lane miles on its top-priority routes. Multnomah and Washington counties currently classify the road as a "primary route" for winter road maintenance.
OEM has put together this list of contacts to help speed up the process of replacing these documents:
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Green cards: Phone (800)-375-5283; Website: www.uscis.gov
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Medicare cards: Phone: (800)-772-1213; (TTY) (800)-325-0778 Website: www.medicare.gov
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Military records Phone: 866-272-6272 Website: www.archives.gov/contact/
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Passport Phone: 877-487-2778; (TTY) 888-874-7793 Website: travel.state.gov
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Social Security card Phone: 800-772-1213; (TTY) 800-325-0778 Website: www.ssa.gov
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U.S. Savings Bonds Phone: 844-284-2676 Website: www.treasurydirect.gov
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U.S. tax returns Phone: 800-829-1040 Website: www.irs.gov
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Birth, death, marriage, domestic partnership, divorce certificates Phone: 888-896-4988 Website: www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/Birthdeathcertificates
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Driver’s license, auto titles and registration, ID cards Phone: 503-945-5000 Website: www.oregon.gov/odot
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SNAP (Oregon Trail Card) Website: www.oregon.gov/DHS/Assistance/Food-Benefits
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State taxes (Oregon Dept. of Revenue) Phone: 503-378-4988 or 800-356-4222 TTY: All relay calls are accepted. Website: www.oregon.gov/dor
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Real estate and property - Contact your county government.
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Credit cards - Contact your credit card company directly.
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Credit reports from Equifax, Experian, TransUnion Phone: 877-322-8228 Website: www.annualcreditreport.com
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Insurance documents - Check with your insurance agent.
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Medical records - Call your doctor or your medical insurance company; medical and prescription records are tracked electronically.
The Governor’s office has put together a Wildfire Resources page that you can access from the Governor’s home page. It has links to many of the most important updates about the status of fires and resources for evacuees. This website will be updated regularly.
Legal Resources: Oregon State Bar’s Lawyer Referral Program, Oregon lawyers, through the Oregon State Bar, are partnering with FEMA and the American Red Cross to provide legal assistance on FEMA claims, contract claims, insurance claims, landlord-tenant matters and more.
The Department of Forestry’s Wildfire Response and Recovery Overview has ongoing updates about firefighting efforts, damage reports, and more.
FEMA Updates: FEMA has provided several different Fact Sheets and resources for accessing benefits, determining eligibility and avoiding scams.
Employers and Employees
Education Links
Hillsboro School District (en inglés y español)
Forest Grove School District (en inglés y español)
Oregon Department of Education
COVID-19 Resources for Oregon Higher Education Partners
Local Government
City of Hillsboro (en inglés, español y más idiomas)
City of Cornelius (en inglés, español y más idiomas)
City of Forest Grove (Personal que habla español disponible en este número: (503) 992-3221)
Washington County
Utilities Assistance
Portland General Electric (en inglés y español)
NW Natural
City of Hillsboro Utility Billing
Comcast
CenturyLink
AT&T
City of Forest Grove
Food and Housing Assistance
Community Action.org
Oregon Food Bank
Meals on Wheels
Yours truly,
 Representative Susan McLain
House District 29
email: Rep.SusanMcLain@oregonlegislature.gov I phone: 503-986-1429
address: 900 Court St NE, H-376, Salem, OR 97301
website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/mclain
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