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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Today’s newsletter is a brief update on the latest vaccine news.
We all learned some shocking news today: The extra supply of vaccines the Trump administration promised earlier this week to Oregon (and other states) isn’t coming. The extra federal supply doesn’t exist. Oregon had expected to receive an additional 200,000 doses to speed up vaccinations for seniors and educators.
Frustratingly, this dramatic change in our anticipated vaccine supply has forced the state to change its plan that had been announced earlier in the week to open up vaccinations to Oregonians 65 and older by next Saturday, January 23. The Oregonian has more details here.
This afternoon, Governor Brown held a press conference to provide additional updates on the state’s vaccination efforts. For now, the focus will remain on vaccinating as many Oregonians in the Phase 1a category as possible (Phase 1a is prioritized for health care personnel and first responders). If you are waiting on a second vaccine dose, this news shouldn’t impact that timing.
The state expects to start giving vaccinations to teachers and school staff on January 25, with the goal of helping students get back to in-person learning as soon as possible. The Oregonian has an important story here about the mental and physical toll the pandemic is having on young people.
Assuming the vaccine allocation from the federal government doesn’t change, Oregonians who are 80 and older will be eligible to receive vaccinations starting Monday, February 8. This would be followed by Oregonians who are 75 and older starting Monday, February 15, then 70 and older on Monday, February 22, and 65 and older on Monday, February 29.
Again, this is the tentative schedule if the supply from the federal government keeps up with its current pace. This all depends on getting enough vaccine doses from the federal government.
The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) acknowledged today the ways in which the state’s vaccine distribution effort has fallen short. However, over the last week, OHA data indicates there has been a steady increase in the number of vaccines given each day and that we are regularly reaching the goal of 12,000 vaccinations per day, as the Associated Press reports here. OHA director Pat Allen said today the hope is to get about 75% of people in the Phase 1a category vaccinated by January 30.
The OHA is working with public health and health care providers to create more large scale vaccine locations across the state. This has been done at the Salem Fairgrounds in concert with the National Guard, as the Statesman Journal reports here. The Governor has called in support from the National Guard at a number of sites around the state to increase capacity, including in The Dalles and Salem. And Oregon Public Broadcasting reports here that Kaiser Permanente, Providence, Legacy Health and Oregon Health & Science University are pooling their vaccine doses and staff to launch a large clinic at the Oregon Convention Center.
It’s clear that our vaccine supply will likely not match the demand for months. As the most recent COVID-19 Weekly Report shows, cases are rising again after a likely increase in social gatherings around the holidays. The OHA recorded 8,150 new cases last week, a 3% increase from the previous week. There were 357 Oregonians who were newly hospitalized this week, nearly identical to last week’s 358.
And sadly, 107 Oregonians died in association with COVID-19, which was up from the previous week’s total of 73.
This remains a very fluid situation with very serious consequences. As we navigate the challenges of an unprecedented vaccine rollout, please do all you can to keep each other safe.
- The Oregon Health Authority yesterday announced 1,037 new confirmed cases of coronavirus, bringing the statewide total of new and presumptive cases to 131,258. The OHA also reported 21 more deaths, meaning 1,758 Oregonians have died of the coronavirus. You can click the images below for links to interactive data tables about coronavirus in Oregon.
To read past newsletters, you can go to this link. For up to date information, please check this link to the Oregon Health Authority where regular updates are posted: https://www.oregon.gov/oha/ERD/Pages/News-Releases.aspx
Please email me at Rep.TinaKotek@oregonlegislature.gov if you have specific concerns that have not been addressed by the OHA. Our office will do all we can to help and protect all Oregonians.
Thank you for reading! We will get through this together.
Best,
Tina Kotek
State Representative
House District 44
Speaker of the House
email: Rep.TinaKotek@oregonlegislature.gov I phone: 503-986-1200
address: 900 Court St NE, H-269, Salem, OR 97301
website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/kotek
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