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February 3, 2021
Friends and Neighbors,
I hope that you and your loved ones are doing well, staying healthy, and looking out for your neighbors and friends in these difficult times.
The newly-released COVID Weekly Report shows that our COVID numbers have increased slightly over the last week, but a broader view shows that they appear have stabilized at the current lower plateau. That’s good. You’ll find more details below.
Vaccinations continue to be administered at a good rate. We are again the leading state in the West for deploying our vaccines right now.
We learned today that the Governor has decided not to appeal the decision by the federal Magistrate that the state must begin vaccinating adults in custody as soon as possible. In a legislative hearing today. we learned that vaccinations will begin next week, starting with the most medically vulnerable. It will take several weeks to get to the 14,000 individuals who are living in close custody. Here's an Oregonian article that provides more detail.
I know that some would prefer that the Governor had sought to overturn the judge’s decision, since it means that adjudicated offenders will get the vaccine before most seniors. However, I believe that the judge’s reasoning was sound. Where the infection rate for the population as a whole is 3.3%, for AICs it’s 28%. Death rates are similarly much higher for AICs, even when compared to seniors. It’s even higher than those living in nursing homes, who were included in the first wave of vaccines. I’ve heard from the families of many AICs, who feel as if their family member is now living under a death sentence (whereas the number of those who are actually on death row is extremely small).
It’s also useful to remember that the number of AICs now eligible for vaccination is less than a day’s worth of vaccinations.
Please stay safe, and let me know if you have any questions about information in today’s newsletter.
 TODAY’S CORONAVIRUS AND CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE UPDATE
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New COVID Cases: OHA reports 649 new COVID cases today. This count is a combination of positive test results and those who are presumed positive. The cumulative number of cases in Oregon since the beginning of the pandemic is 144,605.
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Positive Test Results: OHA reports 575 positive tests today. (Individuals may have had multiple tests come back positive, and each is now counted separately.) The cumulative total of positive test results since the beginning of the pandemic is now 191,090.
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Total Tests: OHA reported an additional 15,079 tests today. Our cumulative total of reported tests is now 3,233,826.
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Positivity Rate: Today’s test positivity ratio for Oregon is 3.8%. The national ratio today is 8.1%.
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Hospitalization Information:
- Patients Currently with Confirmed COVID-19: 266 (4 more than yesterday)
- Available ICU Beds: 153 (2 fewer than yesterday)
- Other Available Beds: 543 (46 fewer than yesterday).
- ICU Patients Confirmed w COVID-19: 63 (2 more than yesterday).
- Confirmed COVID-19 Patients Currently on Ventilators: 29 (3 fewer than yesterday).
- Available Ventilators: 785 (8 more than yesterday).
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Deaths: I’m sorry to report 10 COVID deaths. You’ll find more information about those we’ve lost recently further down in the newsletter. The total number of COVID deaths in Oregon is now 1,991.
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Vaccinations: As of the end of yesterday, here are the latest numbers:
- New Immunizations Reported Today: 17,720
- 12,173 administered yesterday
- 5,547 administered previously and report received yesterday
- Total First and Second Doses Administered So Far: 471,966.
- 259,225 Pfizer doses
- 211,969 Moderna doses
- Total Oregonians vaccinated so far: 369,693.
- 96,876 now fully vaccinated with two doses
- To date, 706,575 doses of vaccine have been delivered to sites across Oregon.
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Today’s National Numbers:
- Total Tests: 316,926,482 (up 1,442,998 from yesterday).
- Total Cases: 26,331,722 (up 116,960 from yesterday).
- Deaths: 440,922 (up 3,685 from yesterday).
- These national numbers come from the COVID Tracking Project. You can visit that site HERE https://covidtracking.com/data/national
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Additional Brief Updates:
- The Atlantic has an interesting story about decline in reported tests. As you’ll see, there are several reasons for this trend--some good, some not.
- I’m not sure I should be sharing this other article from The Atlantic. It focuses on the side-effects of the second doses of the COVID vaccines, which are often more noticeable (though short-lived) than the first. This article shows why that’s actually a good thing. You can check it out here.
- This NY Times article discusses the recent recommendation from the CDC suggesting that schools can be reopened safely if appropriate safeguards are taken. It references a just-released study that appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)
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A new paper appearing in Science discusses the role that different age groups play in the spread of COVID. You won’t be surprised to learn that the biggest spreaders are those in the 20-49 age group.
Weekly COVID Report Released, Shows Slight Increases
Although we continue to see much lower COVID metrics than we did a few weeks ago, OHA’s COVID-19 Weekly Data Report, released today, actually shows an increase in daily cases, hospitalizations and deaths over the previous week. Here are some key findings:
- OHA reported 4,786 new daily cases during the week of Monday, Jan. 25 through Sunday, Jan. 31, a 16% increase from the previous week.
- COVID-19 related hospitalizations also increased from 229 to 251 — an average of 36 hospitalizations per day. That represents 3 additional hospitalizations per day last week.
- COVID-19 related deaths increased as well, but only slightly, from 74 to 76.
- There were 119,390 COVID-19 tests administered for the week of Jan. 24 through Jan. 30, which is slightly more than the previous week. The percentage of positive tests increased slightly, from 5.1% to 5.4%.
- Of the 143,373 cases reported in Oregon since the start of the pandemic, 1,958 have died—a case-fatality rate of 1.4%. However, the fatality rate is much higher for older Oregonians—nearly 19% for those 80 and older.
- People age 20 to 49 have accounted for 52% of COVID-19 cases, while people 70 and older have accounted for 77% of deaths associated with the virus.
Starting with this week’s report, OHA is producing a chart showing ratios of cases, hospitalizations and deaths by race and ethnicity. This allows us to see how much more prevalent and serious COVID is among communities of color. This was something that in the past I was calculating for you, a fairly time-consuming process, so I’m pleased that they’re doing this. They’re also able to adjust for age, which is useful.
 Again, disparities among age-adjusted rates are evident when looking at Latinx, Black and American Indian/Alaska Native groups and especially the Pacific Islander/Native Hawaiian communities.
Today’s COVID-19 Weekly Outbreak Report shows a dramatic reduction in new COVID cases and deaths in congregate care settings. We saw 346 new cases (down from 576) and 33 deaths (down from 87) in congregate care last week. It may be that the early vaccines for the 1a population is making a difference.
In the Outbreak Report you’ll also find outbreak information for workplaces, childcare centers, and K-12 schools.
A Message from OHA Regarding Vaccines:
Next week, OHA will launch a new tool that will allow people to determine if they are eligible for a vaccine and register to get email alerts or text notifications about vaccine events in their area. The tool will be open to all Oregonians and information will be available in 11 languages. We will provide information about how to access the tool in Coronavirus Update after it goes live. In the meantime, Oregonians can:
OHA Now Providing Daily Updates On New Cases of Variant Strains:
As you can see in the following dashboard, OHA is now tracking and reporting the number of newly reported COVID cases with the new, more contagious variant strains. You’ll find it at the bottom of the table:
Where Are Today’s New Cases?
If we put together the positive test results and new “presumptive cases reported today, the overall number of new cases reported is 649. Three-fourths of today’s cases are from outside the Portland Tri-County region. Here is the breakdown of cases by county today:
Baker (5)
Benton (32)
Clackamas (40)
Clatsop (5)
Columbia (1)
Coos (16)
Crook (7)
Curry (1)
Deschutes (20)
Douglas (19)
Harney (4)
Hood River (1)
Jackson (41)
Jefferson (7)
Josephine (22)
Klamath (4)
Lake (2)
Lane (91)
Lincoln (8)
Linn (21)
Malheur (5)
Marion (66)
Morrow (1)
Multnomah (57)
Polk (26)
Umatilla (31)
Union (7)
Wallowa (3)
Wasco (4)
Washington (62)
Yamhill (40)
And the Deaths:
The first 23 of those listed below are from yesterday, and the final ten are from today’s report.
Oregon’s 1,959th COVID-19 death is an 87-year-old man in Clackamas County who tested positive on Jan. 22 and died on Jan. 30 his residence.
Oregon’s 1,960th COVID-19 death is a 96-year-old woman in Clackamas County who tested positive on Jan. 21 and died on Jan. 29 her residence.
Oregon’s 1,961st COVID-19 death is a 95-year-old woman in Clackamas County who tested positive on Jan. 18 and died on Jan. 30 her residence.
Oregon’s 1,962nd COVID-19 death is a 61-year-old man in Clackamas County who tested positive on Jan. 1 and died on Jan. 19 at his residence.
Oregon’s ,1963rd COVID-19 death is a 96-year-old man in Clackamas County who tested positive on Dec. 31 and died on Jan. 11 at his residence.
Oregon’s 1,964th COVID-19 death is an 85-year-old woman in Clackamas County who tested positive on Dec. 28 and died on Jan. 11 at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center.
Oregon’s 1,965th COVID-19 death is a 90-year-old woman in Hood River County who tested positive on Jan. 21 and died on Jan. 31 at her residence.
Oregon’s 1,966th COVID-19 death is an 87-year-old woman in Columbia County who tested positive on Dec. 15 and died on Jan. 8 at Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center.
Oregon’s 1,967th COVID-19 death is a 61-year-old woman in Lane County who tested positive on Dec. 10 and died on Jan. 25 at her residence. She had underlying conditions.
Oregon’s 1,968th COVID-19 death is a 70-year-old man in Jackson County who tested positive on Jan. 15 and died on Jan. 30 at Providence Medford Medical Center.
Oregon’s 1,969th COVID-19 death is a 66-year-old man in Jackson County who tested positive on Dec. 28 and died on Jan. 28 at Asante Three Rivers Medical Center.
Oregon’s 1,970th COVID-19 death is a 64-year-old man in Marion County who died on Jan. 30 at Santiam Hospital.
Oregon’s 1,971st COVID-19 death is a 62-year-old man in Marion County who tested positive on Jan. 21 and died on February 1 at Salem Hospital.
Oregon’s 1,972nd COVID-19 death is a 68-year-old woman in Marion County who tested positive on Dec. 21 and died on Jan. 26 at Salem Hospital.
Oregon’s 1,973rd COVID-19 death is a 79-year-old man in Marion County who tested positive on Dec. 7 and died on Jan. 29 at his residence.
Oregon’s 1,974th COVID-19 death is a 58-year-old man in Morrow County who tested positive on Jan. 30 and died on February 1 at Good Shepherd Community Hospital.
Oregon’s 1,975th COVID-19 death is an 83-year-old man in Multnomah County who tested positive on Nov. 23 and died on Jan. 9 at his residence.
Oregon’s 1,976th COVID-19 death is a 66-year-old man in Multnomah County who tested positive on Nov. 13 and died on Dec. 9 at Providence Portland Medical Center.
Oregon’s 1,977th COVID-19 death is an 87-year-old man in Multnomah County who tested positive on Dec. 5 and died on Dec. 31 at his residence.
Oregon’s 1,978th COVID-19 death is a 73-year-old woman in Multnomah County who tested positive on Dec. 22 and died on Jan. 24 at her residence.
Oregon’s 1,979th COVID-19 death is a 95-year-old woman in Multnomah County who tested positive on Jan. 8 and died on Jan. 31 at her residence.
Oregon’s 1,980th COVID-19 death is an 81-year-old woman in Multnomah County who tested positive on Jan. 27 and died on Jan. 30.
Oregon’s 1,981st COVID-19 death is a 69-year-old woman in Yamhill County who tested positive on Jan. 21 and died on Jan. 26 at Willamette Valley Medical Center.
Oregon’s 1,982nd COVID-19 death is a 59-year-old man in Baker County who tested positive on Feb. 1 and died on Feb. 1 at St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center.
Oregon’s 1,983rd COVID-19 death is a 99-year-old woman in Clackamas County who tested positive on Jan. 26 and died on Jan. 24 at her residence.
Oregon’s 1,984th COVID-19 death is a 64-year-old woman in Clackamas County who tested positive on Jan. 24 and died on Jan. 25 at her residence.
Oregon’s 1,985th COVID-19 death is a 71-year-old woman in Deschutes County who tested positive on Jan. 20 and died on Jan. 28 at her residence.
Oregon’s 1,986th COVID-19 death is a 94-year-old woman in Jackson County who tested positive on Jan. 4 and died on Jan. 31 at her residence.
Oregon’s 1,987th COVID-19 death is an 86-year-old man in Marion County who tested positive on Jan. 25 and died on Jan. 31 at his residence.
Oregon’s 1,988th COVID-19 death is a 65-year-old man in Umatilla County who tested positive on Jan. 11 and died on Jan. 26 at his residence.
Oregon’s 1,989th COVID-19 death is an 81-year-old woman in Multnomah County who tested positive on Nov. 29 and died on Jan. 2 at her residence.
Oregon’s 1,990th COVID-19 death is a 72-year-old man in Umatilla County who tested positive on Jan. 16 and died on Jan. 29 at his residence.
Oregon’s 1,991st COVID-19 death is a 98-year-old woman in Yamhill County who tested positive on Jan. 21 and died on Jan. 30. Location of death is being confirmed.
Want to See Past Newsletters?
If there was COVID-related information in a past newsletter that you want to go back to, but find you’ve deleted it, you can always go to my legislative website (senatordembrow.com), click on “News and Information,” and you’ll find them all there. Also, if someone forwarded you this newsletter and you’d like to get it directly, you can sign up for it there.
AND FINALLY,
Here again are some resources that you will find useful:
If the above links are not providing you with answers to your questions or directing you to the help that you need, please consider me and my office to be a resource. We’ll do our best to assist you or steer you in the right direction.
Best,
 Senator Michael Dembrow
District 23
email: Sen.MichaelDembrow@oregonlegislature.gov
web: www.senatordembrow.com
phone: 503-281-0608
mail: 900 Court St NE, S-407, Salem, OR, 97301
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