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February 15, 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—especially those facing particular challenges with power outages and other weather-related problems.
Today’s COVID case count is the lowest it’s been since September, and we again had zero deaths reported. Before you indulge in too much joy, however, please remember that like yesterday’s low case count, this is likely the result of inadequate testing and reporting due to weather (as well as weekend/holiday disruptions in reporting). The same may well be seen in tomorrow’s report. We should have a clearer picture of where we are in a few days.
Not surprisingly, the number of vaccinations reported today is very low, the kinds of numbers we were seeing a month ago. Again, this needs to be treated as a weather-related anomaly. Tomorrow’s should be higher, and the following day higher still. Weather-related disruptions are being seen across the nation.
Oregonians 75 years and older became eligible to make vaccination appointments today, and the plan was to open some thousands of appointments to this group this morning. I haven’t heard if the weather and power outages created problems for those attempting to sign up. Remember, if you don’t have internet access but your phone is working, calling 211 is a good option.
Again, I appreciate hearing from people about their experiences with the various systems. I heard from many of you about your success with the initial rollout of the pharmacy appointments, which is very promising. However, for now they are not getting many doses from the federal government (limited to 100 per store per week). We expect those allocations to increase over time, so keep trying. For many, that will be a convenient option. For those living in the Portland area and who have problems with mobility, the large PDX airport site is a drive-through site, so you never need to get out of your car. That’s a great option for those who do have transportation available to them.
If you haven’t done so yet, your should sign up for Get Vaccinated Oregon notifications. Just go to getvaccinated.oregon.gov and click on “Check Eligibility” if it’s your first time. You’ll get notifications by email or text about when you’re eligible and how to make an appointment. You can also go to the OHA website (https://covidvaccine.oregon.gov/) and use the vaccine tool that will walk you through the appointment process. It can be frustrating if you’re not yet eligible (because obviously you want an appointment ASAP, but they’re not making them in advance of eligibility), but it’s pretty straightforward if you are eligible.
Again, best of luck getting through this unusual weather, the downed trees, and the downed power lines. If you’re able to read this newsletter, hopefully the worst is now behind you.
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 184 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 150,464.
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Variant COVID Cases: OHA continues to report a total of 4 Oregonians who have tested positive for the B.117. (UK) variant and none of the other variants. We haven’t seen any new cases in the last two weeks. (However, though Oregon’s testing for the variants is more extensive than in most states, testing for variants remains limited.)
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Positive Test Results: OHA reports 185 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 197,534.
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Total Tests: OHA reported an additional 4,926 tests today. Our cumulative total of reported tests is now 3,411,860.
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Positivity Rate: Today’s test positivity ratio for Oregon is 3.8%. The national ratio today is 4.9%.
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Hospitalization Information: The first two items were reported by OHA today. The remainder have not been changed since Friday, since today is a holiday.
- Patients Currently with Confirmed COVID-19: 210 (3 fewer than yesterday)
- ICU Patients Confirmed w COVID-19: 53 (1 more than yesterday).
- Available ICU Beds: 165 (13 more than yesterday)
- Other Available Beds: 673 (90 more than yesterday).
- Confirmed COVID-19 Patients Currently on Ventilators: 27 (2 more than yesterday).
- Available Ventilators: 813 (8 more than yesterday).
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Deaths: I’m pleased to report 0 newly-reported COVID deaths. The total number of COVID deaths in Oregon remains at 2,137.
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Vaccinations: As of the end of yesterday, here are the latest numbers:
- New Immunizations Reported Today: 6,693
- 3,650 administered yesterday
- 3,043 administered previously and report received yesterday
- Total First and Second Doses Administered So Far: 683,887
- 364,336 Pfizer doses
- 318,904 Moderna doses
- Total Oregonians vaccinated so far: 483,090
- 611 now fully vaccinated with two doses
- To date, 885,250 doses of vaccine have been delivered to sites across Oregon.
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Today’s National Numbers:
- Total Tests: 336,219,944 (up 1,133,232 from yesterday).
- Total Cases: 27,484,573 (up 55,077 from yesterday).
- Deaths: 476,906 (up 1,078 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:
- Here’s an update on today's weather-related vaccination slowdown from the Oregonian.
- I have mixed feelings about providing this link to a Washington Post article from their Technology columnist, providing some tips about navigating COVID vaccination appointment websites. I know that too many people are obsessing over getting appointments, including many who are not yet eligible. Still, there is useful advice here, including precautions regarding potential scammers.
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 184. Two-thirds of today’s reported cases were again from counties outside the Portland Tri-County region. Here is the breakdown of cases by county today:
Benton (7)
Clackamas (7)
Columbia (1)
Crook (1)
Curry (3)
Deschutes (24)
Douglas (13)
Harney (4)
Jackson (6)
Jefferson (4)
Josephine (4)
Klamath (1)
Lake (5)
Lane (26)
Linn (1)
Malheur (1)
Marion (6)
Multnomah (23)
Polk (3)
Umatilla (3)
Union (5)
Washington (30)
Yamhill (6)
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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