February 22nd COVID-19 Update

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Michael Dembrow

February 22, 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.

Today’s COVID case numbers were higher than yesterday’s, but not as much as we might have expected, given that a computer server malfunction caused many of yesterday’s test results to be reported today.  Some of this may be due to the usual lower weekend reporting, but overall it suggests that our declines are continuing. 

I’m happy to report that no COVID deaths were reported today.

Today’s COVID ActNow map shows Oregon again having the lowest COVID rates in the continental U.S.

With respect to COVID vaccinations, today was definitely a mixed bag.  Many vaccines were administered yesterday, and our administration rate is now approaching 90%.  Some of the higher administration rate, unfortunately, is due to the fact that yesterday was another day without additional doses coming from the federal government. (More was slated to come in today.)

Another down side was the uneven nature of today’s rollout of new vaccination appointments.  Within an hour of the expected 9 a.m. release of thousands of new appointments, I was hearing from constituents and newsletter readers expressing their frustration.  Either the site was so barraged by newly-eligible Oregonians aged 70 and above that it caused the site to freeze up or crash for applicants, or the need to register for a Legacy password (we’re actually told that applicants can avoid that step) created an obstacle impossible to overcome.  Within in an hour, the appointments had all been gobbled up. 

For most who were newly eligible to apply, it was a day of frustration.  For some it was a day of near-miraculous success.  Some individuals, who started looking for an appointment before the 9 a.m. release time, found themselves amazingly with appointments as the result of an error.  One constituent, who left his number with 211 this morning, was unexpectedly called back at the end of the day and he and his wife received appointments in two weeks.

The next batch of appointments is scheduled to be released Thursday morning.

Please stay safe, and let me know if you have any questions about information in today’s newsletter.


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TODAY’S CORONAVIRUS AND CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE UPDATE

  • New COVID Cases: OHA reports 324 new COVID cases today.  This count is a combination of positive test results and those who are presumed positive.  It presumably includes results that should have been reported in yesterday’s count but were not as a result of a server error.  The 2-day average is 218 per day, still a very low number. The cumulative number of cases in Oregon since the beginning of the pandemic is 153,134.
  • 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 few weeks.  (However, although Oregon’s testing for the variants is more extensive than in most states, testing for variants remains limited.)
  • Positive Test Results: OHA reports 730 positive tests today, in addition to the 32 from yesterday. The average per day is thus 381. The cumulative total of positive test results since the beginning of the pandemic is now 200,508.
  • Total Tests: OHA reported an additional 21,031 tests today, in addition to the 619 tests from yesterday. That makes our average per day for the two days 10,825.  Our cumulative total of reported tests is now 3,498,165,
  • Positivity Rate: Today’s test positivity ratio for Oregon is 3.5%. The national ratio today is 4.2%.
  • Hospitalization Information:
    • Patients Currently with Confirmed COVID-19: 167 (1 more than yesterday)
    • ICU Patients Confirmed w COVID-19: 47 (3 more than yesterday).
    • Available ICU Beds: 186 (19 more than Friday)
    • Other Available Beds: 676 (115 more than Friday).
    • Confirmed COVID-19 Patients Currently on Ventilators: 21 (2 fewer than Friday).
    • Available Ventilators: 788 (11 fewer than Friday).
  • Deaths: I’m happy to report 0 newly-reported COVID deaths today.  The total number of COVID deaths in Oregon remains at 2,155.
  • Vaccinations: As of the end of yesterday, here are the latest numbers:
    • New Immunizations Reported Today: 18,907
      • 13,790 administered yesterday
      • 5,117 administered previously and report received yesterday
    • Total First and Second Doses Administered So Far: 821,311
      • 437,224 Pfizer doses
      • 383,361 Moderna doses
    • Total Oregonians vaccinated so far: 542,923
      • 269,970 now fully vaccinated with two doses
    • To date, 924,575 doses of vaccine have been delivered to sites across Oregon. (No change from yesterday.)
  • Today’s National Numbers:
    • Total Tests: 345,630,563 (up 1,238,604 from yesterday).
    • Total Cases: 27,932,810 (up 52,530 from yesterday).
    • Deaths: 490,382 (up 1,235 from yesterday).
    • These national numbers come from the COVID Tracking Project. You can visit that site HERE https://covidtracking.com/data/national
  • Additional Quick Updates:
    • The Oregonian’s Aimee Green has a
    • . story about the bumpy rollout of today’s vaccination appointments. True confession: I was one of the legislators that heard many complaints today.
    • Here’s one from OPB.
    • Today’s House Health Care Subcommittee on COVID-19 devoted its agenda to the challenges that seniors are having getting vaccination appointments. You can watch it and find information/testimony here.

 

Coming Up On Wednesday: Next Constituent Zoom

I’ll be holding a constituent zoom this Wednesday, 5:30-7:00.  It’ll be a chance for me to update you on the latest legislative news, including Wednesday morning’s revenue forecast, update you on COVID response, and answer your questions.  You can sign up here

 

Governor Orders Flags to Half-Staff to Acknowledge COVID Deaths

Following on a proclamation by President Biden (available on the White House website, Governor Kate Brown today ordered all flags at Oregon public institutions to be flown at half-staff until sunset, Feb. 26 in memory of the more than 500,000 Americans who have lost their lives due to COVID-19. This includes 2,155 Oregonians. 

(You’ll notice that the number of national COVID deaths reported in this newsletter is somewhat lower.  That’s because the COVID Tracking Project (a partnership between Johns Hopkins and The Atlantic) is more careful and conservative in its reporting of cases. But in either case, this is where we’ll be in a few days.  

 

Coming Up: OHA en Español

OHA en Español will host a Spanish language Facebook Live event on Wednesday, February 24, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. about the COVID-19 vaccine. They’ll share vaccine updates, hear from people who have received the vaccine and have a Q&A exchange. OHA Senior Health Advisor Dr. Emilio DeBess and Director of Sabiduría: Latina/o Psychology Emphasis, Dr. Ruth Zúñiga, PhD, will lead the discussion.  

You can participate in the Facebook Live event at www.facebook.com/ohaespanol. If you can’t make it to the live event, you’ll find a recording of it on that same page following the live session. 

 

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 324.  Yesterday’s number of 111 was unusually low, the result of a server error in reporting electronic lab results. Today’s numbers presumably include those that had not been reported yesterday, so I’ll give the combined 2-day breakdown of cases by county below:

Baker (5)

Benton (11)

Clackamas (29)

Columbia (12)

Coos (27)

Curry (13)

Deschutes (22)

Douglas (35)

Harney (2)

Hood River (1)

Jackson (45)

Jefferson (7)

Josephine (1)

Klamath (1)

Lake (1)

Lane (25)

Lincoln (1)

Linn (3)

Marion (37)

Morrow (1)

Multnomah (91)

Polk (16)

Tillamook (1)

Umatilla (1)

Union (1)

Washington (35)

Yamhill (11)

 

 

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cases 14

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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.


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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,

dembrow signature

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