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March 1, 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.
COVID case numbers have declined further, as have hospitalizations. Reported deaths have risen from 0 to 4, still a very low number.
I’m not sure why, but Sunday’s reported vaccinations were much lower than they’ve been during the last week. If it’s simply a reporting error, we’ll know soon. Nevertheless, our proportion of vaccines administered remains close to 80%, despite a sizeable batch of new doses coming to Oregon yesterday.
In tonight’s newsletter you can read more about Day 1 of the new vaccine notification system for the Portland area. Today was also my first day of eligibility. Amazingly, I wasn’t one of the 750 among the 200,000 registered to receive a text message telling me my number had come up. While waiting, Kiki and I tried the pharmacies, but to no avail. Ah well. Maybe tomorrow . . .
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 197 new COVID cases today. The cumulative number of cases in Oregon since the beginning of the pandemic is 155,787.
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Variant COVID Cases: The total number reported in Oregon remains 10 for the B.1.1.7 (UK) variant and none for the other variants. (However, although 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 20,968 positive tests today. This big, anomalous jump is the result of a one-time shift in reporting methodology. We should see normal figures reported tomorrow. The cumulative total of positive test results since the beginning of the pandemic is now 224,351.
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Total Tests: OHA reported an additional 8,257 tests today. Our cumulative total of reported tests is now 3,748,444.
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Positivity Rate: The test positivity ratio for Oregon is 3.6%. The national ratio today is 3.9%.
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Hospitalization Information:
- Patients Currently with Confirmed COVID-19: 132 (2 fewer than yesterday)
- ICU Patients Confirmed w COVID-19: 27 (1 more than yesterday).
- Available ICU Beds: 193 (26 more than Friday)
- Other Available Beds: 666 (50 more than Friday).
- Confirmed COVID-19 Patients Currently on Ventilators: 11 (4 fewer than Friday).
- Available Ventilators: 796 (10 fewer than Friday).
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Deaths: I’m sorry to report 4 additional COVID deaths today. The total number of COVID deaths in Oregon is now 2,212.
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Vaccinations: As of the end of yesterday, here are the latest numbers:
- New Immunizations Reported Today: 13,794
- 6,169 administered yesterday
- 7,625 administered previously and report received yesterday
- Total First and Second Doses Administered So Far: 986,816
- 514,054 Pfizer doses
- 472,036 Moderna doses
- Total Oregonians vaccinated so far: 629,821
- 351,365 now fully vaccinated with two doses
- To date, 1,241,415 doses of vaccine have been delivered to sites across Oregon. (46,920 more than yesterday)
- 79.5% of these doses have been administered so far. The national average is now 79.8%.
- 15.5% of Oregonians have now been vaccinated.
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Today’s National Numbers:
- Total Tests: 355,718,749 (up 1,224,297 from yesterday).
- Total Cases: 28,399,281 (up 48,092 from yesterday).
- Deaths: 504,488 (up 1,241 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 Quick Updates:
- The latest County Metrics Report has just been released. We see ongoing reductions overall. The three Metro-area counties each show infection rates below 100 per 100K residents, levels that put them out of the danger zone. If this continues, we should see this region move to “Moderate Risk,” which will trigger further easing of restrictions.
- The Oregonian’s Andrew Theen wrote about Day 1 of the new invitation-only system in effect for getting an appointment at the Convention Center. Text messages were sent to 750 lucky individuals today, the first batch of those seniors whose names were randomly selected. (Amazingly, I wasn’t one of them . . .) Read more here.
- For those who find it difficult to wait for a callback for an appointment at the Convention Center, I’ve been encouraging trying one of the pharmacies, whose websites have been functioning well. Well, today we were reminded that no one is perfect. The Walgreen’s site crashed and had errors, and the other pharmacies had no doses. Was that your experience? Sadly, it was mine. Read all about it here.
- We’re seeing a real reduction in testing around the country. Why is that? The reasons are multiple. Here’s a look at this trend from The New York Times and from The Washington Post.
- One dose or two? Opinions remain mixed as to whether we should stick to the 2-dose regimen or go with 1 and get it to more people. Here's Dr. Fauci's take.
- More on last week's 15-minute boycottby the Senate Republicans from OPB’s Dirk Vanderhart. As I mentioned in last night’s newsletter, it appears likely that we will have a quorum on Wednesday and a number of new bills—many of them Chief-Sponsored by Republicans—will be able to be introduced and referred to committees.
From OHA:
Changes to scheduling vaccine appointments via the Vaccine Information Tool (chatbot) go into effect Monday
Portland, OR — To help alleviate the challenges people have faced attempting to schedule a vaccine appointment at the Oregon Convention Center, the Oregon Health Authority and the All4Oregon health system partners will change the process for appointments via the Vaccine Information Tool (chatbot), starting Monday, March 1, 2021.
As of today, adults who are 65 and older will become eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. But adults who are 65 and older, and most people who are eligible for vaccines in Phase 1A in the Portland metro area, will no longer be directed to the chatbot to schedule appointments at the Oregon Convention Center.
The change does not apply to people with mobility issues, who will continue to be able to access appointments at the Portland Airport Red Economy Parking Lot drive-thru clinic through the chatbot. Educators in the Portland metro area and people who live in Marion County also can continue to find appointments through the Vaccine Information Tool.
The change does not impact people who have already scheduled vaccine appointments at the Oregon Convention Center, the Portland Airport or the Legacy Woodburn Health Center.
All Oregonians, including senior adults age 65 and over, can sign up to be notified about vaccination events when they are eligible at the Get Vaccinated Oregon signup tool. The Get Vaccinated Oregon (GVO) signup tool can be found at covidvaccine.oregon.gov.
The new appointment scheduling process for eligible older adults who live in Clackamas, Columbia, Multnomah or Washington counties, will be based on names being pulled from the Get Vaccinated Oregon tool.
On a weekly basis, OHA will use that GVO tool to electronically scramble the names of all eligible older adults in the metro area. OHA will then send a list of names to All4Oregon that matches the number of vaccination appointments available for scheduling.
All4Oregon will contact individuals to schedule their appointment.
Due to limited supply, not everyone who is eligible will be included on the weekly list. All eligible groups who want a vaccine will get a vaccine over the coming months.
All4Oregon is the joint effort of Kaiser Permanente, Legacy Health, OHSU and Providence to collaborate in operating the mass vaccination clinic at the Oregon Convention Center.
As more vaccines become available, vaccine distribution sites will expand to more locations, such as retail pharmacies, outpatient clinics and other sites linked to hospitals and health systems.
The additional vaccine and additional sites will help address the challenges people are experiencing as high demand exceeds the limited supply.
Older adults and anyone who needs help better understanding the scheduling options are encouraged to call 211.
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 197. Here is today’s breakdown by county:
Baker (3)
Clackamas (19)
Columbia (5)
Coos (6)
Deschutes (4)
Douglas (11)
Grant (1)
Hood River (1)
Jackson (12)
Jefferson (2)
Josephine (3)
Klamath (2)
Lane (33)
Lincoln (1)
Linn (2)
Malheur (1)
Marion (20)
Multnomah (16)
Polk (3)
Umatilla (1)
Washington (54)
Yamhill (1)
And the Deaths:
Oregon’s 2,209th COVID-19 death is an 89-year-old man in Josephine County who tested positive on Feb. 22 and died on Feb. 28 at Asante Three Rivers Medical Center.
Oregon’s 2,210th COVID-19 death is a 76-year-old man in Josephine County who tested positive on Feb.12 and died on Feb. 28 at Asante Three Rivers Medical Center.
Oregon’s 2,211th COVID-19 death is a 92-year-old woman in Lane County who tested positive on Feb. 25 and died on Feb. 27 at her residence.
Oregon’s 2,212th COVID-19 death is an 88-year-old man in Multnomah County who tested positive on Feb. 8 and died on Feb. 21 at Providence Portland Medical Center.
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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