March 26th COVID-19 Update

March 26, 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.

Our COVID case numbers today are on the high side of where they’ve been for the last month or so, but as you’ll see below, this may be due to a reporting anomaly.  The other COVID metrics reported for Oregon today remain low.

Reported vaccinations, on the other hand, are at an all-time high today, or close to it.  We’re seeing the effects of increasing doses coming into the state, and greater ability to administer them.  As a result, the Governor announced a new, expedited timeline for getting vaccinations to more Oregonians at risk of infection.  OHA fleshed out the announcement in a press conference today, which you can read about below. 

On the down side, we also heard of growing concern about seniors in the more rural parts of the state who are choosing not to be vaccinated. 

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

• New COVID Cases: OHA reports 505 new COVID cases today.  The cumulative number of cases in Oregon since the beginning of the pandemic is 163,295.
• Variant COVID Cases: OHA reports one additional case of the “U.K.” variant in Oregon. The reported number of the B.1.1.7 (UK) variant in Oregon is now at 18, and the P.1 (Brazilian) variant is still at 1.  There are still 0 reported cases of the other variants.
• Positive Test Results: OHA reported 781 positive tests today. The cumulative total of positive test results since the beginning of the pandemic is now 236,692.
• Total Tests: OHA reported an additional 20,025 tests today. Our cumulative total of reported tests is now 4,132,028.
• Positivity Rate: The test positivity ratio for Oregon today is 3.9%.
• Hospitalization Information:
  • Patients Currently with Confirmed COVID-19: 108 (same as yesterday)
  • ICU Patients Confirmed w COVID-19: 18 (1 more than yesterday).
  • Available ICU Beds: 184 (same as yesterday)
  • Other Available Beds: 739 (48 more than yesterday).
  • Confirmed COVID-19 Patients Currently on Ventilators: 8 (1 fewer than yesterday).
  • Available Ventilators: 795 (4 fewer than yesterday).
• Deaths: I’m sorry to report 3 additional COVID deaths today.  The total number of COVID deaths in Oregon is now at 2,373.
• Vaccinations:
  • As of the end of yesterday, here are the latest numbers:
    • New Immunizations Reported Today: 41,716
      • 25,541 were conducted yesterday
      • 16,175 were conducted earlier, but the reports were received yesterday (there can potentially be a three-day window for reporting)
    • Total First and Second Doses Administered So Far: 1,655,714
      • 826,175 Pfizer doses
      • 792,856 Moderna doses
      • 36,674 Johnson & Johnson doses
    • Total Oregonians vaccinated so far: 1,070,716
      • 614,865 now fully vaccinated with two doses
    • To date, 2,086,895 doses of vaccine have been delivered to sites across Oregon (an additional 18,140 doses).
      • 79.3% of these doses have been administered so far. The national average is now 77.0%. 
      • 26.0% of Oregonians have now been vaccinated.
      • 14.9% of Oregonians have now been fully vaccinated.
      • For more details, including the demographics of those receiving the vaccine, here is a link to more information about the vaccine and vaccination protocols.
      • Here is the daily vaccination tracker from Bloomberg.
      • And here is a link to each county's vaccination website. It provides access information for those in Category 1a and 1b.

• Additional Quick Updates:
  • Here’s  the Oregonian's reporting on the new, expedited timeline for vaccine distribution in Oregon. 
  • As someone who lives between Klickitat and Siskiyou Streets in Portland, I was proud to be a co-Chief Sponsor of HCR 30, a resolution celebrating the accomplishments of Beverly Cleary as she was about to turn a remarkable 105 years old.  We just learned today of her passing, so the resolution will need to be amended slightly to recognize the end of her life.  It will be an honor to carry the resolution on the Senate floor.  Here’s herobituary from the New York Times.

OHA Announces Expedited Vaccine Eligibility

OHA announced today that as a result of increased supply, Oregon's vaccine eligibility timeline is being moved up. On April 5, Group 7 will be eligible for vaccination. That includes frontline workers, people ages 16 to 44 with underlying conditions and people living in multigenerational homes. (See the linked infographic for definitions of frontline workers and underlying conditions.)

In more good news, the general population will still become eligible by May 1, but some counties may move that date up to April 26 if they confirm they are ready to move forward.

Here are more highlights from today’s announcement:  

• OHA expects to have enough supplies to meet the new timeline.  
• We expect 230,000 doses to come into Oregon the first week of April, rising to 250,000 by the third week of April.
• Approximately eight out of 10 people who are eligible for the vaccine in Oregon have received at least one vaccination and 25% of all people in Oregon have gotten at least one shot. The national average is 26%.  
• More than two-thirds of Oregon’s seniors (65 and older) have now received at least their first vaccination. We remain on track to hit our target of 70% by the end of this month.
• There is growing concern about seniors in the more rural counties who are choosing not to be vaccinated. 
• Cases and hospitalizations continue to drop. Our rolling seven-day case average of new cases as of yesterday was 315. That’s a decline of 73% since Jan. 1 and 52% since the beginning of February. Among U.S. states, Oregon is fourth lowest in cumulative daily cases per 100,000 people. 
• Twenty-eight Oregon counties are now considered low risk or moderate risk.
• Oregon’s testing capacity exceeds the demand for testing. Since COVID-19 cases are decreasing, the need for testing has also decreased. And test positivity has decreased to a positivity rate of 2.2% as of March 14.  
• The Oregon State Medical Laboratory will begin analyzing COVID tests for presence of COVID variants on March 29, joining laboratories at University of Oregon, Oregon State University, and OHSU. This is projected to greatly increase the state’s ability to detect the presence of these dangerous, more infectious versions of the virus.

To learn more about all of the above, see the slides and the recording from today’s briefing. 

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 505. Nearly half of today’s reported cases are from the Portland Tri-County area.  Here is today’s breakdown by county:

Note from OHA: Due to a delay in laboratory reporting, OHA received a large quantity of approximately 5,800 electronic laboratory reports (ELRs) on March 25 for Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties. The reports are from Jan. 20, 2021, through March 23, 2021. As a result, daily ELR totals and case counts are higher for March 25 than anticipated for these three counties.

Baker (3)

Benton (14)

Clackamas (74)

Clatsop (5)

Columbia (9)

Coos (15)

Crook (2)

Deschutes (26)

Douglas (11)

Grant (4)

Harney (2)

Hood River (1)

Jackson (30)

Jefferson (2)

Josephine (16)

Klamath (6)

Lane (25)

Lincoln (2)

Linn (11)

Malheur (1)

Marion (27)

Multnomah (108)

Polk (14)

Tillamook (8)

Umatilla (7)

Union (1)

Wallowa (1)

Wasco (1)

Washington (67)

Yamhill (10)

And the Deaths:

Note from OHA: Additional information is now known about Oregon’s 2,369th death, a 56-year-old woman in Coos County. She died on March 21.

Oregon’s 2,371st COVID-19 death is a 74-year-old woman in Coos County who died on March 1 at her residence.

Oregon’s 2,372nd COVID-19 death is an 81-year-old man in Lane County who tested positive on March 10 and died on March 24 at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center.

Oregon’s 2,373rd COVID-19 death is a 76-year-old man in Douglas County who tested positive on March 6 and died on March 24 at Mercy 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:

• Multnomah County has a status report on reopening.
• You can view the reopening status of all 36 counties here.
• Here is the OHA’s coronavirus page, with links to a number of resources. 
• Oregon's Office of Emergency Management now has a website for information about COVID-19.
• Multnomah County has an excellent website with lots of really important advice and guidance.
• Here’s one from the Governor’s Office.
• The Employment Department has put together a webpage with Q&A’s on a number of employment issues related to COVID-19 (e.g., eligibility for Unemployment Insurance benefits).
• The Oregon Education Department has a site for COVID-19 updates.
• The Department of Corrections has a COVID tracking website.

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