April 13th COVID-19 Update

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Michael Dembrow

April 13, 2021

Dear Neighbors and Friends,

It’s overall a difficult day for us on the COVID front.  The disease is surging across the nation, and Oregon too is seeing its COVID case numbers and hospitalizations on the increase.  We also learned today of a decision to put a temporary pause to the use of the increasingly popular one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.  You can read much more about that further down in the newsletter.

As I cautioned in last night’s newsletter, yesterday’s improved metrics were probably simply a function of lower reporting over the weekend.  We’re unfortunately back at the level where we’ve been for the last few weeks.

Five COVID deaths were reported today, but you’ll notice that most of them were again from weeks or months ago.  Only two occurred in the last week or so. 

Meanwhile, turning to the Legislative front, there were no Senate floor sessions today, while the House was in session in the morning and in the evening.  Total number of bills voted on:  6.  Again, none of those was particularly controversial, yet were subjected to full reading.

Our House and Senate committees, on the other hand, were extremely busy today, finishing up their last round of first-chamber bills before the deadline that expires at midnight.  Many good bills were moved on to the next level, while others met their demise for this session.  I'll try to provide a recap for you sometime soon.

We did receive word today that another person at the Capitol (whether a legislator or staff was not reported) has tested positive for COVID.  That person was last in the Capitol building on April 9, and anyone deemed to have been in close contact with the person has been directly contacted.  I was not, so presumably it’s again likely someone on the House side.

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 567 new COVID cases today.  The cumulative number of cases in Oregon since the beginning of the pandemic is 171,398.
  • Variant COVID Cases: OHA is now producing a Variant Tableau dashboard providing current variant case numbers for the state as a whole and for various parts of the state. 
  • Positive Test Results: OHA reported 569 positive tests today. The cumulative total of positive test results since the beginning of the pandemic is now 247,251.
  • Total Tests: OHA reported an additional 12,170 tests today. Our cumulative total of reported tests is now 4,374,070.
  • Positivity Rate: The test positivity ratio for Oregon today is 4.7%.
  • Hospitalization Information:
    • Patients Currently with Confirmed COVID-19: 197 (20 more than yesterday)
    • ICU Patients Confirmed w COVID-19: 52 (4 more than yesterday).
    • Available ICU Beds: 159 (19 fewer than yesterday)
    • Other Available Beds: 491 (117 fewer than yesterday).
    • Confirmed COVID-19 Patients Currently on Ventilators: 22 (3 more than yesterday).
    • Available Ventilators: 815 (18 fewer than yesterday).
  • Deaths: I’m sorry to report 5 additional COVID deaths today.  The total number of COVID deaths in Oregon is now 2,446.
  • Vaccinations:
    • As of the end of yesterday, here are the latest numbers:
      • New Immunizations Reported Today: 29,935
        • 19,831 were conducted yesterday
        • 10,104 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: 2,316,140
        • 1,194,017 Pfizer doses
        • 1,035,979 Moderna doses
        • 85,143 Johnson & Johnson doses
      • Total Oregonians vaccinated so far: 1,468,627
        • 928,874 now fully vaccinated with two doses
      • To date, 2,887,045 doses of vaccine have been delivered to sites across Oregon. (That’s 102,870 doses more than yesterday, or 114,910 for the week so far.)
  • Additional Brief Updates:
    • The AP has a story about a recent poll showing that 55% of Americans say their financial circumstances are about the same now as a year ago, 30% say their finances have improved, and 15% say they are worse off than before COVID hit.
    • You can read more below about the CDC’s and OHA’s decisions to put a pause to administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. This  story in today's NY Times reports on the legitimate fears among many health professionals that spotlighting a rare potential side effects will put many more at risk.
    • Another wrinkle in the “Vaccination Passport” controversy involves colleges and universities, which have traditionally required vaccinations (except for those who cannot for medical reasons) for students attending their institutions, at least for those living in dorms. Inside Higher Education reports on some of the political whirlpools in which many public institutions now find themselves.

 

Oregon Follows CDC Decision to Pause J&J Vaccines

We learned this morning that the CDC’s vaccine reporting service, the national Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) has turned up cases of adverse effects from the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. 

Six women ages 18 to 48 experienced a rare and severe blood clot known as Cerebral Venous Sinus Thombosis within one to three weeks of getting a Johnson & Johnson vaccination. As far as we know right now, this is an extremely rare event, given that nearly 7 million doses of this vaccine have been administered.  Still, out of an abundance of caution, the CDC and FDA issued a recommendation this morning to all states that administration of the J&J vaccine be temporarily halted as investigations are pursued into whether there was an actual causal relationship between the vaccine and the condition.

You can read more about the CDC decision in this OPB story.

Part of this caution is likely due to the fact that there have been questions in Europe around the AstraZeneca vaccine and blood clots, which has led to on-again, off-again decisions with respect to that vaccine.

Again, even if it turns out that the connection to the J&J vaccine is verified, we need to remember that this literally 1 in a million connection is very rare, with odds of an adverse reaction far lower than we see in many of the prescription drugs many of us take every day.  Standards tend to be much stricter for vaccines, however, than they are for prescription drugs, in part because those drugs are being taken to ward off the effects of a disease that the individual already has.

It’s not clear at this point how long this pause will last.  Most likely it will last just a few days.  It’s ill-timed, however, for several reasons:

  • Americans have been increasingly attracted to this particular vaccine because only one dose is required.
  • Although J&J vaccines only constitute a very small percentage (7%) of all the vaccines planned for distribution in this country, it has been playing a significant role.
  • As a result of its one-dose format, it has been the vaccine of choice for individuals who are harder to locate and inoculate (e.g., the homeless and migrant workers).
  • Distribution of the J&J vaccine was already going to be much lower this week and next as a result of manufacturing issues, so the effect of the pause may not be that consequential.
  • Nevertheless, the discovery of this rare side-effect may discourage those who have been on the fence about getting vaccinated.

The Oregon Health Authority announced this morning that they are following the CDC recommendations and will require providers to suspend use of their Johnson & Johnson vaccines for the time being.

In a media briefing to which legislators were invited, the OHA’s Dr. Paul Cieslak presented further details and context for what this means for Oregon.  You can watch his briefing here. Here are some of the highlights:

  • None of the six cases of blood clots has been in Oregon.
  • If you’ve received a Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, you should know that the symptoms in all these cases appeared within six to 13 days. OHA recommends that anyone who has already been vaccinated should keep an eye out for symptoms 21 days after vaccination. 
  • Symptoms to look for include severe headache, leg pain, shortness of breath and abdominal pain. Anyone experiencing these symptoms should see their healthcare provider or seek emergency care. 
  • If you’re scheduled for a J&J vaccination, you may be contacted by the vaccinator but likely you won’t be. You should probably contact them and see about switching to a Pfizer or Moderna appointment.
  • Given that this vaccine is very stable and if refrigerated is good for several months, the pause should not affect the quality of the doses that are already in the hands of the state or providers.

Here’s a FAQ on the Johnson & Johnson vaccination pause.

And here's a story about the situation in Oregon from The Oregonian’s Aimee Green.

 

Coming Up:  Ways and Means “Road Shows”

We’re approaching that point in session where budgetary decisions for the next two years will begin to be made.  As usual, that won’t happen until the public has had a chance to weigh in with their priorities.  This usually comes in the form of a somewhat grueling series of “road shows,” as legislators travel around the state to hear directly from individuals in a succession of 2-minute oral testimonies and thousands of pages of written testimony.  It’s always enlightening and always painful, as we hear about the huge and varied levels of need there are out there.

This year, thanks to COVID, it will be different.  All the “road shows” will be virtual.  Instead of being held at a local community college or city hall, into which hundreds of people cram in hopes that their time driving or riding the bus will yield a couple of minutes of air time, this year time will be equally at a premium, but the distances traveled won’t be so great. 

They’ll still be organized regionally by congressional district, starting with CD 1 tomorrow night.  Here is the overall schedule:

road show

And here is the Ways and Means websitewith the links to the meeting agendas, info on how to sign up to testify, and how to watch the meeting and testimony.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

 

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 567. Here is today’s breakdown by county:

Baker (5)

Benton (17)

Clackamas (51)

Clatsop (3)

Columbia (6)

Coos (12)

Crook (7)

Deschutes (34)

Douglas (10)

Grant (5)

Harney (3)

Hood River (8)

Jackson (53)

Jefferson (1)

Josephine (7)

Klamath (24)

Lake (3)

Lane (39)

Lincoln (9)

Linn (16)

Malheur (5)

Marion (35)

Multnomah (83)

Polk (6)

Tillamook (2)

Umatilla (11)

Union (1)

Wasco (3)

Washington (95)

Yamhill (6)

 

And the Deaths:

Oregon’s 2,442nd COVID-19 death is a 72-year-old woman in Clackamas County who tested positive on Dec. 11, 2020 and died on Dec. 27, 2020 at Providence Portland Medical Center.

Oregon’s 2,443rd COVID-19 death is an 80-year-old woman in Linn County who tested positive on Dec. 25, 2020 and died on Jan. 14 at Santiam Hospital.

Oregon’s 2,444th COVID-19 death is a 91-year-old woman in Marion County who tested positive on April 8 and died on April 7 at her residence.

Oregon’s 2,445th COVID-19 death is a 93-year-old man in Multnomah County who tested positive on Jan. 5 and died on Feb. 19 at Adventist Medical Center.

Oregon’s 2,446th COVID-19 death is a 64-year-old woman in Coos County who tested positive on March 15 and died on April 11 at Bay Area Hospital.

 

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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.

 

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