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April 23, 2021
Dear Neighbors and Friends,
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.
Hospitalizations are a little lower today, but they remain dangerously close to triggering a return to Extreme Risk status for a number of counties. We’ll know for sure early next week. You can read more about that in the report on today’s Governor press conference further down in the newsletter.
The OHA is on track to allow the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine to be resumed in Oregon. The CDC vaccine advisors have determined that the chances of severe negative consequences from the vaccine are extremely remote, greatly outweighed by the benefits of the vaccine. We can expect administration of the popular vaccine to resume as soon as tomorrow.
You can read more about this and other developments in this evening’s newsletter.
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 1,020 new COVID cases today. The cumulative number of cases in Oregon since the beginning of the pandemic is 179,120.
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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. The reported numbers remain the same: 112 cases of the B.1.1.7 (UK) variant, 7 cases of the P.1 (Brazilian) variant, and 10 cases of the B.1.351 (South African) variant. In addition, we are now seeing 140 cases of the B.1.427 variant, and 479 of the B.1.429 variant.
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Positive Test Results: OHA reported 1,203 positive tests today. The cumulative total of positive test results since the beginning of the pandemic is now 257,772. 258975
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Total Tests: OHA reported an additional 18,028 tests today. Our cumulative total of reported tests is now 4,578,322.
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Positivity Rate: The test positivity ratio for Oregon today is 6.7%.
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Hospitalization Information:
- Patients Currently with Confirmed COVID-19: 276 (7 fewer than yesterday)
- ICU Patients Confirmed w COVID-19: 64 (5 fewer than yesterday).
- Available ICU Beds: 148 (8 more than yesterday)
- Other Available Beds: 543 (30 more than yesterday).
- Confirmed COVID-19 Patients Currently on Ventilators: 27 (3 fewer than yesterday).
- Available Ventilators: 798 (14 fewer than yesterday).
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Deaths: I’m sorry to report 9 additional COVID deaths today. The total number of COVID deaths in Oregon is now 2,476.
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Vaccinations:
- As of the end of yesterday, here are the latest numbers:
- New Immunizations Reported Today: 49,104
- 30,432 were conducted yesterday
- 18,672 were conducted earlier, but the reports were received yesterday (there can potentially be a three-day window for reporting)
- The 7-day running average is now 33,698 doses per day.
- Total First and Second Doses Administered So Far: 2,711,700
- 1,424,479 Pfizer doses
- 1,194,787 Moderna doses
- 91,270 Johnson & Johnson doses
- Total Oregonians vaccinated so far: 1,682,399
- 1,116,490 now fully vaccinated with two doses
- To date, 3,347,245 doses of vaccine have been delivered to sites across Oregon. (That’s 17,200 more than was reported yesterday, for a total of 278,520 for the week so far.)
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Additional Brief Updates:
- The Johnson & Johnson vaccine could be deployed once again as early as tomorrow, now that the CDC vaccine advisory panel has opened the door to resume. Here's the OHA press release, And here's more from the NY Times.
- We’re seeing significant downturns in demand for COVID vaccines across the country. As a result, some states are asking for less vaccine, while others are asking that federal allocations be based on demand rather than on population. Here's more from the Associated Press.
- California’s public universities plan to require students to have proof of vaccination (except for medical and religious reasons) when they return for the 2021-22 academic year. Here's more.
- As I’ve mentioned, legislators will be given the ability to designate dollars for American Rescue Plan projects in their districts. Each senator will be able to designate $4 million in projects and each representative $2 million. Here’s an OPB article with more.
Coming Up Tomorrow: The Final Ways and Means “Road Show”
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.
The Road Shows tomorrow afternoon, this time for residents of CD 5:
And here is the Ways and Means webpage for Saturday, with 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.
Gun Safety Bills Merged Today
House Rules voted late today to combine SB 554 (gun-free public buildings) and HB 2510 (safe storage) in the-36 amendments to SB 554. The version of SB 554 that passed the Senate last month now includes important safe-storage provisions, which are designed to reduce the risk of suicide, accidents, and impulsive gun violence. The provisions of SB 554, however, are now limited to the Capitol building and Portland International Airport, and to the buildings and grounds of public schools, colleges, and universities that choose to exercise their right to prohibit firearms.
The amended SB 554 now heads to the House floor for a vote next week.
Highlights from the Governor’s Press Conference Today
In her press conference today, the Governor told us pretty much what we already knew: even as vaccinations are mounting dramatically, increasing infection is putting the unvaccinated at serious risk. Oregon today has recorded the second highest increase in COVID infections in the nation. This is obviously nothing that we want to see at what appears to be the final stage of the pandemic in this state.
More serious than the number of cases is the increase in COVID hospitalizations, which is starting to stress our hospital system and is likely to trigger a return to Extreme Risk Levels for a number of Oregon counties. The prognosis is good a month from now (as the benefits of increased vaccinations begin to outweigh the spread of variant forms of the virus). But the next few weeks will require those who are not yet fully vaccinated to buckle down, refrain from indoor social gatherings, and wear masks when in close proximity.
Here is a press release from the Governor's office with a link to the video and the Governor’s talking points. And here are some highlights of the points I found most crucial:
- Despite today’s lower number of hospitalizations, we’re on track to hit the 300-bed threshold that will trigger a return to Extreme Risk status for a number of counties.
- If the data over the next few days indicates it’s needed, twelve counties will move into extreme risk as early as next Friday. [We’ll know on Monday or Tuesday.] Because of the sharp increases we’re experiences, this time there will not be a warning week.
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Here's a chart showing the differences between the different risk levels.Will hopefully be the last time we have to step backwards in this way.
- If we make smart choices over the next few weeks, we should be able to fully reopen by early summer.
- OHSU medical director Dr. Renee Edwards reported on the stresses that hospitals are experiencing. This time most of the patients are relatively young, and previously healthy.
- Death rates are being kept down in part due to the use of an advanced therapy called Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO). It’s only available in certain hospitals, so ECMO patient care is being coordinated on a regional basis.
- Unfortunately, ECMO resources are running short throughout the Northwest. So far, everyone who needs it has access to it, but we’re close to the limit.
- Unlike with previous surges, this time we can truly say it’s temporary, thanks to expanding access to vaccines.
- Edwards pointed out that although no one wants to go back to Extreme Risk restrictions, doing so would mean 180 fewer deaths and 450 fewer hospitalizations over the next three weeks. We may need to make that choice.
- Half of all Oregon adults have now received at least one dose (40% of all Oregonians).
- The pause in the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has slowed down our daily average. That should change as the vaccine is cleared to resume.
- By the Fourth of July eight in ten Oregon adults should have had at least their first dose.
- We are continuing to see clear regional differences in desire for the vaccine:
- The top five counties in the state all have more than 50% of their adults vaccinated: Hood River (with more than 60%), Lincoln, Benton, Deschutes, and Multnomah.
- The bottom five are Lake, Umatilla, Malheur, Gilliam, and Douglas, all with fewer than 35% of their adults vaccinated.
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 1,020. Here is today’s breakdown by county:
Baker (10)
Benton (8)
Clackamas (58)
Clatsop (7)
Columbia (13)
Coos (66)
Crook (16)
Curry (1)
Deschutes (103)
Douglas (9)
Grant (5)
Hood River (5)
Jackson (63)
Jefferson (10)
Josephine (13)
Klamath (103)
Lane (82)
Lincoln (5)
Linn (23)
Malheur (3)
Marion (120)
Morrow (1)
Multnomah (198)
Polk (15)
Tillamook (3)
Umatilla (13)
Union (1)
Wallowa (1)
Wasco (3)
Washington (102)
Yamhill (18)
And the Deaths:
Oregon’s 2,468th COVID-19 death is a 58-year-old man from Douglas County who became symptomatic on April 12 after contact with a confirmed case and died on April 20 at his residence.
Oregon’s 2,469th COVID-19 death is a 73-year-old man from Clackamas County who tested positive on March 8 and died on April 11 at Kaiser Permanente Sunnyside Medical Center.
Oregon’s 2,470th COVID-19 death is a 72-year-old woman from Harney County who tested positive on April 17 and died on April 17 at her residence.
Oregon’s 2,471st COVID-19 death is a 93-year-old man from Josephine County who tested positive on April 7 and died on April 22 at his residence.
Oregon’s 2,472nd COVID-19 death is a 78-year-old man from Josephine County who tested positive on April 7 and died on April 9 at Asante Ashland Community Hospital.
Oregon’s 2,473rd COVID-19 death is an 80-year-old woman from Malheur County who tested positive on April 8 and died on April 14 at St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise, ID.
Oregon’s 2,474th COVID-19 death is a 64-year-old man from Multnomah County who tested positive on March 27 and died on April 10 at Providence Portland Medical Center.
Oregon’s 2,475th COVID-19 death is a 61-year-old man from Umatilla County who tested positive on Nov. 4, 2020 and died on April 9 at his residence.
Oregon’s 2,476th COVID-19 death is an 89-year-old woman from Deschutes County who tested positive on April 9 and died on April 17 at her residence.
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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