April 30th COVID-19 Update

April 30, 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.

April is about to come to an end, and we remain in a tough place as far as COVID cases and hospitalizations go.  Our case count remains double what it was a month ago, and our COVID hospitalizations are triple their number at the end of March.  It likely won’t be over next week, but OHSU Lead Data Scientist, Dr. Peter Graven, does predict that we should see real improvements in three weeks or so.  He also predicts that the current COVID restrictions are likely to save 176 lives and 700 hospitalizations during that time.  Let’s hope that’s true. 

Not surprisingly, the Governor’s decision to keep the existing metrics in place—which caused fifteen counties to move to Extreme Risk today as a result of soaring case levels—has generated substantial pushback because of its effect on restaurants, bars, gyms, and other businesses.  More on that in an article referenced below. 

On the positive side, Oregon has received more than 300,000 vaccine doses this wek. Nearly 50,000 additional vaccinations were reported today. 

Meanwile, the saga of Representative Mike Nearman continues today, with criminal charges being brought at last against the Republican representative who let violent protesters in the Oregon Capitol in December in what would turn out to be a prelude to the insurgency at our nation's Capitol on January 6.(Several of those whom Nearman let into our Capitol would eventually be arrested for doing the same in Washington, D.C.)  You can read more below.

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 990 new COVID cases today.  The cumulative number of cases in Oregon since the beginning of the pandemic is 184,812.
• 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 have increased this week: 168 (up from 112) cases of the B.1.1.7 (UK) variant, 13 cases (up from 7) of the P.1 (Brazilian) variant, and 18 (up from 10) cases of the B.1.351 (South African) variant.  In addition, we are now seeing 159 (up from 140) cases of the B.1.427 variant, and 519 (up from 479) of the B.1.429 variant. 
• Positive Test Results: OHA reported 1,184 positive tests today. The cumulative total of positive test results since the beginning of the pandemic is now 266,442.
• Total Tests: OHA reported an additional 18,709 tests today. Our cumulative total of reported tests is now 4,688,860.
• Positivity Rate: The test positivity ratio for Oregon today is 6.3%.
• Hospitalization Information:
  • Patients Currently with Confirmed COVID-19: 334 (5 fewer than yesterday)
  • ICU Patients Confirmed w COVID-19: 73 (2 more than yesterday).
  • Available ICU Beds: 153 (4 more than yesterday)
  • Other Available Beds: 827* (340 more than yesterday).
    • *This seems unbelievably high. An error?
  • Confirmed COVID-19 Patients Currently on Ventilators: 33 (2 more than yesterday).
  • Available Ventilators: 806 (5 fewer than yesterday).
• Deaths: I’m sorry to report 4 additional COVID deaths today.  The total number of COVID deaths in Oregon is now 2,495.
• Vaccinations:
  • As of the end of yesterday, here are the latest numbers:
    • New Immunizations Reported Today: 49,029
      • 34,063 were conducted yesterday
      • 14,966 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 35,329 doses per day.
    • Total First and Second Doses Administered So Far: 2,983,316
      • 1,594,712 Pfizer doses
      • 1,292,815 Moderna doses
      • 94,533 Johnson & Johnson doses
    • Total Oregonians vaccinated so far: 1,819,329
      • 1,253,053 now fully vaccinated with two doses
    • To date, 3,704,775 doses of vaccine have been delivered to sites across Oregon. (That’s an additional 30,580 since yesterday, for a total of 304,360 coming in so far this week.)
      • 80.5% of these doses have been administered so far. The national average is now 77.8%.
      • 44.3% of Oregonians have received at least one dose.
      • 30.5% of Oregonians are now fully vaccinated.
      • For more details, including the demographics of those receiving the vaccine and the counties in which the vaccines are being administered, 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.

May Day! May Day! Constituent Coffee Coming on Saturday!

May Day this year is tomorrow, May 1.  And that of course means my monthly constituent coffee from 9 a.m. to 10:30ish.  This is your chance to zoom in, let me know what your concerns are, hear what’s going on at the Capitol and behind the scenes, and get a prognosis of what’s before us in the coming weeks.

To register for this one, click on this link.

Hope to see you there!

• Additional Brief Updates:
  • OPB’s Erin Ross has a helpful story about  the science behind the latest COVID surge in Oregon.
  • The Oregonian's Aimee Green reports on the Governor's press conference today.
  • Not surprisingly, the Governor’s decision to stick to the Risk Level metrics—which has sent fifteen counties into Extreme Risk status—has generated some big pushback from county leaders. Here's a story from KGW.  
  • The New York Times has an in-depth story on vaccine resistance in rural America. What’s driving the resistance?  It’s complicated.
  • Unlike in many other parts of the country, here in Oregon we’re experiencing a high degree of people going back for their second shots.Here's the science on why that's a good thing.
  • The post-recession recovery is gaining momentum. Here’s a story about that progress from the Associated Press.
  • Representative Mike Nearman is now facing criminal charges as a result of his aiding protesters in breaking into the Capitol in December. Here's a story about that.

Answers to Post-Vaccination Questions

On Wednesday, April 28, OHA experts answered post-vaccination questions on a Facebook Live. You can watch the video here.  Below are the timestamps for the questions: 

• 10:13 – How effective are the vaccines against the variants? 
• 11:01 – What do I do if I lose my vaccination card? 
• 11:38 – Will county-based restrictions be the same for vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals? For example, will there be adjustments to the group-size rules if all members of a group gathering are fully vaccinated? 
• 13:19 – If I had a chain store pharmacy administer both COVID-19 vaccines without entering them into MyChart, does the pharmacy notify the Oregon Immunization Information System so that my immunization record is updated, or do I need to go through my primary care physician? 
• 14:15 – Can you change guidelines to allow for fully vaccinated people to immediately be able to watch their children play sports or activities? 
• 16:01 – If most of my employees or colleagues get vaccinated, can we drop the masks in the workplace? 
• 16:55 – How many have died from the COVID-19 vaccines and are people getting COVID-19 from the vaccine? 
• 20:20 – What about COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough cases? You talked earlier about people getting COVID-19 from the vaccine. 
• 22:08 – Are we allowed to ask for COVID-19 vaccination cards if someone in the workplace is saying they aren’t required to quarantine after a COVID-19 exposure? 
• 23:01 – Can you explain the similarities of the flu vaccines and the COVID-19 vaccines? 
• 24:47 – If vaccines work, why do we still have to wear a mask? 
• 26:05 – How long will it take us to reach herd immunity? 
• 27:15 – If I got my second COVID-19 vaccine and find out four days later that I have been exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19, do I still have to quarantine? 
• 28:07 – Why does it seem like that the more people who get vaccinated, the more cases we have? 
• 29:29 – If we require COVID-19 vaccines in the workplace, are we allowed to ask for vaccination cards to show proof of protection, or is this protected? 

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 990.  Here is today’s breakdown by county:

Baker (2)

Benton (22)

Clackamas (99)

Clatsop (3)

Columbia (5)

Coos (6)

Crook (11)

Curry (2)

Deschutes (81)

Douglas (7)

Grant (12)

Harney (1)

Hood River (1)

Jackson (56)

Jefferson (12)

Josephine (16)

Klamath (78)

Lake (2)

Lane (60)

Lincoln (8)

Linn (51)

Malheur (2)

Marion (93)

Morrow (1)

Multnomah (178)

Polk (13)

Tillamook (6)

Umatilla (9)

Wallowa (4)

Wasco (8)

Washington (101)

Yamhill (12)

And the Deaths:

Oregon’s 2,492nd death is a 97-year-old woman from Clackamas County who died on April 12, 2020 at her residence.

Oregon’s 2,493rd death is a 49-year-old man from Josephine County who tested positive on April 10 and died on April 29 at Asante Three Rivers Medical Center.

Oregon’s 2,494th death is an 81-year-old man from Malheur County who tested positive on April 24 and died on April 28 at St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center, in Boise, ID.

Oregon’s 2,495th death is a 78-year-old woman from Crook County who tested positive on April 20 and died on April 26 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

• 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