June 1, 2021 COVID-19 Update

June 1, 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.

Today’s COVID numbers are again unusually low as a result of the holiday weekend.  Today’s case count is actually the lowest it’s been in at least 9 months.  Today’s vaccination count is also the lowest it’s been since the earliest days of vaccinations.  We can expect more realistic counts tomorrow.

However, setting aside the weekend holiday anomalies, we can still see the disease metrics continuing to improve in the weekly county report linked further down in the newsletter.  We should see more of the same when the weekly data and outbreak reports are released tomorrow. 

Let’s also hope we see much higher vaccinations reported tomorrow. 

I'm happy to report that Republican senators again agreed to waive bill reading on the Senate floor.  We got through our business promptly, and in nearly every case bills were passed unanimously or close to it.  Without a doubt, the most moving part of the day was when my friend and colleague Senator Lew Frederick carried HB 2168 to unamous passage on the Senate floor, its last stop before the Governor's desk.  HB 2168 makes Juneteenth (June 19) an official Oregon state holiday.  Juneteenth commemorates the day in 1865 that the Emancipation Proclamation was delivered to the people of Galveston, Texas.  Senator Frederick's speech in support of the bill was powerful and extremely moving, as he showed us the significance of this vote through the lens of his family and community over the last century and a half.  Today was truly an emotional and historic day.

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 220 new COVID cases today.  The cumulative number of cases in Oregon since the beginning of the pandemic is 201,649.
• Variant COVID Cases: OHA released updated variant case counts on Wednesday: 983 (up from 716) cases of the B.1.1.7 (UK) variant, 142 cases (up from 78) of the P.1 (Brazilian) variant, and 80 (up from 56) cases of the B.1.351 (South African) variant.  In addition, we are now seeing 257 (up from 237) cases of the B.1.427 variant, and 688 (up from 631) of the B.1.429 variant.  OHA is now producing a  Variant Dashboard, providing current variant case numbers for the state as a whole and for various parts of the state.  It’s updated each Wednesday.
• Positive Test Results: OHA reported 354 positive tests today. The cumulative total of positive test results since the beginning of the pandemic is now 292,576.
• Total Tests: OHA reported an additional 7,146 tests today. Our cumulative total of reported tests is now 5,148,566.
• Positivity Rate: The test positivity ratio for Oregon today is 4.3%.
• Hospitalization Information:
  • Patients Currently with Confirmed COVID-19: 238 (11 fewer than yesterday)
  • ICU Patients Confirmed w COVID-19: 67 (6 more than yesterday).
  • Available ICU Beds: 170 (21 more than Friday)
  • Other Available Beds: 602 (80 more than Friday).
  • Confirmed COVID-19 Patients Currently on Ventilators: 38 (4 more than yesterday).
  • Available Ventilators: 761 (13 fewer than yesterday).
• Deaths: I’m sorry to report 3 additional COVID deaths today.  The total number of COVID deaths in Oregon is now 2,674.
• Vaccinations:
  • As of the end of yesterday, here are the latest numbers:
    • New Immunizations Reported Today: 4,361
      • 3,622 were conducted and reported yesterday
      • 739 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 22,982 doses per day.

• Total First and Second Doses Administered So Far: 3,961,745
  • 2,213,450 Pfizer doses
  • 1,602,927 Moderna doses
  • 143,523 Johnson & Johnson doses
• Total Oregonians vaccinated so far: 2,242,712
  • 1,853,468 now fully vaccinated with two doses
• To date, 5,182,675 doses of vaccine have been delivered to sites across Oregon. (The total so far this week is 81,239.)
  • 76.4% of these doses have been administered so far. The national average is now 80.5%.
  • 55.0% of Oregonians have received at least one dose (62.4% of those 16 and older, 65.8% of those 18+, which is the CDC standard).
  • 45.5% of Oregonia9s are now fully vaccinated (52.9% of those 16 and older).

• 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

• Want to see how close each county is to hitting the 65% target for moving to lower risk? Here's an interactive map showing percentages for total population and for eligible population (residents age 16+).  It shows how close each county is to hitting the 65% target.

• Additional Brief Updates:
  • OHA released its Weekly County Metrics Report. As you’ll see infection rates and positivity rates continue to go down for the state as a whole and for most counties.
  • Another big reason that people are choosing not to be vaccinated? Fear of unexpected medical bills. Even though the vaccines are free and messages are out there reminding people they’re free, many people have had bad experiences with the medical system and simply don’t believe they won’t be hit with an unexpected and unwelcome bill.
  • First we had barber shops. Now we have beaches. Ah, the many locales for pop-up vaccination sites.
  • Here’s another attempt to explain HIPAA, the federal law that prohibits medical providers from disclosing individually-identifiable medical information, and show why it really doesn’t apply to cases in which a person’s vaccination status is being checked.

Governor Announces Counties Moving Down in Risk Levels

As she does each Tuesday, Governor Brown announced today the changes in County Risk Levels that will go into effect on Friday.

For once, all movement is downward, which is a great sign of changing times.  Two counties (Lane and Polk) moved from High to Moderate, and one (Clatsop) moved from Moderate to Lower.  Here’s the full list. Here's the full list.

Again, you can see the specific activities allowed for each risk level in this chart.

OHA Provides Some Recommendations Regarding Vaccination Cards

Here’s a message from OHA:

At your vaccination appointment you should get a vaccination card that tells you what COVID-19 vaccine you received, the date you received it, and where you received it.

If you’re fully vaccinated, you may be able to enter some indoor places without wearing a mask, but only if you show them your vaccination card. Here are some tips about your vaccination card:

• Keep your vaccination card in a safe place.
• Take a picture of your vaccination card as a backup copy.
• Don’t laminate your card in case another shot may need to be added to it.
• Keep your card in a waterproof container.
• Don’t share your card on social media unless you cover your personal information.

Where Are Today’s  Cases?

If we put together the positive test results and new “presumptive cases” reported today, the overall number of new cases reported is 177. Here is today’s breakdown by county:

Benton (1)

Clackamas (11)

Columbia (3)

Coos (3)

Curry (1)

Deschutes (9)

Douglas (7)

Jefferson (1)

Josephine (2)

Klamath (5)

Lane (20)

Linn (4)

Marion (25)

Morrow (2)

Multnomah (35)

Wallowa (1)

Wasco (1)

Washington (48)

Yamhill (1)

And the Deaths:

Oregon’s 2,672nd COVID-19 death is a 59-year-old man from Lane County who tested positive on May 21 and died on May 28 at his residence.

Oregon’s 2,673rd COVID-19 death is a 75-year-old man from Douglas County who tested positive on May 12 and died on May 30 at Mercy Medical Center.

Oregon’s 2,674th COVID-19 death is a 46-year-old man from Lane County who tested positive on May 14 and died on May 30 at McKenzie-Willamette 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

• 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