June 24th COVID-19 Update

Oregon State Legislature sent this bulletin at 06/24/2021 10:57 PM PDT
Michael Dembrow

June 24, 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 nearly identical to yesterday’s.  We appear to have settled into another slightly-lower plateau in our COVID metrics.  Though they continue to decline, however, I don’t believe that they’re as low as the most recent epidemiological forecast predicted.  I suspect that’s because our vaccination rates have really stalled, much lower than that forecast assumed.  The connection between lower vaccination rates and higher infection/hospitalization rates seems increasingly clear. Case rates will likely continue to decline, but at a pace that’s slower than was predicted.

In tonight’s newsletter, you’ll find links to a number of articles with the latest on COVID (and information on keeping people safe during the extraordinarily hot and dangerous weekend that’s ahead of us).  You’ll also find a recap of this day in the Senate, as we approach the end of this session.

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 232 new COVID cases today.  The cumulative number of cases in Oregon since the beginning of the pandemic is 207,558.
  • Variant COVID Cases: Here are this week’s case counts for the COVID variants in Oregon, cumulative from the beginning of the pandemic (just released):
    • 1,538 (up from 1,433) cases of the B.1.1.7 (formerly known as the U.K. variant, now called the Alpha) variant,
    • 315 cases (up from 286) of the P.1 (formerly Brazilian, now Gamma) variant,
    • 132 (up from 125) cases of the B.1.351 (formerly South African, now Beta) variant.
    • In addition, we are now seeing 1,106 (up from 1,028) cases of the B.1.427/B.1.429 variant (Epsilon)and
    • 10 cases (same as last week) of the new B.1.617.2 (Delta).
    • 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 267 positive tests today. The cumulative total of positive test results since the beginning of the pandemic is now 300,800.
  • Total Tests: OHA reported an additional 9,221 tests today. Our cumulative total of reported tests is 5,364,484.
  • Positivity Rate: The test positivity ratio for Oregon today is 2.9%.
  • Hospitalization Information:
    • Patients Currently with Confirmed COVID-19: 162 (7 more than yesterday)
    • ICU Patients Confirmed w COVID-19: 32 (2 fewer than yesterday).
    • Available ICU Beds: 130 (2 fewer than yesterday)
    • Other Available Beds: 426 (40 more than yesterday).
    • Confirmed COVID-19 Patients Currently on Ventilators: 16 (1 fewer than yesterday)
    • Available Ventilators: 824 (11 more than yesterday).
  • Deaths: I’m sorry to report 1 additional COVID death today.  The total number of COVID deaths in Oregon is 2,760.
  • Vaccinations:
    • As of the end of yesterday, here are the latest numbers:
      • New Immunizations Reported Today: 11,168
        • 4,978 were conducted and reported yesterday
        • 6,190 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 9,620 doses per day.
  • Total First and Second Doses Administered So Far: 4,337,120
    • 2,454,959 Pfizer doses
    • 1,715,306 Moderna doses
    • 164,742 Johnson & Johnson doses
  • Total Oregonians vaccinated so far: 2,365,580
    • 2,122,292 now fully vaccinated with two doses
  • The number of Oregonians who still need to get a first dose for Oregon to reach the 70% threshold is now 35,290 (down by 2,853).
  • To date, 5,470,495 doses of vaccine have been delivered to sites across Oregon. (That’s 4,020 more doses than yesterday, for a total of 33,020 additional doses this week.)
    • 79.3% of these doses have been administered so far. The national average is now 84.6%.
    • 58.0% of Oregonians have received at least one dose (65.3% of those 16 and older, 68.9% of those 18+, which is the CDC standard).
    • 51.9% of Oregonians are now fully vaccinated (59.1% of those 16 and older).
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  • Want to see how close each county is to hitting the 65% target for moving to lower risk? Here's an interactive map and more, 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

  • It appears that we’re looking at eye-popping, mind-numbing, awful high temperatures this weekend. Please do everything you can to help keep your friends, family, community, and yourself safe from heat exposure.  Here is some information about cooling centers in the Portland area.  Please help spread the word about them.  (Yes, at the back of my mind is that this a reminder of the ever-increasing threat of climate change, and we need to keep working to address that.  But for now, the focus needs to be on safety first and foremost…)
  • As you may have heard, we’ve been at some jeopardy of losing access to safe drinking water as a result of a sudden failure of equipment at a large chlorine-generating facility in Longview, which serves the entire Northwest. Fortunately, things seem to be getting under control. Here's the latest communication to legislators from the Director of the Office of Emergency Management.
  • Here’s more evidence, this from a story in the Associated Press, that  nearly all COVID deaths are among the unvaccinated.
  • Though the risk of death from COVID is extremely low, it is possible to be infected, though you’ll likely be without symptoms. Here's what you need to know from a story in the New York Times.
  • The Washington Post has excerpts from a new book on former president Donald Trump, revealing just how serious his case of COVID was.
  • Though there is evidence linking COVID vaccinations to a rare heart condition in a very small number of teens, the CDC believes that the benefits FAR outweigh any risks. Here's more.

 

Ready for An End-Of Session Recap?

Next Tuesday, June 29, Reps Barbara Smith Warner, Khanh Pham, and I will be holding a ZOOM TOWN HALL!!!  It’ll be an opportunity for us to give you a recap of the many accomplishments (and inevitable frustrations) during this very unique 2021 legislative session.  There will be A LOT for us to talk about.  Hope you can make it!

It will be from 5 to 6 pm.  You can register here.

I’ll be following up with a constituent coffee a week from Saturday.  Hope to see you at one or both.

 

The Day in Salem:  Lots of Bills, Lots of Certainty, Lots of Uncertainty

We’re clearly approaching the end of session now, but if you were to ask me if we’ll finish tomorrow, or Saturday, or Sunday, my answer would have to be “Could be.”  There are still many bills out there that need to pass one chamber or both.  Under the right circumstances, they could move quickly from one to the other, but under the wrong circumstances, it could take a day or more.  Much depends on the level of cooperation between the two political parties. 

Today in the Senate, the relations are overall pretty good, and the two caucuses agreed to speed things up.  We were able to avoid acrimonious debate for the most part and passed a number of important bills, though some of them passed with the bare minimum (since Senator Manning can’t be with us, the margins are even tighter on some of the bills).  I’m happy to report that the bills that passed today included some real priorities of mine:

  • SB 551: Health Insurance for Part-Time College and University Faculty (passed the Senate, heads to the House);
  • SB 575: Juvenile Expunction: Provides automatic clearing of records for juveniles who have committed low-level offenses, have turned 18, and have not reoffended (passed the Senate, heads to the House);
  • SB 236: Gradually prohibits childcare and pre-K providers from suspending or expelling children from their centers or programs, while providing providers and parents with the training and support to find alternatives (heads to the Governor for her signature);
  • SB 759: Providing the proper statutory framework for the negotiations that will oon sbegin between legislative leaders and the newly-formed legislative staff union (heads to the Governor for her signature).

 

In addition, I’d like to point out one additional bill that I believe is especially significant, particularly at a moment that many other states are making it more difficult for their residents to vote:

  • HB 3291: This will allow mail ballots to be counted as long as they were postmarked on election day. Right now, ballots are only counted if they have been RECEIVED by the end of election day.  Given the vagaries of the mail system, that can lead to ballots not being counted or people choosing not to mail their ballots because they’re worried it will be too late.  This is the model that’s used in Washington and a number of other states.  I’ve supported this change for a long time.

In last night’s newsletter I pointed you to the final budget bills that include many, many infrastructure and other projects benefiting local communities around the state.  This morning the Capital Construction Subcommittee approved them all and sent them on to full Ways and Means.  Ways and Means approved them at the end of the day in what is likely to have been their final meeting of the session.

We did have one hiccup today, and it was a serious one.  SB 762, the big wildfire prevention bill, was scheduled for a floor vote.  It had become controversial and seemed slated for a bitter floor fight and a partisan split, and perhaps even failure. I know this may seem pretty arcane to most of you, but there was disagreement over whether or not the “Wildland/Urban Interface” (aka the WUI) should be defined in statute, using a definition from international scientific literature, or left up to the Board of Forestry to be defined through its rulemaking.  Republicans, responding to advocacy from the Farm Bureau and some other lobbyists, wanted the latter and environmentalists preferred the former.  Hopes of bipartisan support for this important bill evaporated, and the ability of even securing a majority was in doubt.  In the end, though, a solution was found.  A special committee was formed to approve an amendment (the -17) that was satisfactory to all parties.  It will come back tomorrow for a vote and will almost certainly receive broad support.  Whew!

At the end of the day, the House had passed around 60 bills and the Senate around 40.  It’s possible we’ll finish up tomorrow, though Saturday is probably more likely.  I should either know for sure or know more when I send tomorrow’s newsletter.

 

You Can Now Track Vaccination Targets by Zip Code

Last week the Oregon Health Authority released an update to the vaccination metrics dashboard.  It now shows the number of people remaining to be vaccinated to reach 65% vaccinated by demographics and county.

Today a ZIP code tab on the vaccination metrics dashboard was added.  Tracking people remaining to be vaccinated by ZIP code will help target where vaccination efforts can reach the most people and promote access across the state. The new dashboard shows the top 40 ZIP codes with the most people remaining and allows for sorting by individual counties.

 

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 232.  Here is today’s breakdown by county:

Baker (1)

Benton (2)

Clackamas (12)

Clatsop (3)

Columbia (5)

Coos (2)

Crook (1)

Curry (7)

Deschutes (14)

Douglas (10)

Harney (1)

Hood River (1)

Jackson (16)

Jefferson (3)

Josephine (15)

Klamath (6)

Lake (1)

Lane (12)

Lincoln (3)

Linn (18)

Marion (25)

Morrow (1)

Multnomah (29)

Polk (7)

Tillamook (1)

Umatilla (12

Wasco (1)

Washington (19)

Yamhill (4)

 

And the Death:

Oregon’s 2,760th death is a 77-year-old man from Lane County who tested positive on June 11 and died on June 23 at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at Riverbend.

 

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cases 7
cases 14
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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,

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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