(Update: More OHA information)
The state also sees the first ‘breakthrough cases’ with people who have been fully vaccinated
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Federal COVID-19 vaccine shipments are still going up and Oregon will continue to reduce the appropriate age range from 80 to 75 on Monday, state health officials said Friday. They also noted that mild cases have been diagnosed with four fully vaccinated residents of Willamette Valley residents, which they say is not unexpected.
“This is a serious but not surprising development,” Oregon Health Director Patrick Allen told reporters when he reported two such cases in Linn County and two in Yamhill County more than two weeks after their second and final dose.
Allen said the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines are very effective, but ‘even with 95 percent efficacy, some people will get sick. This is common with all vaccines. ”
Although demand is still exceeding the available doses, Allen said by the beginning of April, the state should still vaccinate 75 percent of all Oregonians eligible for the vaccines, including the elderly.
By the end of this week, more than 500,000 Oregonians will have received at least their first dose of two doses, representing 70 percent of the 720,000 people in Phase 1a and 1b category. The state’s last seven-day moving average is 17,000 shots per day.
As of next week, Oregon will receive another 3,000 doses of Moderna vaccine, while another 6,000 doses will be sent to Oregon’s federally qualified health centers.
With the federal launch this week of the retail pharmacy program, more than 120 pharmacies across the state (mainly Safeway, Albertson’s and Costco so far) are also starting to get vaccines, but with only 100 doses per site per week, they too are getting more demand than supplies so far.
Thousands of doses also go to massive vaccination sites, such as in the Portland area and the Redmond site.
President Biden’s news Thursday that ordering 200 million doses is welcome news, but the reality is that the added doses are still ‘months away’, Allen said.
Allen said that with enough supplies to reach a goal of 25,000 vaccinations a day, the state is on track to achieve community immunity by the fall.
Dr Dean Sidelinger, state health officer, said the trend of declining daily cases continues. In early January, the seven-day moving average was 1149 cases – from Thursday it was almost 50 percent lower, to 551. Monday’s count of 305 new cases was the lowest since 19 October.
The state reports 517 new cases Friday, raising the total to nearly 150,000, but hospitalizations are from nearly 600 at the peak to 209 today. The number of COVID-19-related deaths responded to nearly 300, but the percentage of positive tests is up to 4.2 percent.
Sidelinger nonetheless said it is still a long way off, with 27 provinces still based in the Extreme of High Risk category, based on case numbers and other data. He noted that business is likely to increase again as more businesses reopen, even to a limited extent.
The four “breakthrough cases” of people diagnosed with COVID-19 more than two weeks after their second shot involved people with no or mild cases, Sidelinger noted, and it is not unexpectedly investigated to determine their origin.
Allen emphasizes: “We are still not going back as before.”
More information from OHA on Friday:
As of Monday, February 15, people in Oregon who are 75 years or older are eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations.
Eligible adults can use the following resources to be linked to vaccination information in their communities. Tools that can be planned are available on Monday and Thursday at 09:00 with new appointments:
- Get vaccinated Oregon: Find answers to basic questions to learn if you are eligible and be linked to information about vaccinations in your country. You can also sign up for alerts to be notified of upcoming vaccination events or to find out when you may be eligible. Find this tool at covidvaccine.oregon.gov or getvaccinated.oregon.gov.
- Vaccine information chat bot at the site covidvaccine.oregon.gov is available to find out if you are eligible for a vaccine in Oregon or to get answers to other vaccine questions. If you live in Clackamas, Columbia, Marion, Multnomah, or Washington counties, you can schedule vaccinations by using the Vaccin Information chat bot. The friendly Vaccine Information chat bot tool is an orange box that appears when you open the covidvaccine.oregon.gov website.
- 211: SMS ORCOVID to 898211 to receive text / SMS updates on vaccination clinics in English or Spanish, or send an email to [email protected]. If you are unable to answer the COVID-19 vaccine question on the website, by sms or email, you can call 211 or 1-866-698-6155, open daily from 06:00 to 19:00, including holidays . Note that the waiting times can be long due to the high call volumes.
The Oregon Health Authority and its partners today provided an update on COVID-19 vaccinations and more. The recording (including ASL interpretation) is available here, and the slides from today’s briefing are here.
Among the topics discussed was a new partnership. The Federal Retail Pharmacy Program is a collaboration between the federal government, states and territories, and 21 national pharmacy partners and independent pharmacy networks to increase access to COVID-19 vaccination across the country.
- The show airs this week in Oregon. Shipments arrived Feb. 10 at 127 retail pharmacies in Oregon.
- This program offers locations in 27 of Oregon’s 36 counties. These locations include 103 Safeway / Albertson’s, 13 Costco Locations and 11 Health Mart (independent subsidiary) pharmacies.
- The retail partners in this program will look for the appropriate age group according to the Oregon Vaccine Plan, starting with people 75 years and older.
Eligible Oregonians can make appointments on the sites of these retailers, but note that each site will currently receive only 100 doses per week. This means that there will not be enough vaccines to vaccinate all Oregon residents in these places.
The chain pharmacies’ websites are as follows; individual health brands will need to be contacted directly:
Due to the limited federal offer that goes to these pharmacies, you can also go to covidvaccine.oregon.gov to find out if you are eligible, sign up for notices, and contact province-specific vaccination information.
Most people now know that masks are one of the most important tools to protect ourselves and others to get COVID-19. Even as more people are vaccinated, masks remain a regular part of our lives.
Masks work best if everyone wears them consistently and correctly. The CDC has updated its guidelines on how well your mask fits and filters in the air, and how many layers it contains.
Two ways to help protect your mask
- Make sure your mask fits snugly against your face
- Choose a mask with layers or wear a disposable mask under a cloth mask
OHA today announced the discovery of four “breakthrough” cases of COVID-19. These are cases where a person tested positive for COVID-19 at least 14 days after completing their vaccination series.
Two of the cases are in Yamhill County, and two in Lane County. OHA is working with local public health officials to investigate its origins. Their diseases range from asymptomatic to mild symptoms.
Genome sequencing is underway, and we expect results next week.
Such cases are not unexpected. Both COVID-19 vaccines are very effective, but even with vaccines that are 95 percent effective, some people will get sick. It is common in all vaccines.
Clinical trials of both vaccines currently in use included breakthrough cases. In the cases, although the participants received COVID-19, the vaccines reduced the severity of the disease. Based on what is known about vaccines for other diseases and early data from clinical trials, OHA experts believe that the existing vaccines are very effective.
Central Oregon / Coronavirus / Government Policy / Oregon Northwest / Top Stories