Seventy-three days.
That’s how much earlier every Oregonian 16 and older is eligible for a COVID-19 vaccination than originally planned, following President Biden’s statement that every state must be fully eligible by April 19th.
The accelerated timeline could be a boon for some Oregonians eager to be vaccinated. But it is likely to pose challenges not only to shotgunners but also to state administrators who promise fairness in the administration of racial minorities and vulnerable populations whose vaccination rates are lagging behind.
While not entirely clear, it appears that Oregon does not expect a significant increase in vaccine supplies in the coming weeks, meaning that only the most agile and best-connected can possibly achieve the coveted appointments. Coming April 19, the state estimates he will receive only about 2 million first doses, although nearly 3.5 million people are eligible.
This puts Kate Brown’s government in a difficult situation again, with Oregon often a national outlier and under pressure to be eligible for vaccine. Officials are trying to find a middle ground by increasing the rate of vaccinations amid concerns about the vaccine being delayed, without leaving the most vulnerable behind.
Brown originally planned to offer vaccination to anyone 16 years and older by July 1, but has extended the date to May 1 in response to Biden’s first deadline. This week, Brown raised the date again to April 19 in conjunction with Biden’s latest direction – making Oregon the next in line to announce that it would launch universal vaccinations by that date.
Oregon State University professor Courtney Campbell, who studies the equity of the vaccine distribution, wonders if there was a “real pressure” on politicians to bring the vaccine to the general population. That, coupled with the perception that Oregon is already behind many other states in the vaccination, could possibly be a motivator, he said.
“I really hope the decisions are not based on the public image,” Campbell said.
Campbell is most concerned that communities affected by the coronavirus will continue to struggle. State statistics show that two groups are far behind: Latinos make up 13% of Oregon’s population, but make up only 6% of the people who are vaccinated with at least one dose. Black Oregonians make up 2.2% of the population, but only 1.5% of those vaccinated.
Opening vaccinations to anyone 16 and older is a ‘fairly remarkable achievement,’ Campbell said in an email. But, he added, ‘we do not want to give up equity ”for communities that have been harmed during the whole pandemic.
Some observers are also worried that people with lower incomes who have no internet access, or who work frontline and who cannot go online at the exact time that appointments are released will lose.
“We still have people in some areas with a browse phone,” said Carlos Crespo, a professor at the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health.
At the request of The Oregonian / OregonLive whether the state is bowing to political pressure to follow other states, Charles Boyle, a spokesman for the governor, did not respond directly in an email response.
On the contrary, Boyle said Brown has increased the general population date of the population, due to concerns about the spread of more dangerous variants of the coronavirus. But Boyle also acknowledged that the necessary doses would not yet be available under the governor’s accelerated timeline..
“(T) here there is no doubt that everyone who is eligible on April 19 will be able to make an appointment immediately with the vaccine supply we have on hand,” he said in the email.
The Oregon Health Authority estimates that after April 19, it will take nearly six weeks until there is enough vaccine in the state so that 70% of people 16 years and older will have the chance to get a first dose.
Boyle, the governor’s spokesman, acknowledged that the coming days were important.
“Therefore, it is critical during the next two weeks and beyond that we increase our purposeful efforts with community partners to reach the communities hardest hit by COVID-19: Oregon’s Black, Indigenous, Latino, Latina, Latinx, Asian , Pacific Islander, Tribe and communities of color, ”Boyle wrote.
The huge demand for vaccinations is obvious this week, as the governor opened vaccinations nationwide for a large number of Oregonians on Monday.
These include about 1.2 million overweight, an unknown number of former smokers, nearly 500,000 current smokers and 1.9 million residents with other underlying conditions ranging from heart disease to asthma. The latest wave also includes hundreds of thousands of others in the front line and their domestic members.
The Oregon Health Authority cannot say exactly how many people it is because some people in one group are also members of another group, such as someone who is overweight, has asthma and works as a K-12 teacher, a profession who are eligible for vaccinations in January.
Even if Oregon officials are unsure about the exact numbers of those currently eligible, there are clear signs that the system is overwhelmed.
Pharmacies in Oregon within 100 miles of the Portland area discussed all of their available vaccination appointments on Thursday afternoon, according to various scheduling websites.
Enormous demand has also prompted the Oregon Health & Science University vaccination scheduling website to freeze, slow down or start for four days this week. The system has the capacity to handle 4800 visitors simultaneously, but is immediately overloaded after releasing new appointments for booking every day at 09:00.
OHSU expects to release a total of 23,300 appointments at its drive-by sites at Portland International Airport and Hillsboro Stadium this week.
Operators at the Oregon Convention Center Mass Vaccination Center said they were sending enough electronic invitations to Portland residents this week to fill between 18,000 and 22,000 appointments.
But that leaves another 140,000 eligible residents in the Portland area still waiting in line for an invitation to join the conference center – after being registered with getvaccinated.oregon.gov, which the state uses as a pool to randomly select names of people who are offered appointments each week. At this rate, it can take a few weeks before anyone who wants an appointment gets one.
And at least on a national level, the predicament on April 19 could get even worse.
Whitehouse press secretary Jen Psaki this week warned vulnerable populations – especially the elderly – that they should take advantage of their current status of use by getting them vaccinated now before the next wave of eligible people, “because the lines are getting longer” word. ”
But Oregon Health Director Patrick Allen told a legislative subcommittee that it is possible that the competition for appointments may not intensify as much as expected on April 19, because Oregon so much this week more people are eligible.
“So we may not have such a big fitness wave starting on the 19th as with this wave that is currently open,” Allen said.
Residents of Portland area took to social media this week to grumble about their failed date-booking attempts. Some have compared it to taking another full-time job or saying they can now sympathize first-hand with the elderly, who experienced the same problems when hundreds of thousands of them overloaded the system when they were eligible week after week in February and early March. . .
Oregon City resident Pam Degler, 62, said she goes online at midnight every week, only when it appears that some pharmacies are announcing their appointments.
She tried two cell phones to make an appointment for a fourth family member, her 23-year-old son, who is eligible for his job as a wastewater worker. In previous weeks, Degler has managed to make appointments for her 85-year-old mother, her 67-year-old husband and herself as her mother’s caregiver, but ‘this week is the worst I’ve ever seen.’
“You can never find one,” Degler said Wednesday about her efforts to click and secure an online time slot. “It will turn and it will turn and then it will suddenly say, ‘No, it’s gone.’ ‘
Degler said she repeated the process repeatedly until about 1 a.m. when all the appointments disappeared and she finally went to bed.
Degler said her family wants to travel with her sisters and their families in May. It’s a precious time to spend with her older sister, who has been diagnosed with stomach cancer and will soon start chemotherapy. Their plan will only happen if everyone is fully vaccinated, she said.
She gave up all hope, that is, until Thursday when she achieved success when she tried to book early in the evening. The plan to see her sisters also depends on other large family securing appointments. Nevertheless, after a series of late nights, she said she was looking forward to “going to bed at a normal time.”
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– Aimee Green; [email protected]; @o_aimee