EUGENE, Erts. – New COVID-19 variants have been confirmed in Lane County, said dr. Patrick Luedtke, public health officer, said Thursday.
The varieties of New York and the United Kingdom have both been identified in our area, and there have been additional cases of the California variety, which was first confirmed in Lane County weeks ago.
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“We have invited them to our country through recent travels and by people who no longer apply the strong infection control measures we want them to practice,” Luedtke said.
Luedtke said the advent of these variants is no surprise, as it has spread across the country. The variants are worrisome, but he is not narrow, he said.
One of the most effective tools to combat the more transmissible variants is vaccines, Luedtke said.
“We must not just continue with these powerful vaccination efforts, we must really increase them,” Luedtke said.
On Monday, every Oregonian older than 16 will be eligible to receive the vaccine. Jason Davis, spokesman for Lane County Public Health, said people can make appointments on Lane County’s website.
“I want to remind everyone that the first dose available is the best dose,” Davis said. “Certainly, if we look at our community immunity, the 70 to 75 percent of our total population that needs to be vaccinated to prevent large-scale outbreaks need your help with that.”
This is because new COVID-19 cases are increasing in Lane County. On Thursday, 75 new cases were reported by Lane County Public Health.
“These latest numbers are really tricky and really represent what we believe is a boom,” Davis said.
According to Davis, the new issues stem mainly from the distribution of households, gatherings among colleagues and religious activities. There is also a significant increase in the number of cases among school-going children, Davis said.
“Since March 24, we’ve seen 93 cases of K-12, and that’s very important and that’s a number of the most school – age children we’ve still seen in the pandemic,” Davis said.
According to Davis, Lane County is currently on track to move to the ‘high risk’ category when the Oregon health authority re-evaluates risk levels next week.