Oregon reports more daily cases of COVID-19 than in months

In early April, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown called our current moment in the COVID-19 pandemic a ‘race’ between the coronavirus and vaccinations.

This week, it appears that vaccines are losing that breed.

The state reports infections at levels not seen since January. Oregon has confirmed an average of nearly 600 cases a day over the past week, with a number of daily cases exceeding 700 and 800 – and these are just the infections confirmed by positive tests.

This is with nearly a quarter of Oregon adults being fully vaccinated and more than a third receiving at least one shot.

All Oregon adults 16 years and older will be eligible for vaccines starting Monday, and thousands of people will get a jolt every day. At the same time, however, state data show that vaccine admission has not been translated into vaccine equity.

“The numbers are sharp and clear,” said Patrick Allen, director of the Oregon Health Authority. “For too many people, race and income are a predictor of whether or not you have access to a COVID-19 vaccine.”

Related: Oregon’s vaccination choices have left Latino people behind

People who identify themselves as Spanish or Latino, for example, make up about 13% of Oregon’s population, but 25% of confirmed cases of coronavirus and only 6% of total vaccinations.

Latino organizers in Oregon have identified the many barriers to vaccination that still exist despite public eligibility. To access a shot, you need to navigate a complex and at worst unsafe bureaucracy in the best way.

The state shipped vaccines to federally qualified health centers and spent millions of dollars on outreach to try to narrow the vaccine gap. Oregon also works with individual employers across the state to vaccinate employees on the premises and with other community groups, but Brown acknowledged that the state needs to do more.

“We certainly welcome concrete proposals and advice,” the governor said.

New zip code data also shows that people in some of the richest neighborhoods in Oregon are vaccinated almost twice as fast as the people in the poorest.

And one of the state’s instruments to close the gaps in vaccines is still out of order.

Oregon joined other states this week to maintain the one-shot vaccine Johnson & Johnson, while federal health authorities are investigating six cases of extremely rare blood clots, one of which is associated with a death, among the nearly 7 million people who receive it has. vaccine. The risks associated with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine remain very low.

Oregon has so far administered relatively few Johnson & Johnson vaccines, but intended to use them to vaccinate populations that are more difficult to reach.

Public health officials are appealing to people to restrict indoor gatherings, maintain 6 feet of social distance, wear a mask that covers their nose and mouth and wash their hands to prevent the deadly virus from spreading.

Related: We can learn a thing or two about social distance from animals

The surge in coronavirus cases on April 6 caused increased public restrictions in several counties in Oregon, including Multnomah, Clackamas, and Deschutes. The state will announce new risk levels in the province on Tuesday 20 April, and dr. Sidelinger, state epidemiologist, said some provinces may see additional restrictions.

Sidelinger said many recent coronavirus outbreaks are related to social gatherings of largely unmasked people. He referred to a multi-night karaoke event that made 36 people sick, hospitalized three and killed one. An indoor concert at a small music venue made 15 people sick and another gathering in the backyard led to coronavirus infections in all ten participants.

“It’s another reminder that even small decay can have consequences,” Sidelinger said.

Oregon has confirmed more than 172,000 cases of COVID-19 and 2,455 virus-related deaths since the onset of the pandemic.