State leaders will announce Friday that residents 45 and older with underlying medical conditions, including cancer, type 2 diabetes and severe obesity, will be residents 45 and older, but not smokers.
Officials say this group is eligible no later than March 29. Farm workers, food processing workers and homeless people are also eligible at the same time.
By May 1, the state plans to open vaccinations for people with underlying medical conditions aged 16 to 44 years. Frontline workers such as grocery store employees, restaurant and bar staff, bus drivers, construction workers and government officials will also be eligible on the same date. . But those workers may not be able to work from home and must regularly have close contact with others outside their household as part of their job.
By June 1, the state plans to admit the generally healthy population of Oregonians 45 years and older.
According to officials, by July 16, someone 16 years or older should be eligible for the vaccines.
The news will be made official during a news conference to be held Friday at 11 a.m. by Gov. Kate Brown and public health leaders. The announcement will be broadcast live on YouTube.
Dave Baden, chief financial officer of the Oregon Health Authority, said he expects all seniors 65 and older who want the vaccine to receive their first doses by the end of March, allowing the state to close the locks in the next three months to open an estimated 800,000 residents with underlying conditions and 980,000 frontline workers.
But Baden said he thinks the new timeline is conservative: he believes there will be enough vaccine to Oregon to give each adult Oregonian a first dose by the end of May. Baden said civil servants could increase the dates announced Friday, thanks to the dramatic increase in promised shipments from the federal government.
“We think we can go faster,” Baden said. “But we want to make sure we set targets today so that at least someone can say, ‘I can see when I’m eligible.’ ‘
Civil servants have said they leave the definitions of who qualifies under ‘medical conditions’ to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – with two exceptions. The CDC recommends that people who meet the definition of obesity – who have a body mass index of 30 or higher – be included. Oregon will set stricter criteria for severe obesity, with a body mass index of 40 or higher.
The CDC also recommends that smokers be included, but Oregon has excluded them from early vaccinations. Rachael Banks, director of the Oregon Health Division’s Health Department, said smokers qualify for early vaccinations for other reasons, including lung disease or heart disease.
Oregon’s list of underlying conditions includes the following conditions: cancer that is currently active and endangers the immune system, chronic kidney disease, chronic lung disease, Down syndrome, a weakened immune system from organ transplants, pregnancy, sickle cell disease, type 2 diabetes, severe obesity and heart disease including heart failure, coronary artery disease and cardiomyopathy. The list does not contain high blood pressure.
Check back later on OregonLive.com. This story will be updated.
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– Aimee Green; [email protected]; @o_aimee