Vaccine updates from Friday’s news conference

Friday, Oregon Health Authority Director Patrick Allen and Governor Kate Brown provided an update on COVID-19 in Oregon. There’s a lot to report:

• We expect to have vaccinated Oregonians age 65 and older who want a vaccine by early April, a month sooner than we previously estimated, due to an increase in federal allocation of vaccine doses.
• This means that we now expect to be able to begin vaccinating front-line workers and people with chronic conditions by early April.
• That said, as our Oregonians ages 80 and older become eligible on Monday, we expect there will be some frustration due to the limited supply. But we’re supporting older adults and the people who care about them or care for them through new web tools and staffed up 211 lines (supported by the Oregon National Guard) that will connect them to vaccine information.

So how can older adults get a COVID-19 vaccine?

• Like other eligible adults, seniors can get vaccinated through local public health authorities or their partners, hospitals, public vaccination clinics and in long-term care facilities.
• Starting soon, some seniors will be able to get vaccinated at some retail pharmacies.
• In most counties, older adults won’t be able to get vaccinated at a doctor’s office, though some counties are making that possible.
• The options available will depend on the county in which the person lives.

Here are some of the ways you can stay informed:

• New tools on covidvaccine.oregon.gov: OHA’s vaccination website features facts about COVID-19 vaccines.
  • Starting next week, the website will feature a new tool, “Get Vaccinated Oregon.” This will allow people to determine if they are currently eligible for a vaccine and register to get email alerts or text notifications when they become eligible. Once you’re eligible, the tool will help direct you to vaccine events in your area. This tool will be open to all Oregonians. Using this tool does not provide a “place in line,” but it will help you find a vaccine event in your area.
  • As of today, updated vaccine information by county is posted at covidvaccine.oregon.gov.
  • For people in the Portland-metro area, a chat bot on the site is available to link you to local events.
• Get vaccine information from 211: Older Oregonians can also text ORCOVID to 898211 to get text/SMS updates about vaccination clinics (available in English and Spanish). Seniors can also email ORCOVID@211info.org.
  • If you can’t get your COVID-19 vaccine question answered on the website, by text, or by email, you can call 211 or 1-866-698-6155, which is open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, including holidays.
  • Please be aware that wait times may be long due to high call volumes.

Finally, pharmacy partners are vaccinating residents and staff at most licensed facilities for older adults and people with disabilities. Residents (or family members) can ask their facility operator when their residence is scheduled for a vaccination clinic.

You can watch the full news conference in English and in Spanish.

Oregon reports 846 new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases, 5 new deaths; Oregon passes 2,000 deaths

PORTLAND — There are five new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 2,002, the Oregon Health Authority reported at 12:01 a.m. Friday.

Oregon Health Authority reported 846 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. Friday, bringing the state total to 146,138.

COVID-19 related deaths top 2,000 in Oregon

“OHA is saddened today to report our 2,000th COVID-19 related death: a 90-year-old woman in Yamhill County who tested positive on Feb. 1 and died on Feb. 2 at her residence,” said OHA Director Patrick Allen. “At this stage of the pandemic, many of us have seen family, friends or neighbors die from COVID-19. Or we know people who have lost loved ones. Many of us at OHA grieve the loss of our own family or friends. Every loss weighs on us. I want to extend my deepest sympathies to every family who’s mourned a parent, sibling or child who died from a COVID-19 infection.”

Vaccinations in Oregon

Today, OHA reported that 22,724 new doses of COVID-19 vaccinations were added to the state immunization registry. Of this total, 12,898 doses were administered on Feb. 4 and 9,826 were administered on previous days but were entered into the vaccine registry on Feb. 4.

Cumulative daily totals can take several days to finalize because providers have 72 hours to report doses administered and technical challenges have caused many providers to lag in their reporting. OHA has been providing technical support to vaccination sites to improve the timeliness of their data entry into the state’s ALERT Immunization Information System (IIS).

Oregon has now administered a cumulative total of 509,582 first and second doses of COVID-19 vaccines. To date, 733,975 doses of vaccine have been delivered to sites across Oregon.

These data are preliminary and subject to change. OHA’s dashboards provide regularly updated vaccination data, and Oregon’s dashboard has been updated today.

COVID-19 hospitalizations

The number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 across Oregon is 238, which is 23 fewer than yesterday. There are 59 COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit (ICU) beds, which is one more than yesterday.

The total number of patients in hospital beds may fluctuate between report times. The numbers do not reflect admissions per day, nor the length of hospital stay. Staffing limitations are not captured in this data and may further limit bed capacity.

More information about hospital capacity can be found here.

Additional testing results added to daily totals

Due to a delay in laboratory reporting, OHA received more than 1,800 electronic laboratory results (ELRs) on Feb. 3. These newly added test results include information from Dec. 2, 2020 through Feb. 2. As a result, daily ELR totals and percent positivity are higher for Feb. 3 than usual in seven counties: Clackamas, Jefferson, Lake, Malheur, Marion, Multnomah and Umatilla.

Baker County moves from Extreme Risk to High Risk level

Baker County’s risk level will drop from Extreme Risk to High Risk, effective Feb. 5. In working with Baker County’s Local Public Health Authority, OHA found discrepancies in Baker County’s percent positivity data related to electronic laboratory results submitted from Idaho health systems. In addition, from Jan. 10 through Jan. 23, there were 12 adults in custody newly reported to have COVID-19. As these individuals do not interact with members of the broader community, the numbers are being subtracted from Baker County’s total cases of COVID-19 for determination of county risk level, bringing the number of cases in the two week period down to 54.

Based on the corrected data, Baker County was found to qualify for High Risk immediately. This move allows some businesses and facilities to resume offering indoor services with health and safety measures and capacity limits in place.

Cases and deaths

The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported today are in the following counties: Baker (1), Benton (20), Clackamas (42), Clatsop (6), Columbia (10), Coos (19), Crook (8), Curry (5), Deschutes (25), Douglas (26), Harney (9), Hood River (2), Jackson (36), Jefferson (16), Josephine (17), Klamath (4), Lake (15), Lane (83), Lincoln (9), Linn (20), Malheur (21), Marion (132), Morrow (5), Multnomah (136), Polk (15), Tillamook (1), Umatilla (31), Union (12), Wallowa (1), Wasco (4), Washington (92) and Yamhill (23).

NOTE: Oregon’s 768th and 1,416th COVID-19 related deaths, reported on Nov. 17 and Dec. 25, are the same person. Because of this error, we are renumbering our reported deaths starting with 1,998 today.

Oregon’s 1,998th COVID-19 death is a 65-year-old man in Linn County who tested positive on Jan. 11 and died on Feb. 2 at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend. He had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 1,999th COVID-19 death is a 67-year-old woman in Hood River County who tested positive on Jan. 19 and died on Feb. 2 at Providence Portland Medical Center. She had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 2,000th COVID-19 death is a 90-year-old woman in Yamhill County who tested positive on Feb. 1 and died on Feb. 2 at her residence. She had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 2,001st COVID-19 death is a 69-year-old man in Josephine County who tested positive on Feb. 4 and died on Feb. 1 at his residence. He had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 2,002nd COVID-19 death is an 82-year-old man in Multnomah County who tested positive on Jan. 8 and died on Jan. 15 at Kaiser Permanente Sunnyside Medical Center. He had underlying conditions.

Learn more about COVID-19 vaccinations

To learn more about the COVID-19 vaccine situation in Oregon, visit our webpage, which has a breakdown of distribution and other useful information.