By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com
Confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Lincoln County have doubled in the past two days and public health officials believe it is due to holiday gatherings and the arrival of the omicron variant.
Lincoln County Public Health also said Thursday that two people with Covid-19 are now hospitalized locally, breaking a string of 10 days with no people in Newport of Lincoln City hospitals.
Health officials said there were 23 cases reported Tuesday, 30 on Wednesday and then 45 Thursday.
On Wednesday, health officials announced that two cases of the Covid-19 omicron variant that have been sweeping parts of the United States were confirmed in the county. LCPH was notified that two virus samples of batches collected Dec. 13 and Dec. 17 came back positive for the omicron variant.
“We all know by now it’s the dominant strain,” health and human services director Jayne Romero told county commissioners.
Omicron is generally thought to be a less lethal variant that causes milder infections. Public health officials say those who are fully vaccinated and boosted have strong protection against serious illness, yet are still susceptible to breakthrough cases. And they believe the coming tidal wave of omicron infections will cause severe cases, clog the already strained health care system and ultimately lead to more deaths.
In a special statement Thursday, LCPH cautioned people to “reconsider large gatherings” on New Years Eve or New Years Day.
“If you must be in a group, you can increase your protection by wearing a well-fitted mask, physical distancing, increasing ventilation, and careful handwashing,” the agency said in a news release.
“Our four-day average of cases has increased significantly in the last week,” health department spokeswoman Susan Trachsel said Wednesday. “This could be a sign that the expected surge is beginning.”
Romero said the fear is that Oregon hospitals could be overwhelmed by cases in mid- to late-January if the expected surge materializes, especially among the unvaccinated.
Other developments Thursday:
- The seven day daily average of new cases jumped to 1,532, and the test positivity rate hit 15.5 percent, triple the level two weeks prior and rivaling some of the highest levels seen during the pandemic. Oregon’s highest daily case count during the pandemic was 3,207 on Aug. 27. To date, the state has only identified 24 cases of Omicron in its sequencing of virus specimens, but officials say that’s because of the small number of specimens being processed each week and delays in that sampling.
- The Oregon Health Authority said of the 6,993 cases of Covid-19 during the week of Dec.19 to Dec. 25 almost 37 percent occurred among people who had at least one vaccine dose. The average age of the breakthrough cases during that period was 36 and there were 137 cases in youngsters aged 12 to 17. The OHA said to date, 4.3 percent of all vaccine breakthrough cases have been hospitalized and 1.2 percent have died. The average age of vaccinated people who died was 81.
- Oregon has made its largest order yet of COVID-19 tests that will be offered to people for free so they can find out, at home in 15 minutes, if they are carrying the virus, and take steps to prevent its spread. Oregon Health Authority placed an order Wednesday with iHealth Labs for 6 million of its COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Test kits. Each kit contains two tests, amounting to a total of 12 million tests. The kits will be distributed throughout January and will begin arriving next week at OHA’s warehouse in Wilsonville, where they will be disseminated to numerous partner agencies and organizations.
Clinics resume next week
In January, the Lincoln County Public Health Department intends to stick to its plans to conduct regular weekday clinics in various cities or schools around the county.
The health department is also relying on nine pharmacies from Waldport to Lincoln City and Samaritan Health Services’ two walk-in clinics to handle first, second and booster doses of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.
The county is not currently getting any supply of the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccines, said Trachsel, but other medical providers may have them.
“We’ll definitely have a ton of opportunities in January …,” Trachsel said.
The first LCPH-organized clinic next year is 2:30 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 5 at Eddyville Charter School.
The next day, one of three Federal Emergency Management Administration buses that were in Oregon this fall is scheduled to return to the county fairgrounds, where it will stay for two weeks. The “Big Yellow Bus” as it is called, is staffed by medical contractors and offers all three vaccines. They can also conduct Covid-19 tests.
Samaritan Health Services is offering a clinic from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 8 at its Center for Health Education in Newport. It requires pre-registration for appointments through its website.
Unless the spread of omicron dictates otherwise, LCPH plans smaller, regular clinics in Yachats, Waldport, Lincoln City, Toledo, and Otis starting in January and continuing for the next six months. The January schedule is listed on the LCPH website.
Nine pharmacies in Lincoln County are offering vaccines, including booster shots. Four of the nine are accepting walk-ins, the other five require appointments – and lines can be long. A list of pharmacies and their appointment procedures is also on the LCPH website.
The warnings about the omicron variant spreading quickly through Oregon in January comes as 77 percent of all Lincoln County residents – including children – have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. That’s the highest rate of any county in the state – and compares with rates of 39 percent to 49 percent in some of the low-vaccinated Oregon counties who have seen a much greater number of hospitalizations and deaths.
Lincoln County also has its range of vaccinations.
The vaccination rate in the Yachats zip code is 94.6 percent and 73.4 percent in the Waldport zip code. But it is 47.7 percent in the Tidewater area and 53.3 in the Toledo zip code, according to the Oregon Health Authority.
The Oregon Health Authority has added high-capacity vaccination sites around the state in addition to the six that already exist. It has announced four new locations to provide greater access to COVID-19 vaccines and boosters shots, including two within easy driving distance of Lincoln County. The new sites are:
- Florence Events Center, starting Dec. 31. Open noon to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays. The clinic is closed Tuesday, Jan. 18 due to a previous commitment.
- Spirit Mountain Casino, Grand Ronde, starting Jan. 15. Open noon to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays.
The other two sites are opening Jan. 8 and are at the Roseburg Public Library and Pony Village Mall in North Bend.
These sites will offer all three COVID-19 vaccines, boosters and pediatric doses at no charge. No appointment is necessary.