© Provided by Washington Examiner Every adult Oregonian may qualify for COVID-19 vaccinations as soon as late this summer, Oregon state officials said Friday.
Starting July 1, every adult Oregonian is expected to be eligible for a shot in the arm by the Oregon Health Authority's latest estimates. For every Oregonian ages 45 to 64, a shot is anticipated to come "no later than June 1," according to OHA Director Patrick Allen.
Shots are slated as soon as March 29 for Oregon's thousands of homeless and people ages 45 to 64 with underlying conditions as defined by the CDC, which include cancer, chronic kidney disease, and Type 2 Diabetes.
By May 1, vaccinations should open up for those ages 16 to 45 with underlying conditions, Allen said Friday.
"While younger people living with underlying health conditions may not face the same risks as older people, they're still at greater risk than the general public," Allen said during a virtual Friday news conference.
According to OHA data, seniors ages 70 and up continue to make up 50% of all hospitalizations while young people ages 20 to 39 account for 38% of cases to date.
Between Phases 1a and 1b, Oregon's vaccine rollout is focused on health care workers, seniors, education workers, and people in long-term care facilities, or about 1.3 million Oregonians.
CDC guidelines recommend Phase 1c include essential frontline workers, which includes agricultural workers, grocery store employees, and members of the media who see prolonged contact with other people outside if their household for longer than 15 minutes.
OHA Public Health Division Director Banks announced on Friday that all the above groups in Oregon should expect to be eligible for vaccinations no later than May 1. Those groups combined could total up to 980,000 people.
Less than a year into the pandemic, OHA data shows the pandemic is finally showing positive signs of slowing in Oregon. On Friday, the state's positivity rate was 3.5% and its weekly case average hit 396 or the lowest since last spring.
"Soon we'll reach a point where we no longer have too few doses for too many people who want them," Banks said. "We'll have enough doses for everyone, but the question will be: Will enough people take them?"
Journalists calling in to Friday's news conference wanted to know the same thing.
When pressed by reporters about how many eligible candidates are turning down vaccinations, Allen claimed compiling such data as "extraordinarily difficult."
"There aren't really good ways to track who's deciding not to get a vaccine," Allen said. "If we get toward the end of the month and we start seeing that people in Malheur County are getting vaccinated at super high rates and people in Washington County aren't, we may make some changes how we allocate vaccines to respond to that."
Since the start of the month, Oregon has expanded eligibility for seniors every week starting with those 80 and older February 8. Seniors ages 65 and up are due for vaccinations on Monday.
So far, the OHA reports that about one in four Oregon seniors have gotten their first shot in the arm as of Friday. Allen said he expects the state will have enough vaccines on hand to immunize at least 75% of all seniors by March 29, weeks ahead of the OHA's initial time frame.
By the OHA's estimates, just half of seniors ages 80 and up were vaccinated after becoming eligible the first week of February.
Allen told Oregonians on Friday the state's vaccine rollout will still rely on a consistent supply of vaccines from the federal government and expanding vaccination sites.
OHA officials also hope a new online portal, " Get Vaccinated Oregon," will help vaccine candidates spend less time on the phone nabbing an appointment. Candidates who submit their name, address, and other contact information to the registry will be contacted directly by a vaccine providers once slots open up.
Right now, Oregon's minimum vaccine allocation stands at 120,000 doses. By Allen's estimates, seven out of 10 adults could get their first doses if the state's vaccine allocation rose to as much as 200,000 doses per week.
Brown also announced Friday that federal aid passed by Congress has granted the state $220 million to reimburse hospitals, clinics, and public health partners through April 21. FEMA will also aid the vaccine rollout at Portland and Salem's vaccinations sites starting with 20 staff next week.
The CDC COVID Tracker showed on Friday that 7.7% of people in the state were on their first dose while another 14.1% are on to their second dose.
Tags: States, News, Oregon, Vaccination, Coronavirus
Original Author: Tim Gruver, The Center Square
Original Location: Oregon vaccine rollout could reach general public by summer, health officials say