(Update: video addition, Deschutes County Health Dept. comments)
Residents aged 75 and over can now make an appointment to be vaccinated
BEND, Oregon. (KTVZ) – Central Oregon is one of the only areas in the state to obtain approval to begin vaccinating all residents aged 75 and over. This puts the region well ahead of schedule, as the Oregon Health Authority’s latest distribution plan said the group was not scheduled to become eligible until February 14.
This is largely due to a successful vaccination event at Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center in Redmond. From Wednesday to Sunday last week, 4,600 people were vaccinated, mainly educators and caregivers – a group that, according to OHA, should not receive vaccines until this week.
Authorities said another 10,000 vaccines are expected to arrive at the fair grounds this week. Moving forward, vaccines will be administered there from Tuesday to Saturday.
Delivery is weekly, so central Oregon is not always faster than the rest of the state.
Morgan Emerson, public information officer for the Deschutes County Health Department, told NewsChannel 21 that more than 12,600 people were vaccinated in the county on Tuesday afternoon.
In the meantime, the department has opened its vaccination interest form to all residents of central Oregon. So, people who live in Jefferson and Crook counties can start filling it.
Since its launch last Saturday, Emerson said that about 28,000 people have signed up. Once people become eligible, they will receive a notification from the health department stating that they can schedule a vaccination appointment at www.stcharleshealthcare.org.
In less than 24 hours after Monday’s announcement, more than 6,000 inhabitants of central Oregon in Phase 1B – Group 3 (75+ years old) received the notification.
“When we sent this notification, we had thousands of vaccination markings available to residents of central Oregon who are 75 or older,” said Emerson. “Appointments are still available and people can book online.”
Emerson Aid, there is no set date for when people in Phase 1B – Groups 4 and 5 will become eligible. As of now, OHA says that people aged 70 and over will qualify in the week of February 21, while those aged 65 and over will qualify in the week of February 28.