Governor Kate Brown planned to announce the latest news on the state’s response to COVID-19 starting at 11 am. Watch the press conference here:
State officials, increasingly confident about the vaccine supply, are accelerating the vaccination schedule. Authorities say the increased supply will help them vaccinate most Oregon senior citizens in early April. This means that the state may move to other groups almost a month ahead of schedule.
This is good news, as Oregon is preparing to open vaccines for nearly 800,000 seniors on February 8, doubling the number of eligible people. Despite a comparatively smooth rollout, there have been loins and tightening points, and many health professionals in the state’s most populous counties are still waiting for their turn. When people over 65 become eligible, state officials predict that these problems will only increase.
“If you saw the launch of the senior category everywhere else in the country, it was really chaotic. And here, too, it will be chaotic, ”said OHA director Patrick Allen. At least in the beginning, there will not be enough vaccines or consultations for everyone.
To help deal with the flood of avid nominee candidates, Oregon Governor Kate Brown plans to mobilize the National Guard for Oregon’s COVID-19 helpline, accessed by calling 211.
The Biden government announced that the states would receive a three-week notice of the vaccine supply. Oregon health officials announced on Friday that, starting next week, Oregon’s vaccine shipments will increase by 20%, from 55,000 first doses per week to 75,000 first doses per week. Additional injections will also be available through the federal pharmacy program.
Allen is confident that the state has the capacity to receive doses in arms in the same week that vaccines arrive.
“We are taking an average of 16,000 doses a day. At the moment, our peak day was last Friday. We administered 24,000 doses throughout the day, and everyone who was vaccinated asked for more, ”said Allen.
If you do the math, said the Oregon Health Authority chief of vaccination and Chief Financial Officer Dave Baden, Oregon, you will have received enough vaccine doses to immunize 75% of Oregon’s elderly in early April. “And we will have enough for the entire population just a few weeks later.”
Once the 75% benchmark is reached, other groups will be able to schedule appointments.
But there will be a period, from February to March, when the demand for vaccines will far exceed supply, and supply and demand will vary from municipality to municipality. This has been happening for much of the launch
For some Oregon residents, it was easy to get vaccinated. Some counties have already vaccinated all their health workers and school officials. However, more populous counties have struggled to reach health professionals who are not affiliated with large hospital organizations. The OPB spoke with Portland area nurses, teachers and home caregivers who have difficulty making appointments using online tools, competing for appointments with a variety of less than intuitive online registration systems.
Different counties will see different solutions.
“It’s frustrating, but due to the way things work, it will vary across the state, with 34 different local public health officials,” said Allen.
Related: As the number of viruses increases in eastern Oregon, leaders question equal access to the vaccine
For example, in Douglas County vaccines will be sent to pharmacies and doctors’ offices.
“There won’t be a big, you know, congested appointment system. They are a size where this is feasible, ”said Allen.
Health workers in the metropolitan Portland area are frustrated with the current system, which only allows appointments to be made at the Oregon Convention Center one week in advance. Allen said they will soon be able to make appointments several weeks in advance.
Kelly Beckley, RN, prepares the Pfizer vaccine before the opening of a COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Oregon Convention Center on January 27, 2021.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Oregon Health Authority Communications Director Robb Cowie told OPB that a new web system, planned to be launched next week, will solve some of the problems with the marking system so far.
Currently, people can only register for the COVID-19 vaccine in English or Spanish. The new tool will support 12 languages. At the moment, an individual can only schedule one appointment at a time. This means that home caregivers and caregivers need to schedule separate appointments and make multiple trips to vaccination centers.
The new website will also change that. People will be able to create a profile and use that profile to enroll multiple people at once.
Pharmacies in Portland and across the state will also receive vaccines directly from the federal government.
Despite all the planning, Allen acknowledged: “It will be a traffic jam. The first few weeks will be very difficult. “
There will still not be enough commitments for everyone. It is very likely that appointments will be filled quickly and people will probably still connect to find out that there are no appointments available. Even with the National Guard waiting on the phone to provide technical support, there will be waits.