Under intense demand, seniors aged 80 and over in the Portland area scheduled all COVID-19 vaccination appointments available to them in the first two and a half hours they were eligible on Monday.
It was the first day that Governor Kate Brown allowed this older group of Oregon residents to start scheduling vaccinations across Oregon – and those who knew about the internet or had relatives who could help them took the chance after 10 months of pandemic that has reached its age group the most difficult.
The process differs from county to county, but in the Portland area, the state’s vaccination information website – https://covidvaccine.oregon.gov – started allowing seniors to start making appointments at 9 am on Monday. At 11:35 am, all appointments at the Oregon Convention Center and in the red economy parking lot at Portland International Airport for the next week – until Tuesday, February 16 – were met.
It is not clear when new commitments will be opened. Oregonian / OregonLive is seeking clarification from local health authorities. The two mass vaccination sites are inoculating residents of Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas and Columbia counties.
The governor and state public health officials asked older residents for patience because there is not enough vaccine to inoculate them immediately. Oregon Health Authority Director Patrick Allen said last week that it could be in early May before 75% of elderly people aged 65 and over who wish to be vaccinated receive two doses.
Allen also said he estimates that it is when 75% of the other groups the governor has already elected will have been fully vaccinated. These groups include primary school and elementary and high school staff, Phase 1a health professionals and inmates.
The governor was harshly criticized by the elderly for postponing their vaccination eligibility dates for weeks, by allowing daycare, preschool and elementary school employees to have access to vaccines from January 25 across the state.
Monday’s vaccination scheduling process was peppered with some surprises for the elderly. On the one hand, although the elderly could make their appointments on Monday, no vaccinations would actually happen on Monday, at least in the Portland area. Most consultations started on Wednesday.
Some readers who contacted The Oregonian / OregonLive on Monday morning also reported problems scheduling an appointment. The process differs from county to county, but in the Portland area Monday appointments could not be scheduled over the phone and could only be guaranteed online through the state’s vaccination information website https://covidvaccine.oregon.gov/ through a “Let’s get started” AND chat tool.
State public health officials have said that those who need help discovering the system in their area or have general questions should call 211. It is not clear whether seniors across the state can make an appointment by phone, but at least in the area from Portland a recorded message on Monday sent mixed messages. A pre-recorded message stated that it was possible, but that the line was showing “extremely high call volumes”. The message then said that he was only assisting people in Phase 1a, such as health workers, with scheduling appointments. The line then disconnected.
It is also unclear whether seniors who receive their first doses will be automatically scheduled by the vaccination team for second dose appointments, but this has been the practice so far in the Portland area for people who have received the first doses.
After seniors aged 80 and over, eligibility will expand to younger age groups each week: 75 and older from February 15, 70 and older from February 22 and 65 and older from March 1st.
Allen, the director of the Oregon Health Authority, said the state could open eligibility for people with underlying illnesses and some essential workers in early April. Allen speculated that it could be July, when the general population of healthy adults in Oregon will have access to vaccines.
Allen said the deadline could be shortened if vaccines like Johnson & Johnson are given emergency use authorization and doses start arriving in Oregon this spring.
Check back at OregonLive.com later. This story will be updated.
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– Aimee Green; [email protected]; @o_aimee