Nearly half of Oregon’s residents are satisfied with the state’s work of distributing the COVID-19 vaccine, according to a survey released on Thursday, while most remain somewhat concerned about the spread of the coronavirus in their communities.
That was a conclusion of the survey by DHM Research, which interviewed 600 Oregon residents earlier this month on a range of topics, including Governor Kate Brown and President Biden’s pandemic treatment, vaccine launch and other topics.
The research came when the Oregon Health Authority announced on Wednesday 393 new cases of coronavirus and four deaths from the pandemic.
About 48% of respondents indicated that they were satisfied with the distribution of the vaccine so far, while 39% were dissatisfied and 13% did not know what to think of the effort.
Seniors were much more likely to have a pessimistic view of implantation, with 55% of those 65 and older interviewed saying they were dissatisfied.
According to the survey, the elderly were also upset by Brown’s decision to put teachers ahead of the elderly in the vaccine line, with about 53% of the elderly interviewed disagreeing with that decision.
Meanwhile, 60% of all respondents, regardless of age, said they were concerned about the spread of COVID-19 in their communities, while 37% said they were not.
Most respondents said they supported Brown’s drive to demand hybrid or full-time instruction for elementary school students by March 29.
Brown’s overall approval rating for COVID-19 – with 42% strongly or in some way approving its treatment – fell behind President Biden’s 55%.
Oregon continues to have one of the lowest COVID-19 infection and mortality rates of any state in the country.
According to the researcher, whites were overrepresented in the survey, with 89% of respondents identifying themselves as whites.
The survey took place from March 7 to 14 and had a margin of error of 4%.
Where new cases are by county: Baker (3), Benton (19), Clackamas (21), Clatsop (2), Columbia (1), Coos (22), Crook (5), Curry (5), Deschutes (11), Douglas (16), Grant (2), Jackson (42), Jefferson (1), Josephine (25), Klamath (5), Lane (12), Lincoln (7), Linn (10), Malheur (2), Marion (44), Morrow (1), Multnomah (66), Polk (4), Tillamook (3), Umatilla (6), Union (3), Wallowa (1), Wasco (2), Washington (45) and Yamhill (7).
Who died: The death of 2,350th COVID-19 in Oregon is a 79-year-old woman from Klamath County who tested positive on March 12 and died on March 14 at Sky Lakes Medical Center.
2,351 killed in Oregon was a 44-year-old man from Marion County, who tested positive on February 16 and died on March 15 at Salem Hospital.
The 2,352th death in Oregon was a 54-year-old man from Linn County who tested positive on December 21 and died on March 15 at Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital.
The 2,353 death in Oregon is that of a 75-year-old man from Lane County, who tested positive on March 14 and died on March 14.
Each person who died had underlying conditions, health officials said.
The prevalence of infections: On Thursday, the state registered 598 new positive tests out of 17,801 tests carried out, which is equivalent to a positivity rate of 3.4%.
Who was infected: New confirmed or presumed infections grew between the following age groups: 0-9 (25); 10-19 (46); 20-29 (51); 30-39 (65); 40-49 (63); 50-59 (52); 60-69 (37); 70-79 (21); 80 and older (3).
Who is in the hospital: The state reported that 116 people were hospitalized with a confirmed case of COVID-19, which is eight more than Wednesday’s number. There were 38 patients with COVID-19 in intensive care unit (ICU) beds, nine more than in similar care on Wednesday.
Vaccines administered: Oregon administered 1,412,232 first and second doses on Thursday. The state reported 49,166 new doses. Of those vaccines, 18,412 doses were administered on Wednesday and 30,754 on previous days, but entered the system on Wednesday. The high numbers stem from the lack of reports earlier this week, during a database outage.
Since it started: Oregon reported 160,622 confirmed or suspected infections and 2,353 deaths, among the lowest per capita numbers in the country. To date, the state has reported 4,021,248 test lab reports.
– Andrew Theen; 503-294-4026; @andrewtheen[email protected]