Oregon reported 713 new cases of coronavirus on Tuesday and 16 new deaths, along with nearly 26,000 people vaccinated.
About 80% of Oregon’s vaccine stock remains unused, as the state and pharmaceutical companies strive to provide healthcare professionals, senior healthcare professionals and residents with the first injection of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines.
Health officials “certainly” expect more people to be vaccinated each day, but they feel comfortable with the progress so far, Oregon Health Authority spokesman Jonathan Modie said in an email.
“Vaccines are reaching qualified hospitals and nursing centers across the state,” said Modie. “This deployment is going well, with high acceptance at these facilities.”
The federal government’s leading infectious disease specialist, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said recently that up to 90% of the population must be fully vaccinated for the United States to achieve collective immunity, when enough people are immune to a disease to prevent those who are not to get sick.
This equates to almost 3.8 million Oregonians. At the peak of Oregon’s vaccination rate so far, about 4,500 vaccines in one day, it would take up to 4 ½ years before the state could be considered safe.
Meanwhile, Oregon’s supply far exceeds the number of doses people have received.
As of Monday, 25,971 people had received the first of the two mandatory vaccines, state data show. While that number is almost certain – health professionals have three days to report the injections they administer – it is a fraction of the doses Oregon has on hand.
As of Sunday, 131,575 doses had been delivered to Oregon’s vaccination sites, the health official said, although some of them were probably reserved for a second dose.
The health authority listed a number of challenges for vaccinating people.
Managing vaccines is difficult, especially the one produced by Pfizer-BioNTech. This vaccine is “delicate,” said Modie, requiring ultra-cool storage that few sites can provide. And the people managing shots must define precisely how to prepare and apply them correctly.
Another obstacle is that a hospital cannot simply vaccinate everyone at once. Workers should be able to take time off if they experience side effects. It would not be wise for all employees in a hospital’s intensive care unit, for example, be recovering from the dose, said Modie.
“It is a challenging time to start a major immunization campaign,” said Modie. “But we are happy to have the vaccine and to continue our distribution effort across the state.”
The Oregon Health Authority does not have a specific vaccination fee planned for the future, Modie said. The state is limited by the number of doses that federal health officials provide, he said, and the ability of local providers to administer them.
The latest coronavirus numbers:
Where the new cases are by municipality: Baker (25), Benton (7), Clackamas (90), Clatsop (9), Columbia (6), Coos (26), Crook (1), Deschutes (39), Douglas (6), Gilliam (1), Grant (1), Hood River (5), Jackson (36), Jefferson (4), Josephine (15), Klamath (12), Lake (4), Lane (60), Lincoln (12), Linn (22) , Malheur (12), Marion (88), Morrow (2), Multnomah (105), Polk (11), Tillamook (1), Umatilla (26), Union (6), Wasco (6), Washington (60) , Wheeler (1) and Yamhill (14).
Deaths: Oregon’s 1,434th coronavirus-related death is a 74-year-old man from Columbia County who tested positive for COVID-19 on November 28 and died on December 27 at Portland VA Medical Center. He had latent medical conditions.
Oregon’s 1,435th death was a 61-year-old man from Douglas County who tested positive on November 30 and died on December 12 at his home. He had underlying conditions.
Oregon’s 1,436th death was a 63-year-old woman from Harney County who tested positive on December 23 and died on December 27 at St. Charles Medical Center-Bend. She had underlying conditions.
The 1,437th death in Oregon was of a 92-year-old man from Hood River County who tested positive on December 13 and died on December 23 at his home. The state still does not know if the man had latent medical conditions.
The 1,438 death in Oregon was of an 86-year-old man from Jackson County who tested positive on December 24 and died on December 25 at the Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center. He had underlying conditions.
Oregon’s 1,439th death is from a 71-year-old man from Jefferson County, who tested positive on December 11 and died on December 24 at St. Charles Medical Center-Bend. He had no underlying medical conditions.
Oregon’s 1,440th death was a 51-year-old woman from Josephine County, who tested positive on December 9 and died on December 23 at Asante Three Rivers Medical Center. She had underlying conditions.
The 1,441 death in Oregon was of a 72-year-old man from Josephine County, who tested positive on December 10 and died on December 23 at Asante Three Rivers Medical Center. He had underlying conditions.
Oregon’s 1,442th death was a 78-year-old woman from Lane County who tested positive on December 16 and died on December 27 at her residence. She had underlying conditions.
The 1,443 death in Oregon is of a 76-year-old man from Lane County, who tested positive on December 17 and died on December 28 at the PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center in RiverBend. He had underlying conditions.
The 1,444 death in Oregon was a 90-year-old woman from Multnomah County who tested positive on December 17 and died on December 25 at her home. She had underlying conditions.
Oregon’s 1,445th death was a 95-year-old woman from Multnomah County who tested positive on December 17 and died on December 20 at her home. She had underlying conditions.
The 1,446 death in Oregon was a 79-year-old woman from Polk County who tested positive on November 25 and died on December 11 at Salem Hospital. She had underlying conditions.
The death of 1,447 in Oregon was a 90-year-old woman from Polk County who tested positive on November 27 and died on December 9 at her home. She had underlying conditions.
Oregon’s 1,448th death was an 85-year-old woman from Polk County who tested positive on November 27 and died on December 20 at her home. She had underlying conditions.
The 1,449 death in Oregon is of an 84-year-old man from Washington County who tested positive on December 27 and died on December 28 at Legacy Meridian Park Medical Center. He had underlying conditions.
The prevalence of infections: On Tuesday, the state registered 816 new positive tests out of 15,167 tests carried out, which is equivalent to a positive rate of 5.4%.
Who was infected: New confirmed or presumed infections grew between the following age groups: 0-9 (24); 10-19 (56); 20-29 (132); 30-39 (109); 40-49 (121); 50-59 (80); 60-69 (83); 70-79 (43); 80 and older (25).
Who is in the hospital: The state reported that 527 Oregon residents with confirmed coronavirus infections were at the hospital on Tuesday, 12 more than on Monday. Of these, 119 patients with coronavirus were in intensive care units, six more than on Monday.
Since it started: Oregon reported 111,227 confirmed or suspected infections and 1,449 deaths, among the lowest totals in the country. To date, the state has reported 2,613,558 test lab reports.
– Fedor Zarkhin; [email protected]; 503-294-7674