(Update: Adding video, Governor Brown’s press release)
Why prioritize educators over the elderly? ‘These are very, very difficult decisions’
SALEM, Oregon. (KTVZ) – The Oregon National Guard is joining Oregon’s efforts to accelerate COVID-19 vaccinations, along with several steps by the Oregon Health Authority to put more doses into the hands of those who administer them, Gov. Kate Brown and other officials said Friday.
Hospitals have stepped up efforts to vaccinate frontline workers, such as home health workers and first responders, said the governor, who recently set a goal of 12,000 vaccinations in Oregon per day in two weeks.
“We are sending the National Guard to support vaccination,” she said, starting with an event this weekend with logistical and nursing support for an event at the Salem state fairground, with a target of 250 vaccinations per hour. (The governor’s office later clarified that members of the Guard are being sued and will not be available for this weekend’s Salem Health event, which will take place as planned).
Later, responding to a reporter’s question, Brown said the state is “absolutely” working to make similar mass vaccination events happen with support from the Guard elsewhere.
“Partnerships and creative thinking are the way we do it in Oregon and how we are going to achieve the critical mass and community immunity we need,” she said.
Brown also noted the recent move to give school districts, working with local health officials, the ability to reopen for face-to-face learning with the current COVID-19 security protocols. She said she prioritized educators to be next in line to receive vaccines, noting “we have seen across the world how schools can reopen, with strict health protocols in place.”
But the governor said officials are also waiting to see the impact of holiday meetings on the number of cases, with “a second winter wave possibly worse”, making maintaining health and safety protocols still important.
OHA director Patrick Allen said that the state has received more than 250,000 Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, and nearly 74,000 doses of vaccination have been given to qualified healthcare professionals, first aid and nursing homes.
Allen described a variety of steps to increase vaccination, but noted that Oregon is in the middle of the pack in terms of implementation, with 1.5% of Oregon residents having received their first dose.
The state has allocated doses of vaccine to 190 sites, with another 30 being added next week, but Allen said the doses of the vaccine do not pass through OHA, but go directly to the manufacturers’ sites. He said the state has called on more than 100 sites to review vaccination plans and prioritized those who can dispense doses in seven days in large volumes.
Federal pharmacy partners in Oregon will receive nearly 20,000 doses next week to vaccinate residents in assisted living facilities, foster homes and independent and congregated living situations, Allen said.
Allen noted that the infection rate improved in late November, when Oregon residents “stayed home on Thanksgiving Day and made a difference,” but there has been a sharp increase and can continue. The use of masks is at a higher level and vehicle travel has decreased, “but the virus is spreading faster again across the country,” said Allen.
Oregon Department of Education Director Colt Gill said the state will receive about $ 500,000 in emergency aid funds that can be used to support COVID-19 efforts in schools, from academic and mental health to logistical and physical requirements. He also said that ODE is working with OHA on plans to provide rapid results COVID-19 tests in schools.
A reporter asked why, with vaccines on the way, it took until Thursday for the first meeting of the state’s new vaccine advisory committee to determine future priorities beyond “Phase 1a”.
Allen noted that 500,000 Oregon residents were prioritized prior to the committee’s work, but that details of how many doses of vaccine were arriving were in “extreme flow”. The panel met “after we know as much information as possible. Our goal is to complete the sequencing decisions by the end of January. “
Reporters also asked why educators were prioritized before seniors who are wondering when they might be vaccinated.
“These are very, very difficult decisions,” said Brown. “We don’t have vaccines to vaccinate everyone at once.”
Brown said she is “gravely concerned” about the impact on children who have been out of face-to-face classes for almost a year.
Allen repeated his earlier statements that it will take “many months” before sufficient people are vaccinated to achieve community immunity. He said new information comes in daily, not just about the virus and the most transmissible mutant form recently discovered, but also about how many doses will actually come and in how long.
Brown said: “We are working as hard and as quickly as we can to bring vaccines to all of our vulnerable populations, including the elderly.”
Press release:
Governor Kate Brown provides updates on COVID-19 in Oregon
OHA is progressing towards the goal of 12,000 vaccinations a day, the National Guard to provide vaccination support
(Salem, OR) – Governor Kate Brown gave a news conference today to update Oregon residents about the status of COVID-19 vaccinations in Oregon, as well as school reopening plans. The governor was accompanied by Patrick Allen, Director of the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), Colt Gill, Director of the Oregon Department of Education, and Dr. Dean Sidelinger, State Epidemiologist.
“OHA is working with healthcare providers, pharmacies and local public health partners to make steady progress towards achieving our goal of 12,000 vaccines administered per day,” said Governor Brown. “We continue to see how we can use all the tools we have to rapidly vaccinate Oregon residents, and in that spirit, I am deploying the National Guard to provide vaccination support, starting this weekend with the Salem Health vaccination event at state exhibition park. These partnerships will help us achieve the critical mass of community immunity that we need.
(The governor’s office subsequently issued a correction, stating: Governor Brown activated members of the Oregon National Guard to support vaccination efforts, beginning with Salem Health’s vaccination event at the state’s amusement park. members are being summoned and prosecuted this weekend, and are expected to start in their support role in Salem on Tuesday, which will not affect the operations of Salem Health, which will administer vaccines as planned this weekend .)
“On the education front, at the beginning of the new year, Oregon’s COVID-19 health metrics for returning to face-to-face instruction have become consultative, empowering local school districts and communities to make decisions about face-to-face instruction that best meet their needs. needs of their families and students. All schools in Oregon will still be required to adhere to health and safety measures in order to open any face-to-face instruction and must continue to work in close consultation with the local public health authority. “
More information about vaccines is available at covidvaccine.oregon.gov.
A copy of the governor’s remarks is available here.