Governor Kate Brown visited Salem Health’s COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Oregon State Fairgrounds on Wednesday.
Brown watched Salem National Guard member Juan Carlos Rojas administer the Pfizer vaccine to Jason Mayberry, who lives in Portland and works in Salem.
In a brief statement, Brown said he hoped similar clinics could be replicated in other major cities in Oregon.
“Salem Health solved this quickly. They are vaccinating hundreds to 3,000 people a day. It really is an extraordinary effort, ”said Brown.
Brown activated 40 guards to assist the clinic starting Tuesday.
Salem Health President Cheryl Wolfe said the hospital has given 11,000 vaccines since the clinic opened a week ago.
“Our plan is to be open until Oregon is vaccinated,” said Wolfe.
On Tuesday, Brown announced that the state will soon make vaccines available to everyone aged 65 and over, following new federal guidelines.
Vaccines have so far been limited to health professionals and long-term residents, with teachers and school staff next in line.
The federal guidance also provides for the administration of the vaccine to people aged 18 to 65 years with health problems that may make them more susceptible to COVID-19. But Oregon will not include that population yet, Brown said on Wednesday.
At the moment, the state is receiving about 50,000 vaccines a week, while there are about 800,000 Oregon residents aged 65 or over or school officials, she said.
“We will work hard and vaccinate these people as quickly and efficiently as possible, and then we will include Oregon residents aged 65 to 18 in the pool,” said Brown.
Charles Boyle, Brown’s spokesman, later said that there are about 1.6 million Oregon citizens who could be considered to have a latent health problem.
“At this point, there are not enough vaccines available for a large number of people, but we will be working with stakeholders to develop extension and distribution plans so that we are ready to start vaccinating Oregon residents with underlying health problems as they become available. more vaccines become available, ”said Boyle.
Brown ended his visit by talking to nurses and members of the National Guard giving vaccines to patients at the clinic.
–Tracy Loew / The Salem Statesman Journal