As of Monday, Oregon is allowing widespread vaccination for people aged 80 and over.
Oregon is one of the last states in the country to move towards vaccinating the elderly, a fact reported by The Oregonian / OregonLive for weeks. Oregon has one of the lowest infection rates in the country, however.
On Friday, state health leaders and governor Kate Brown warned that next week could present “chaos” and that the state still suffers from inadequate vaccine supplies to meet what will be increasing demand as the elderly grow older. become eligible.
Oregon is not vaccinating all the elderly at once, instead opting for a gradual approach over several weeks. Here’s what you need to know to try to navigate chaos.
Who is eligible on Monday?
People aged 80 and over can be vaccinated starting on Monday. The following week (February 15), Oregon residents aged 75 and over will be eligible, followed by 70 and older (February 22) and people aged 65 and over (March 1).
How quickly can I make an appointment? Same day? One week?
This is a difficult question. It may take several weeks to make an appointment, let alone to be vaccinated. Others may be more fortunate. A lot will depend on where you live, how many other seniors are eligible at the same time and how quickly you browse the online system.
Why have some of my older friends been vaccinated?
Or because they lived in less populated municipalities that moved quickly between the 1st population and educators and made them eligible, because they lived in aggregation or have qualifying jobs, because they had ties and were able to play with the system or because they could appear in a clinic vaccination at the end of the day and give an injection before going to waste.
OK, where should I go to get vaccinated when the time comes?
If you are in the Portland metropolitan area, the appointment is likely to be at the Oregon Convention Center, the mass clinic in a central facility run by Oregon Health & Science University, Kaiser Permanente, Legacy Health and Providence. Other counties also have mass clinics (see Salem Health facilities at State Fairgrounds or other events across the state. It depends, again, on where you live).
What about my doctor’s office or pharmacy? These are the places I trust. Can I possibly go there?
Again, it depends on where you live, and only time will tell when it will be feasible. Governor Brown said on Friday that Douglas County health officials are working with primary care providers to make appointments there. This is not the case in other countries. Pharmacies will end up receiving doses in Oregon, including next week. Oregon Health Authority Director Patrick Allen said on Friday that the state will receive 13,000 doses next week to 133 different pharmacies. That’s all we know now.
OK, how do I try to schedule my appointment?
Go to covidvaccine.oregon.gov Monday to try to schedule an appointment if you are eligible (you can try earlier if you want). In the center of the page, there is a link that says “Vaccination Qualification Tool and FAQ” with a button that says “Let’s get started”. This option calls for a chat service that can help determine if you are eligible and redirect to an appointment page if applicable.
I don’t have a computer. How else can I do this?
You can call 2-1-1 for more information about the vaccine process and how to schedule an appointment.
How about sending text messages?
Elderly people can also send a text message to ORCOVID to “898211” to start a conversation about scheduling an appointment.
And the email?
People can also send email to [email protected].
I’m not eligible on Monday, but can I get on the waiting list or something?
The state announced on Friday that it would launch a new tool on its website covidvaccine.oregon.gov next week, which allows users to subscribe to receive email alerts or text notifications about vaccine events in their area.
How long will it take to vaccinate all these elderly people?
That is an excellent question. According to Census records, there are approximately 767,000 Oregon residents aged 65 and over. It will take several weeks to pass through all Oregon residents who want an appointment. On Friday, state leaders said they estimate that 75% of all Oregon senior citizens, teachers and 1st eligible citizens who want an injection will have received their first dose in April.
– Andrew Theen; [email protected]; 503-294-4026; @andrewtheen