SALEM, Oregon. – Under the Oregon vaccine plan, seniors aged 75 and older became eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, despite the continuing shortage of supplies that has prevented many areas of the state from accommodating seniors.
After making sudden adjustments to the vaccine plan in January, Governor Kate Brown and Oregon Health Authority officials opened eligibility for child care providers, elementary and high school teachers and school staff on January 25. Seniors aged 80 and over became eligible on February 8, with another group of seniors being added each week until March 1st.
State officials expressed optimism earlier this month that supply of the vaccine would soon begin to meet demand from eligible groups – enough to allow three-quarters of them to receive their first doses in early April. But at the local level, implantation for the elderly has not yet become a major reality.
“We are meeting and figuring out what to do with the limited vaccine so that it is affordable and there is no confusion about where people can get the vaccine,” said Tanya Phillips of Jackson County Public Health. “It may take more time for them to achieve than they would like.”
Jackson County Public Health says it will receive a total of 1,800 doses of the Modern vaccine next week, with 1,300 of those doses aimed at people aged 75 and over.
“This quota will be passed on to other providers of COVID-19 who will vaccinate individuals aged 75 and over,” said the agency. “The extreme weather in the northwest and across the United States is causing delays in sending the vaccine this week.”
The Jackson County vaccines page has links to providers who are currently offering consultations.
Part of the pressure on local public health agencies and health care providers is expected to start easing as retail pharmacies participating in the federal vaccine program begin to receive more remittances.
Currently, consultations at these retail pharmacies are extremely scarce. About 5,000 consultations were scheduled at 127 participating pharmacies across the state, but many of these locations received only 100 doses. They report that more doses are on the way.
For now, these three retail pharmacies are set to offer (limited) consultations:
A Safeway / Albertsons representative told NewsWatch 12 that they anticipate having more appointments available on Thursday.