Oregon speeds up the schedule for the COVID-19 vaccine – again

Another week and another big promise from the Biden government made Oregon speed up the coronavirus vaccine schedule once again.

Governor Kate Brown’s office announced Friday morning that frontline workers, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and all adults 16 and older with underlying health problems will be eligible for consultations. vaccine from April 5. This is two weeks before the previous schedule, which was announced last Friday. All Oregon adults will be eligible for vaccines by May 1.

All Oregon adults will be eligible for vaccines until May 1, but counties can apply to start vaccinating the general public earlier. Approved counties can begin vaccinating all Oregon residents age 16 and older as early as April 26.

The announcement came after President Joe Biden said he wants 200 million COVID-19 vaccines administered by his 100th day in office.

“With so many counties across Oregon ready to start the next phases of vaccination, I am accelerating our vaccination schedules across the state, rather than continuing county by county,” Brown said in a press release.

Twenty-two counties wrote to the Oregon Health Authority last week, saying they had almost finished vaccinating all elderly people who wanted injections. This allowed these counties to move to the next priority group – which includes adults 45 and older with underlying health problems, pregnant people, homeless people and others – ahead of schedule.

OHA director Patrick Allen said that by June, the state wants to inoculate all Oregon adults who want the vaccine.

Oregon fully vaccinated 14% of its population by Friday. Two-thirds of Oregon’s elderly are fully vaccinated; the state ranks 35th in the country in vaccinating the elderly. Oregon has reported nearly 163,000 cases of COVID-19 and the deaths of 2,370 people.

This is a developing story. Stay tuned for updates.