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April 23, 2021
Pause lifted on Johnson & Johnson vaccine; Oregon use pending Western States’ review
Today, a federal vaccine safety review panel recommended lifting the pause on the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine for people 18 and older. Based on the panel’s recommendation, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lifted the pause and added a warning about the rare side effects of blood clots in women under the age of 50.
The Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup, composed of public health experts from Oregon, California, Washington and Nevada, will now convene to review the FDA’s decision to lift the pause. Once that review is completed, OHA will share those recommendations to clinicians and vaccine providers on plans for the resumption of the vaccine’s use and distribution in Oregon.
To learn more, read OHA’s full press release here.
Vaccination made easy in Jackson County
 This week, the Jackson County Vaccination Equity Center at the Expo opened in Central Point. Everyone 16 and older is welcome to get the free COVID-19 vaccine there. Designed with convenience in mind, folks have drive-thru or walk-up options and there’s even a mobile clinic for those who need it. An image of a flyer promoting the event is pictured at right.
“We are excited to offer people free, easy-access COVID-19 vaccinations. Our community is not only dealing with the impact of COVID-19, wildfires ripped through the area in 2020 and nearly 2,500 homes were destroyed,” said Tanya Phillips, Jackson County Health and Human Services spokesperson. |
“We also know that we need to meet people where they are, especially folks who live in remote areas or those who speak languages other than English. Our mobile clinics give us a lot of flexibility to reach everyone who wants to get vaccinated.”
 The vaccination clinic is a pilot program in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Administration, Oregon Health Authority, Oregon Office of Emergency Management, Jackson County Health and Human Services, Jackson County Emergency Management, and Providence Health & Services, and was featured in the April 12 edition of the Coronavirus Update. Person shown at left getting vaccinated. |
The Central Point location is easy to get to and you don’t need to bring identification to get your free vaccination. For more information, visit https://jacksoncountyor.org/hhs/COVID-19/Vaccine-Appointments/jackson-county-vaccination-equity-center-at-the-expo.
Jackson County Expo is located at 1 Peninger Road in Central Point, OR 97502.
COVID-19 in Oregon: A moment of promise and peril
Today, Governor Kate Brown was joined by Director of the Oregon Health Authority Patrick Allen and State Health Officer and State Epidemiologist Dr. Dean Sidelinger at a news conference to provide an update on the pandemic in Oregon.
At this moment, Director Allen said, Oregon faces both promise and peril. The state continues to make good progress in its vaccination efforts but “the COVID-19 virus is surging and it is threatening to send more people – and younger people – to the hospital than we’ve seen before in this pandemic.”
Director Allen emphasized the need to ensure equitable distribution of the vaccine to underserved communities and pledged to work with partners to ensure no community is left behind.
Despite the surge, and the fact that demand for vaccination is lagging in some counties, Director Allen was hopeful.
“We can enjoy a safer summer and get back to the people we love and the things we love to do – if all of us do our part. The best way to put the pandemic behind us is to take this simple, direct action: get vaccinated.”
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Oregon’s vaccinations by county data as of April 23.
Vaccination in Oregon by the numbers:
- According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), half of Oregon’s adult population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine:
- More than one million Oregonians are fully vaccinated.
- As of today, three in four seniors have been vaccinated.
- Oregon is on track to vaccinate eight out of 10 people in Oregon by July 4, if the current rate of immunizations is sustained.
Red alert in latest COVID-19 forecast
The spread of COVID-19 is accelerating throughout the state, driven by more transmissible variants and our actions, said state epidemiologist, Dr. Dean Sidelinger, at today’s press conference.
Daily cases, percent positivity and hospitalizations continue to rise sharply.
“A fourth wave is upon us,” said Dr. Sidelinger. He warned that if spread continues at this rate, Oregon hospitals risk being swamped by virus-stricken patients, and counties could return to higher risk levels.
He urged people in Oregon to act now to contain the virus.
“We can slow the virus by continuing to wear masks, gather more safely and maintain physical distancing. And, of course, by getting vaccinated as soon as possible.”
Twelve counties could move back to Extreme Risk next week
As Oregon faces a fourth surge of COVID-19, Governor Kate Brown announced at today’s press conference that 12 counties could move back to Extreme Risk on Friday April 30 without an intervening “warning week.” Decisions will be made early next week after county data has been analyzed.
The county risk level framework uses four different risk levels for counties based on COVID-19 spread—Extreme Risk, High Risk, Moderate Risk, and Lower Risk—and assigns health and safety measures for each level. Usually, county risk levels are reassigned every two weeks and the first week’s data provides a “warning week” to prepare counties for potential risk level changes. Governor Brown canceled the “warning week” amid the current surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.
You can watch a recording of today’s briefing here and find a copy of the talking points here. Today’s slides are also available here.
Oregon reports 1,020 new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases, 9 new deaths
There are nine new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 2,476, the Oregon Health Authority reported at 12:01 a.m. today.
Oregon Health Authority reported 1,020 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. today, bringing the state total to 179,120.
New COVID-19 model released
Today, OHA released its latest COVID-19 forecast, which showed significantly higher transmission of the virus through early April and projects an increase in cases and hospitalizations.
According to the model, the effective reproduction rate — the expected number of secondary cases that a single case generates — was estimated at 1.24 through April 7.
At that level of transmission, daily cases would rise to 960, with 38 new daily hospitalizations between April 28 and May 11. If transmission increases by 20%, new daily cases would rise to 1,610, with 66 additional hospitalizations per day.
Vaccinations in Oregon
Today, OHA reported that 49,104 new doses of COVID-19 vaccinations were added to the state immunization registry. Of this total, 30,432 doses were administered on April 22 and 18,672 were administered on previous days but were entered into the vaccine registry on April 22.
The seven-day running average is now 33,698 doses per day.
Oregon has now administered a total of 1,424,478 doses of Pfizer, 1,194,788 doses of Moderna and 91,271 doses of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines. As of today, 1,116,490 people have completed a COVID-19 vaccine series. There are 1,682,399 who have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Cumulative daily totals can take several days to finalize. To date, 1,694,745 doses of Pfizer, 1,437,500 doses of Moderna and 215,000 doses of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines have been delivered to sites across Oregon.
These data are preliminary and subject to change.
OHA’s dashboards provide regularly updated vaccination data, and Oregon’s dashboard has been updated today.
Cases and deaths
The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported today are in the following counties: Baker (10), Benton (8), Clackamas (58), Clatsop (7), Columbia (13), Coos (6), Crook (16), Curry (1), Deschutes (103), Douglas (9), Grant (5), Harney (2), Hood River (5), Jackson (63), Jefferson (10), Josephine (13), Klamath (103), Lane (82), Lincoln (5), Linn (23), Malheur (3), Marion (120), Morrow (1), Multnomah (198), Polk (15), Tillamook (3), Umatilla (13), Union (1), Wallowa (1), Wasco (3), Washington (102) and Yamhill (18).
Oregon’s 2,468th COVID-19 death is a 58-year-old man from Douglas County who became symptomatic on April 12 after contact with a confirmed case and died on April 20 at his residence. He had underlying conditions.
Oregon’s 2,469th COVID-19 death is a 73-year-old man from Clackamas County who tested positive on March 8 and died on April 11 at Kaiser Permanente Sunnyside Medical Center. Presence of underlying conditions is being confirmed.
Oregon’s 2,470th COVID-19 death is a 72-year-old woman from Harney County who tested positive on April 17 and died on April 17 at her residence. She had underlying conditions.
Oregon’s 2,471st COVID-19 death is a 93-year-old man from Josephine County who tested positive on April 7 and died on April 22 at his residence. Presence of underlying conditions is being confirmed.
Oregon’s 2,472nd COVID-19 death is a 78-year-old man from Josephine County who tested positive on April 7 and died on April 9 at Asante Ashland Community Hospital. He had underlying conditions.
Oregon’s 2,473rd COVID-19 death is an 80-year-old woman from Malheur County who tested positive on April 8 and died on April 14 at St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise, ID. She had underlying conditions.
Oregon’s 2,474th COVID-19 death is a 64-year-old man from Multnomah County who tested positive on March 27 and died on April 10 at Providence Portland Medical Center. He had underlying conditions.
Oregon’s 2,475th COVID-19 death is a 61-year-old man from Umatilla County who tested positive on Nov. 4, 2020 and died on April 9 at his residence. The death certificate listed COVID-19 disease or SARS-CoV-2 as a cause of death or a significant condition contributing to death. He had underlying conditions.
Oregon’s 2,476th COVID-19 death is an 89-year-old woman from Deschutes County who tested positive on April 9 and died on April 17 at her residence. She had underlying conditions.
COVID-19 hospitalizations
The number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 across Oregon is 276, which is seven fewer than yesterday. There are 64 COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit (ICU) beds, which is five fewer than yesterday.
The total number of patients in hospital beds may fluctuate between report times. The numbers do not reflect admissions per day, nor the length of hospital stay. Staffing limitations are not captured in this data and may further limit bed capacity.
