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April 29, 2021
Friday Night Lights in The Dalles means music, pizza and vaccines
Some 240 students and their family members got their first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at the successful “Friday Night Lights” event at Wahtonka Field in The Dalles on Friday, April 23.
The event, put on by North Central Public Health District (NCPHD), was aimed at 16- and 17-year-olds, who became eligible for the vaccine April 19. The football field was transformed into an outdoor vaccine site, with tents protecting four vaccine stations from the famous Gorge winds.
Students were treated to music, free pizza and snacks, and of course, the football field’s lights were flipped on as daylight dimmed at the early evening event. Student emcee Quinn Raffensberger, a senior at The Dalles High School, announced raffle prize winners every 15 minutes.
 Special guest Shemia Fagan, Oregon’s secretary of state and a former student of both Dufur and The Dalles schools, donned a football jersey loaned to her by Dufur Schools Superintendent Jack Henderson, and thanked students for their contribution to stopping the pandemic. She likened their combined efforts to the sandbagging efforts the community made during the 1996 floods.
“Thank you for throwing sandbags around our community,” she told students. “You can stop this pandemic from destroying our community.” |
 Student Miguel Zamora said, “I got vaccinated to help protect myself and others!”
Wasco County Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) volunteer Dr. George Pantely oversaw the observation area, where those who just got vaccinated are observed for 15 to 30 minutes, depending on their medical history. He said he’s volunteering “because this is the biggest medical event in my lifetime. I wanted to be involved and help out.” Maddie Dollarhide, a junior at Dufur, said, “Honestly, at first I was nervous and scared to get the vaccine, but one day I woke up and decided I would rather do my part to help my family and community, and face my fear, to be part of the positive changes.” Student Ashley Bailey, who was one of the first students vaccinated, said, “This way I am able to protect my fellow peers and my family. I also got it because it is proven to help.” Students will be back on May 14 at Wahtonka for their second dose of the vaccine. Meanwhile, NCPHD has another Pfizer clinic this Friday, April 30, that is open to everyone. To book an appointment, visit https://www.ncphd.org/book-vaccine or call 541-506-2600. |
Vaccine Voices: ‘To be able to sing again in church!’
The Right Reverend Diana Akiyama was born in Wheeler, Oregon and grew up in a Japanese-American community in Hood River. In 1989, she was the first Japanese-American woman ordained to the priesthood in The Episcopal Church. Bishop Akiyama was consecrated on January 30, 2021 at Trinity Cathedral in Portland.
She shared her vaccine experience, and reasons for getting vaccinated:
| My vaccine appointment date and time were emailed to me after I registered on the OHA website. The location was at Sandy High School – a bit of a drive but such a beautiful drive. Both of my shots were very easy. The professionals at Sandy High School were extremely well organized and the entire process was smooth and efficient. I felt well taken care of and that every effort was being made to keep me safe and to help me if I needed assistance.
I want to be able to be with people in groups, in worship, and with friends and family. I would love to be able to sing again in church! |
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Drag queens and vaccines!
There are so many creative ways that people in Oregon are offering vaccination. This weekend in Eugene, QT Clinic is putting on a vaccine clinic for the BIPOC and LGBTQIA++ Community.
There will be Drag Queens, Kings and In-betweens to usher folks through their first round of Moderna vaccination. Second doses will be scheduled, too. DJ’s Tinta Turnter and Purity L’Chaste will play the tunes and drag personalities will join the fun.
Registered nurses from White Bird Clinic will be giving vaccinations. In addition to vaccination, there will be opportunities for free HIV and STI testing by the HIV Alliance.
The clinic will be held 3:00 -5:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 1 and Sunday, May 2 at Spectrum in Eugene. There will be seating, washrooms and no stairs. Spanish translation will be available.
If you’d like to attend you can pre-register at https://tinyurl.com/QTclinic. Learn more at https://whitebirdclinic.org/drag-queens-and-vaccines/.
Oregon reports 928 new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases, 1 new death
There is one new COVID-19 related death in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 2,491, the Oregon Health Authority reported at 12:01 a.m. today.
Oregon Health Authority reported 928 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. today, bringing the state total to 183,830.
Vaccinations in Oregon
Today, OHA reported that 39,560 new doses of COVID-19 vaccinations were added to the state immunization registry. Of this total, 26,858 doses were administered on April 28 and 12,702 were administered on previous days but were entered into the vaccine registry on April 28. Cumulative daily totals can take several days to finalize.
The seven-day running average is now 35,429 doses per day.
Oregon has now administered a total of 1,564,698 first and second doses of Pfizer, 1,274,713 first and second doses of Moderna and 93,723 single doses of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines. As of today, 1,229,497 people have completed a COVID-19 vaccine series. There are 1,794,112 who have had at least
To date, 1,864,395 doses of Pfizer, 1,581,100 doses of Moderna and 228,700 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.
COVID-19 hospitalizations
The number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 across Oregon is 339, which is 13 more than yesterday. There are 71 COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit (ICU) beds, which is seven more than yesterday.
The total number of COVID-19 positive patient bed-days in the most recent seven days is 2,174, which is a 30.4% increase from the previous seven days. The peak daily number of beds occupied by COVID-19 positive patients in the most recent seven days is 339.
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.
More information about hospital capacity can be found here.
Cases and deaths
The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported today are in the following counties: Baker (4), Benton (8), Clackamas (93), Clatsop (13), Columbia (9), Coos (3), Crook (10), Curry (3), Deschutes (125), Douglas (17), Harney (2), Hood River (5), Jackson (32), Jefferson (15), Josephine (23), Klamath (24), Lake (4), Lane (60), Lincoln (2), Linn (44), Malheur (3), Marion (81),Morrow (2), Multnomah (177), Polk (14), Tillamook (5), Umatilla (10), Union (5), Wallowa (3), Wasco (6), Washington (109) and Yamhill (17).
Oregon’s 2,491st death is an 88-year-old man from Josephine County who tested positive on April 9 and died on April 27 at Asante Three Rivers Medical Center. He had underlying conditions.
Learn more about COVID-19 vaccinations
To learn more about the COVID-19 vaccine situation in Oregon, visit our webpage (English or Spanish), which has a breakdown of distribution and other information.
