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May 26, 2021
Correction: Updated to correct an earlier version with a typo in the new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases and deaths article. The sentence should read: Information on today’s COVID-19 deaths will follow in a separate news release. We regret the error.
Benton County makes sure ‘every shot counts’ with teen clinics
A teen-focused vaccination event in Benton County last week led to hundreds of teens getting vaccinated. Almost 500 people age 12 to 15 received a shot with hundreds of older teens rolling up their sleeves as well.
“Teen Day” took place at Reser Stadium, Benton County’s mass vaccination site and at a pop-up clinic at a nearby high school for students who may have encountered difficulty accessing the vaccination clinic at Reser Stadium.
“We performed outreach to the local school districts who promoted the event,” said Lili’a Uili Neville, Joint Information Center manager for Benton County. The County also worked with several organizations that serve youth such as Jackson Street Youth Services, which houses teens experiencing houselessness, and Strengthening Rural Families. “We wanted to make sure we reached teens who wouldn’t be reached by school district communications,” Uili Neville explains.
Attendees at Teen Day could enter a raffle for a Chromebook, Airpods and gift cards. Kids were invited to write on a graffiti board, answering questions such as “What are you most looking forward to when you’re fully vaccinated?”
Answers included:
- “Returning to in-person classes.”
- “Not wondering if a business is open.”
- “Traveling with my mom.”
Twenty teens got their shots at the pop-up clinic at the nearby high school.
Benton County currently has one of the highest vaccination rates in Oregon. “We aim to meet people where they are,” says Uili Neville. “Those twenty extra doses matter. Every shot counts at this point.”
Benton County’s Mara Sargent running a booth at Teen Day
Changes made to counties in Lower Risk
For counties in Lower Risk, vaccinated sections at businesses, venues and faith institutions will provide the following opportunities:
- Fully vaccinated individuals ages 16 and older who have proof that they are fully vaccinated will not have to worry about capacity limits or physically distance in vaccinated sections.
- Businesses, venues and faith institutions have the option to require additional safety protocols within their vaccinated sections.
- All children up to age 15 wearing a face covering will be permitted in vaccinated sections if they are accompanied by a fully vaccinated parent of guardian.
- Unvaccinated sections must continue to use masks, physically distance and abide by capacity limits.
Unvaccinated, partially vaccinated, or individuals whose vaccination status has not been confirmed will continue to count towards the capacity limits identified in the guidance.
Fully vaccinated individuals in areas designated only for fully vaccinated individuals do not count toward capacity limits. To be eligible for this allowance, establishments must confirm the vaccination status of fully vaccinated individuals.
You can see more on Risk Levels on the updated chart. Read more about this in the Oregon Vaccine News blog.
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OHA and DEQ finalize 2021 Oregon beach monitoring list
The Oregon Beach Monitoring Program (OBMP) is proposing a list of beaches to be monitored for bacteria during the 2021 season. The proposed list includes some of the most frequently visited beaches in Oregon as well as beaches where the program has found bacteria present, and beaches for which local partners and the public have requested monitoring due to potential pollution concerns. The beach monitoring season is from mid-May to mid-September. Beach advisories are only issued for beaches that are actively being monitored within this sampling window. Other beaches will be investigated for inclusion in the upcoming and or next beach monitoring season. For more information and current beach monitoring conditions please visit: www.healthoregon.org/beach. |
Weekly COVID-19 cases, deaths, hospitalizations decline
The Oregon Health Authority’s COVID-19 Weekly Report, released today, shows decreases in daily cases, hospitalizations and deaths from the previous week.
- OHA reported 3,090 new daily cases of COVID-19 during the week of Monday, May 17, through Sunday, May 23. That represents a 25% decrease from the previous week.
- New COVID-19 related hospitalizations fell to 224, down from 265 last week and the lowest figure in five weeks.
- Reported COVID-19 related deaths fell to 34, down from 57 last week.
- There were 107,233 tests for COVID-19 for the week of May 16 through May 22 — a 4% increase from last week. The percentage of positive tests fell from 6.4% to 5.4%.
- People 70 years of age and older have accounted for 38% of COVID-19 related hospitalizations and 75% of COVID-19 related deaths.
Today’s COVID-19 Weekly Outbreak Report shows 32 active COVID-19 outbreaks in senior living communities and congregate living settings, with three or more confirmed cases and one or more COVID-19 related deaths.
Oregon reports 399 new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases, 11 new deaths
There are 11 new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 2,639, the Oregon Health Authority reported at 12:01 a.m. today.
Oregon Health Authority reported 399 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. today, bringing the state total to 199,784.
Vaccinations in Oregon
As of today, 1,771,880 people have completed a COVID-19 vaccine series. There are 2,194,351 people who have had at least one dose of a vaccine.
Oregon has now administered 2,138,051 first and second doses of Pfizer, 1,561,198 first and second doses of Moderna and 136,795 doses of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines.
Cumulative daily totals can take several days to finalize because providers have 72 hours to report doses administered and technical challenges have caused many providers to lag in their reporting. OHA has been providing technical support to vaccination sites to improve the timeliness of their data entry into the state’s ALERT Immunization Information System (IIS).
To date, 2,619,045 doses of Pfizer, 2,090,720 doses of Moderna and 286,600 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 (3), Benton (11), Clackamas (60), Columbia (4), Coos (1), Crook (3), Curry (2), Deschutes (38), Douglas (20), Harney (4), Hood River (2), Jackson (29), Jefferson (4), Josephine (13), Klamath (9), Lake (1), Lane (24), Lincoln (1), Linn (18), Malheur (4), Marion (43), Morrow (2), Multnomah (58), Polk (2), Tillamook (1), Umatilla (6), Wasco (3), Washington (28) and Yamhill (5).
Information on today’s COVID-19 deaths will follow in a separate news release.
COVID-19 hospitalizations
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.
