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June 29, 2021

Myocarditis and pericarditis: Weighing the risks of these rare side effects

You may feel worried about the risk of myocarditis and pericarditis after the mRNA vaccines. Understanding that the risk is extremely small and knowing what to watch out for after vaccination may not erase all your concerns, but it may help you decide what’s the best choice for you or your child.

The CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) met last week to discuss the latest data on reports of these side effects and determined that the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination clearly outweigh the risks.

After vaccination you can keep an eye out for the following symptoms:

  • Chest pain
  • Shortness of breath
  • Feelings of having a fast-beating, fluttering, or pounding heart

Seek medical care if you think you or your child have any of these symptoms within a week after COVID-19 vaccination.

Read more about this on the Oregon Vaccine News blog. 

June 29 things to know this week


Vaccine Conversations: Dr. Shimi Sharief talks natural vs. vaccine-induced immunity

We continue to hear questions online about what the key differences between natural and vaccine-induced immunity are. We sat down with OHA Senior Health Advisor Dr. Shimi Sharief to discuss whether either form of immunity is better than the other, how long each form of immunity lasts, what the wide range of benefits are for getting fully vaccinated and more.

You can watch the full interview on our blog. 


Ask a Black Doctor on The Numberz

Ask a doctorOne of OHA’s senior health advisors hosts a podcast called Ask A Black Doctor on the Numberz. Every Friday at 8 a.m. and 2 p.m., Dr. Bhukosi Dube discusses issues surrounding the current pandemic, vaccines and distribution, provides facts and addresses concerns.

Podcast titles include Let’s Talk about the KidsStaying Safe in the Summer and Black Men and COVID-19 Vaccines.

The podcast also provides updates about COVID-19 vaccines and discusses how to build a better culture around Black health.

You can see the full list of episodes and listen to the podcast here.


Portland Metro residents urged to seek primary care services for non-urgent heat illnesses

Three successive days of historic heat in the Portland Metro area have led to high demand on hospital emergency departments and beds due to a recent surge in heat-related illnesses.

OHA urges people in the Portland Metro area to contact their primary care provider if they begin to experience heat-related illnesses such as heat exhaustion, heat cramps, sunburn, heat rash or other non-emergency medical care needs.

People who do not need urgent medical care are encouraged to seek care from their primary care physicians, medical homes and other on-demand health providers.

People in Multnomah County without a primary care doctor can call 503-988-5558 for a referral. Washington County residents without a primary care doctor can call the county’s healthcare resource line at 503-846-8851. Clackamas County residents can contact 2-1-1.

While parts of western Oregon and the Portland Metro region have seen the forecast for high temperatures drop to the 90s for today, an excessive heat warning remains in effect through this weekend for much of eastern and central Oregon and Washington, according to National Weather Service, with high temperatures expected to hit 110 and 120 throughout the affected regions.

You can read the full OHA news release here.


Take Your Shot, Oregon campaign concludes

The Take Your Shot, Oregon campaign — which sought to promote COVID-19 vaccinations throughout the state — ended on June 27. Now, the wait begins to see who won.

Over 18,000 Oregonians who were vaccinated at federal administration sites entered the contest by submitting their vaccines at the Take Your Shot, Oregon website.

One Oregonian 18 and older will win the $1 million prize, while 36 others will win $10,000 prizes — one winner for each county in Oregon. Oregonians age 12 to 17 have a chance to win one of five $100,000 Oregon College Savings Plan scholarships.

In addition, several counties added their own extra incentive drawings, for a total of 134 prizes.

The lucky winners will be notified by phone within the next week.

Because of the high number of prizes, it will take some time to make the calls and verify winners. Governor Kate Brown anticipates announcing the winners sometime next week.

Take your shot, Oregon infographic


June 29 dashboard

Oregon reports 230 new confirmed and presumptive cases, 7 new deaths

PORTLAND, Ore. — There are seven new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 2,770, the Oregon Health Authority reported at 12:01 a.m. today.

Oregon Health Authority reported 230 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. today, bringing the state total to 208,446.

Vaccinations in Oregon

Today, OHA reported that 5,545 new doses of COVID-19 vaccinations were added to the state immunization registry. Of this total, 2,773 doses were administered on June 28 and 2,772 were administered on previous days but were entered into the vaccine registry on June 28.

The seven-day running average is now 7,008 doses per day.

Oregon has now administered 2,476,519 first and second doses of Pfizer, 1,732,809 first and second doses of Moderna and 167,263 single doses of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines.

As of today, 2,383,255 people have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 2,147,617 people have completed a COVID-19 vaccine series. The number of adult Oregonians needing vaccinations to reach the 70% threshold is 19,083.

A daily countdown can be found on the OHA vaccinations page.

June 29 countdown graphic

To date, 2,961,045 doses of Pfizer, 2,231,260 doses of Moderna and 299,100 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 149, which is 11 fewer than yesterday. There are 35 COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit (ICU) beds, which is four fewer than yesterday.

The total number of COVID-19 positive patient bed-days in the most recent seven days is 1,065, which is a 1.8% 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 162.

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 (2), Clackamas (12), Columbia (3), Coos (1), Crook (2), Curry (2), Deschutes (7), Douglas (14), Harney (1), Hood River (3), Jackson (12), Jefferson (7), Josephine (7), Klamath (7), Lane (25), Lincoln (4), Linn (9), Marion (23), Multnomah (31), Polk (5), Tillamook (1), Umatilla (21), Union (2), Washington (25) and Yamhill (4).

Oregon’s 2,764th COVID-19 death is a 92-year-old man from Curry County who tested positive on June 18 and died on June 28 at his residence. Presence of underlying conditions is being confirmed.

Oregon’s 2,765th COVID-19 death is a 67-year-old man from Coos County who tested positive on June 24 and died on June 26 at Mercy Medical Center Mt. Shasta. He had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 2,766th COVID-19 death is a 42-year-old woman from Lane County who tested positive on June 17 and died on June 25 at her residence. She had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 2,767th COVID-19 death is a 64-year-old man from Multnomah County who tested positive on May 13 and died on June 19 at Kaiser Sunnyside Medical Center. He had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 2,768th COVID-19 death is a 57-year-old man from Washington County who tested positive on April 11 and died on May 2 at Oregon Health & Science University Hospital. Presence of underlying conditions is being confirmed.

Oregon’s 2,769th COVID-19 death is a 61-year-old man from Washington County who tested positive on Nov. 25, 2020 and died on May 18 at Legacy Meridian Park Medical Center. 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 2,770th COVID-19 death is a 99-year-old woman from Washington County who tested positive on Jan. 2 and died on Jan. 8 at her residence. She 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.