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What you need to know about COVID-19 vaccines in Oregon Thursday

Here are the top vaccine facts for Thursday, March 18.

Here's who is eligible for a COVID vaccine in Oregon

As of March 1, everyone in Phase 1A and groups 1-5 of Phase 1B is eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine in Oregon. That includes:

  • Health care workers and first responders
  • Long-term care residents
  • K-12 educators and school staff
  • Childcare providers
  • People 65 and older

Where to get a COVID vaccine in Oregon and Washington

From mass vaccination clinics to pharmacies to community clinics, KGW has compiled a list of where people can get the vaccine in Oregon and southwest Washington, or how to sign up for it online. Appointment time slots have been filling up quickly, so please check scheduling portals often to secure a spot.

The sign-up process for COVID-19 vaccination in the Portland metro area changed March 1. Eligible people will be notified when a dose is available for them. The names of eligible people in the metro area will be gleaned from the Get Vaccinated Oregon database and sent to the state's partners at the Oregon Convention Center.

Latest COVID-19 vaccine news

OHA director says adults in Oregon will be eligible for vaccine by May 1

Oregon Health Authority Director Patrick Allen on Wednesday said all adults in Oregon should be able to schedule a vaccine appointment by May 1.

"In Oregon every single adult will be eligible for a vaccine on May 1, which does not mean they will get a vaccine on May 1, but they will be eligible," Allen said during an interview on OPB.

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COVID-19 vaccine eligibility expanding by 2 million Washington residents on March 31

COVID-19 vaccine eligibility will expand to include anyone 60 and older and people working in congregate settings, including restaurant and food service workers, starting March 31.

Approximately 2 million additional Washingtonians will be eligible with the expansion. The decision to expand vaccine eligibility is due to an increase in doses and the vaccination rate, according to Gov. Jay Inslee's office.

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Grocery store workers frustrated with Oregon's vaccine timeline

Grocery store employees have been essential workers during the entire pandemic, stocking food and working checkout lines while being exposed to thousands of people. So when they learned they'd be eligible for the vaccine May 1, it was a sigh of relief, but one they felt was long overdue. 

“We've been pressuring the governor — asking, pleading with the governor —  to please move us forward in priority based off the CDC recommendations,” said Miles Eshaia, head of communications for United Food & Commercial Workers Local 555, Oregon's grocery workers union.

On Wednesday, Eshaia and the union's 19,000 members learned that now, every adult in Oregon age 16 and older will also be eligible for the vaccine May 1. The announcement came from the Oregon Health Authority and lines up with President Biden's order for all American adults to be vaccine-eligible by May 1, saying there would be enough doses. Eshaia said that's of little comfort to grocery workers.

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Will you soon need a 'vaccine passport' to travel?

Airlines and others in the travel industry are throwing their support behind so-called vaccine passports to boost pandemic-depressed travel, and authorities in Europe could embrace the idea quickly enough for the peak summer vacation season.

Technology companies and travel-related trade groups are developing and testing various versions of the vaccine passports, also called health certificates or travel passes.

Here are answers to some key questions about the health credentials

KGW Q&A | The COVID vaccine: Scheduling and beyond

KGW's Cristin Severance and Pat Dooris have been covering Oregon's COVID vaccine rollout since it began. On Wednesday, they discussed what has gone right, what has gone wrong and they answered viewer questions about the vaccine during a KGW Q&A.

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Biden plans to send COVID AstraZeneca shots to Mexico, Canada

The U.S. is planning to send a combined 4 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to Mexico and Canada in its first export of shots, the White House said Thursday.

Press secretary Jen Psaki said the Biden administration is in the process of finalizing efforts to distribute 2.5 million doses to Mexico and 1.5 million to Canada as a “loan.” The details are still being worked out.

“Our first priority remains vaccinating the U.S. population,” Psaki said at the daily briefing. But she added that “ensuring our neighbors can contain the virus is a mission critical step, is mission critical to ending the pandemic.”

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