PORTLAND, Ore. — On the heels of a weekly COVID-19 report detailing Oregon's record-high cases, deaths, hospitalizations and workplace outbreaks, Gov. Kate Brown addressed the media Friday morning about the ongoing struggles to contain the virus.
There is also some good news on the horizon: Health care workers in Oregon could potentially receive the first shots the vaccine as early as next week. Legacy Health in Portland expects to get a shipment of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine sometime this weekend, with the possibility of administering the first injections by next Wednesday.
"Oregon is a national leader in rapid, statewide distribution of vaccines against vaccine-preventable diseases, such as influenza, measles, mumps and rubella," Brown said. "We have a proven, efficient and reliable system for distributing vaccines through a broad network of health care providers, health systems, local public health programs, tribes and community nonprofits."
Brown noted that the vaccine alone will not bring an end to the pandemic; people must actually get the vaccinations when they can. And until that time, people must continue social distancing and other precautions.
"Until we can achieve community levels of immunity, we all must stay the course and continue to practice the safety measures we know can make an impact and stop the spread of this virus," Brown said. "I am so grateful to the majority of Oregonians who are following the recommendations of our public health experts by physically distancing, wearing a mask and limiting gatherings."
On Wednesday, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) announced that for the first time, more than 10,000 Oregonians had tested positive for COVID-19 in a single week. An average of 19 people per day died from the virus in the same week, and an average of 70 new patients were hospitalized per day.
OHA also announced there are 124 active workplace outbreaks in Oregon, up from the 108 reported a week before. It’s the largest number of known active coronavirus workplace outbreaks in Oregon so far during the pandemic.
Interactive: Workplace outbreaks in Oregon
On Thursday, Dr. Dominic Chan with Legacy Health in Portland said the hospital system expects to get a shipment of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on Dec. 12 or 13.
Chan is overseeing the vaccine rollout for Legacy Health and said the first vaccines will go to health care workers. But deciding who will get those first 2,000 doses is not an easy task when 13,000 people work for Legacy Health,
Dr. Chan said the philosophy is guided by equity, not titles.