OREGON, USA — Oregon leaders convened a media briefing last week with the dire news that the state faced a rise in new Covid cases. But they also offered hope that vaccinations were on track to contain the surge and reopen the economy.
"We are entering a period of high risk as we try to beat back the latest wave of Covid-19 infections," said Oregon Health Authority Director Patrick Allen. "But we can safely reopen by summer if enough of us get vaccinated to protect ourselves and each other."
When Allen spoke on April 23, he provided an update on Oregon's vaccination progress and projections at that date:
About 40% of state residents had received at least one dose of a vaccine, according to state data, or about 50%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
At the current rate of vaccinations, three out of four people could receive at least one dose by the start of summer.
Eight out of 10 could have at least one shot by July 4.
"But sustaining that pace depends on Oregonians continuing to choose to get vaccinated," Allen said. "We can stave off this virus and keep it from coming back. The best way to put the pandemic behind us is to take this simple direct action: Get vaccinated."
Vaccinations have not been administered evenly across Oregon, with some counties having vaccinated less than a quarter of their populations and others having vaccinated about half.
Several rural counties have been slower to vaccinate, though a few are making better progress than the Portland tri-county. Rural counties have also been slower to vaccinate seniors, a trend that has showed up nationwide. Demand started to level off at the end of March, and last week, 13 counties asked OHA to not send more vaccine, as they didn't need it.
"We've been diverting those doses to those counties with more demand," Allen said Wednesday. "The counties that say they don't need vaccine tend to be the ones with lower vaccination rates, and that's going to be a long-term problem."
The Portland Business Journal is a KGW News partner.
