PORTLAND, Oregon — A recent surge in COVID cases has many people checking their immunization records, as pharmacies await the arrival of fall vaccine shipments.
“I'm hoping we’ll receive the new COVID vaccine middle to late September,” said pharmacist Pat Hubbell who owns Brooklyn Pharmacy in Southeast Portland.
Hubbell noted the latest COVID vaccine is a monovalent, meaning it has one strain that doctors feel will cover all the strains we may come in contact with this season.
“There's definitely been a lack of interest in the COVID vaccine right now,” Hubbell said. “However, I think that's going to change here in about a month. I think we'll see a lot of energy towards getting that COVID vaccine.”
The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) told KGW that percent positivity, or the share of tests coming back positive, has been rising throughout the summer. As of Aug. 23 it was 12.3%. State health officials also noted that there is more COVID-19 circulating in Oregon now than in the spring, but for context, circulation was at an all-time low during the spring. OHA said fortunately, they're not seeing any evidence of an increase in “severe disease” from COVID and that hospitalizations remain very low and don't appear to be increasing.
Besides COVID, health experts are anticipating another bad flu season. Hubbell said he should have flu vaccines in by early September.
“We know everybody's going to be like, ‘I want to get my flu shot now,’ but we really want folks to try and wait until early October,” Hubbell said. “We want to make sure their [antibody] levels stay up and strong all the way through April and May because we can still see flu outbreaks that late in the spring.”
Finally, there's RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, which doctors say can be serious, especially for older adults and infants. Talk with your pediatrician about what's best for your children but for people 60 and older, the CDC recommends getting the RSV vaccine. Hubbell said he has that in stock, now.
“You could get an RSV vaccine, a COVID vaccine and a flu vaccine all at the same time,” said Hubbell. “Now, you may feel a little under the weather the next day, but it is something you can do.”