Thread by @OHAOregon

OHA Director Pat Allen at today's press conference: "We are on the doorstep of a 70% adult vaccination rate. I also want to remind everyone that #COVID19 still poses a serious risk for people who are unvaccinated and for under-vaccinated communities."

"98% of people who are dying from #COVID19 are unvaccinated. And more contagious and possibly more dangerous variants are spreading in Oregon, posing a threat in counties with low vaccination rates."

"Today, I’ll also talk about how we plan to work with county commissioners and public health officials to stem outbreaks and keep Oregonians safer after re-opening."

"I want Oregonians to know we’re not finished vaccinating vulnerable people. Oregon remains committed to vaccinating as many eligible people as we can, with a long-term aim to reach 8 in 10 adults, particularly in communities of color, who have been hardest hit by the pandemic."

"We are going to work to vaccinate enough Oregonians to end the pandemic and keep the virus from surging back."

"Based on the latest @CDCgov figures, Oregon has:
- Vaccinated 69% of adults.
- Ranks 18th in the nation in total population who've received at least one dose.
- 58% of all Oregonians have had at least one vaccination. (The nat'l. avg. is 54%.)"

"Today, 2,365,492 Oregonians have received at least one dose of a #COVID19 vaccine. It’s no secret that vaccine demand has tapered in recent weeks, but we continue to reach Oregonians every day with a vaccine."

"At the county level, we’re seeing an uptick in some rural counties. Over the past week, the 7-day vaccination rate of growth across the state has hovered around 1%."

"Today, there are 8 counties who’ve vaccinated 65% or more of residents age 16+: Benton, Clackamas, Deschutes, Hood River, Lane, Lincoln, Multnomah and Washington counties. However, the rate of growth in those counties has slowed. All these counties grew at less than 1%."

"In contrast, 14 counties have vaccinated fewer than 50% of their residents who are 16 and older. However, Crook, Gilliam and Umatilla all grew between 1.4% and 1.8% last week."

"In counties that have vaccinated more than 50% of their residents who are 16 and older, Clatsop, Jefferson, Marion, Sherman and Wasco all saw growth rates of 1.3% to 1.8% last week."

"While many of these counties still have low overall vaccination rates, these growth spurts are an encouraging sign that we can reach more people. These signs of growth may also tell us incentives are helping in some areas."

"Growth in vaccination rates among younger people exceeds the rate of increase among older people. Growth among Oregonians b/w 12-15, 16-19 and 20-29 yrs old all increased b/w 1.5% and 4.5% last wk, which outpaced the statewide average and the growth rate among older adults."

"In contrast, no age group among people 50+ grew more than half (.5) a percentage point last week. However, Oregon is at 73% or above for people 60 and older."

"When we look at race and ethnicity, our overall statewide growth in vaccinations is being carried by people in communities of color. Over the past week, vaccination growth among people of color continued to outperform whites."

"Vaccination rates among Blacks, American Indians/Alaskan Natives and the Hispanic/Latinx community all grew by 1.4% to 1.6%, exceeding the statewide growth rate and at least doubling the rate of growth among whites, who grew at just .7%."

"We couldn’t have made this progress without the central role community-based non-profits have played in organizing events and reaching out to the communities they serve. OHA has received requests to help support vaccination clinics from 90+ non-profits in Oregon. Some examples:"

"Oregon’s rising vaccination rate is driving #COVID19 out of many homes, workplaces, nursing homes, schools and daycare centers and hospitals. But as Oregon reaches the verge of re-opening, we can’t forget: the pandemic isn’t over among people who aren’t vaccinated."

"The latest Oregon data shows that more than 9 in 10 #COVID19 cases and hospitalizations occur among people who aren’t vaccinated at all or aren’t fully vaccinated. Yet, today 7 counties need to vaccinate >10,000 people just to achieve a 65% vaccination rate among people 16+."

"Low vaccination rates in local communities are dry tinder for new COVID-19 outbreaks to emerge and new variants to evolve."

"How will Oregon manage these risks after June 30th, once the current statewide protections expire? With an adult vaccination rate of ≈70%, we can pull back the statewide protections the virus forced on us and shift responsibility for managing #COVID19 to the local level."

"As @OregonGovBrown said, we'll lift statewide mask mandates, capacity limitations & social distancing requirements next week. Before vaccines arrived and during the early days of the vaccine roll-out, these protections were the only tools we had to slow the spread of #COVID19."

"These protections worked – if Oregon had suffered the same death rate as the nation, 4,000 or more Oregonians than we’ve already lost would’ve lost their lives to #COVID19."

"Going forward, it will be up to county commissioners (who act as local health boards) and local public health officials to intervene to slow the spread of #COVID19. They will be responsible for conducting:"

"At OHA, our role will be to:"

"This change is in line with the way our public health system operates in normal times – outside a global, national and statewide health emergency."

"When there’s an outbreak of meningitis, measles or other communicable diseases, local health authorities take the lead. OHA’s role is to provide support and fill the gaps: such as state public health lab testing, cross-county coordination and other roles."

"Some local officials have been vocal in asking for this authority earlier in the pandemic, but that didn’t make sense when we had higher rates of #COVID19 infection and hospitalizations – and lower rates of vaccination."

"For the past 16 months, we’ve needed an “all together” pandemic response to confront a new and deadly threat. But now, with infections down statewide and vaccinations up, we can shift from a statewide posture to one that differs by community, depending on their local risks."

"Don’t get me wrong: this is not a “go it alone” moment, even if some people may want to their local leaders to pretend the pandemic is over."

"Many unvaccinated people in Oregon remain highly vulnerable to #COVID19, especially as new variants that are more contagious and cause more severe disease are spreading in Oregon. #COVID19 hasn’t gone away. We still need an “all together” attitude."

"OHA will continue to help local health officials take appropriate action to save lives. But local officials will be responsible for making those decisions – and responding to the consequences in their communities."

"Which brings me to my most important message: We're not finished vaccinating Oregonians. A 70% vaccination rate among adults is a major accomplishment. It’s made a safer state reopening possible."

"I want to say thank you to every Oregonian who’s been vaccinated and everyone who’s worked hard to vaccinate Oregonians."

"We’ve made a commitment to leaders representing communities of color: We will vaccinate 80% of adults from tribes and from Black, Latino/Latina/Latinx, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander and Asian communities. We’re working hard to honor that pledge."

"We’re also committed to forging on past 70% for all adults and work toward reaching as much as 80% of all adults before we’re through."

"We want to vaccinate enough Oregonians of all eligible ages to achieve the critical mass of immunizations that’s necessary to truly bring this pandemic to a close."

"We’re expanding vaccination events sponsored by non-profits, standing up a ground game that will send canvassers into under-vaccinated communities and expanding our public education messaging, tailored to address the questions we hear from different communities."

"Once Oregon reopens, I want to let you know OHA will adjust our #COVID19 data reporting. After June 30th, we will maintain our weekday reporting; however, we will discontinue our weekend and holiday reporting."

"Finally, I want to encourage everyone to stay safe this weekend in the extreme heat."

https://twitter.com/OHAOregon/status/1408438602221199362?s=20

"We're working with local public health officials to connect people to cooling centers – and we’re making emergency revisions to our guidance to review capacity limits during this historic heat emergency."

"While many vaccination clinics will cancel events this weekend, we’re working to see if we can offer vaccinations at some cooling center locations."

"If you need access to a cooling center in your community, call 211. Please be careful and stay cool this weekend."

https://twitter.com/211info/status/1408164381024677892?s=20