Oregon reports 9 more COVID-19 related deaths, 2,057 new cases, 1,085 hospitalizations
Rate of COVID about 6 times higher in unvaccinated people, OHA says; more children 5 and younger hospitalized
PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- There are nine new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 3,095, along with 2,057 new cases and 1,085 hospitalizations, the Oregon Health Authority reported Thursday.
OHA reported 2,057 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. Thursday, bringing the state total to 265,210.
Weekly Breakthrough Case Report
OHA’s most recent update on COVID-19 breakthrough cases, released Thursday, found that 88% of the 14,523 reported COVID-19 cases between Aug. 15 and Aug. 21 occurred in people who were unvaccinated. There were 1,739 breakthrough cases, accounting for 12% of the week’s cases.
The median age of the breakthrough cases during this period was 48. A total of 36 breakthrough cases involved residents of care facilities, senior living communities or other congregate care settings. There were 31 breakthrough cases in people aged 12 to 17.
To date, there have been 9,539 COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough cases in Oregon. The median age of all cases was 48. Breakthrough cases have been reported in all 36 counties.
Cases of COVID-19 are far more common in unvaccinated people, OHA said. The report shows that the rate of COVID-19 in unvaccinated people is currently approximately six times higher than in vaccinated people.
To date, 5.5% of all vaccine breakthrough cases have been hospitalized and 0.9% have died. The median age of the people who died was 83.
The number of vaccine breakthrough cases identified in Oregon remains very small, OHA said, when compared to the more than 2.38 million Oregonians who have completed their COVID-19 vaccination series.
The latest breakthrough report can be found here.
Pediatric Weekly dashboard update
On Thursday, OHA published its newest dashboard report of pediatric COVID-19 case data in Oregon.
This dashboard replaces the previous report and will be published weekly on Thursdays with the most recent full week’s data.
A key finding this week is an increase in hospitalizations in children 0-5 years.
This isn’t just in Oregon. Children are now being hospitalized in large numbers across the United States as the swift-moving Coronavirus Delta variant drives cases higher.
“While an increase in COVID cases is difficult news to hear, it’s especially disheartening when there is a sharp rise in serious cases among the youngest people in our community," said Dr. Dean Sidelinger, health officer and state epidemiologist for Oregon Health Authority.
"New hospital admission rates for kids due to COVID-19 in the U.S. have reached the highest levels since tracking pediatric cases started about a year ago. The Delta variant is more contagious than previous variants — and likely is causing more severe disease in children, as it is in adults — and is leading to a surge in pediatric hospitalizations nationwide. Please get vaccinated if you can, and wear a mask to help stop COVID from spreading, especially to kids who can’t yet get the vaccine. Let’s work together to keep our community and our children safe,”
COVID-19 hospitalizations
The number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 across Oregon is 1,085, which is five more than Wednesday. There are 299 COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit (ICU) beds, which is four more than Wednesday.
There are 51 available adult ICU beds out of 661 total (8% availability) and 333 available adult non-ICU beds out of 4,269 (8% availability).
St. Charles Bend reported a record 77 COVID-19 patients early Thursday, a record 17 of whom were in the ICU, with 15 on ventilators.
The total number of patients in hospital beds may fluctuate between report times. The numbers do not reflect admissions per day, nor the length of hospital stay. Staffing limitations are not captured in this data and may further limit bed capacity.
Note: Please do not visit an emergency department for COVID-19 testing, unless you require emergency care for your symptoms. Emergency departments in Oregon are under significant strain responding to the current surge in COVID-19. You can find a test here.
If you have a medical condition that doesn’t require emergency care, contact your provider. An urgent care center may also help you get the care you need and will save emergency departments from added strain.
More information about hospital capacity can be found here.
Vaccinations in Oregon
OHA reported Thursday that 10,970 new doses of COVID-19 vaccinations were added to the state immunization registry. Of this total, 2,922 were initial doses and 1,604 were second doses administered on Wednesday. The remaining 5,669 were administered on previous days, but were entered into the vaccine registry on Wednesday.
The seven-day running average is now 7,921 doses per day.
Oregon has now administered 2,781,997 first and second doses of Pfizer Comirnaty, 1,834,344 first and second doses of Moderna and 196,219 single doses of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines.
As of today, 2,604,664 people have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 2,385,186 people have completed a COVID-19 vaccine series.
Cumulative daily totals can take several days to finalize because providers have 72 hours to report doses administered and technical challenges have caused many providers to lag in their reporting. OHA has been providing technical support to vaccination sites to improve the timeliness of their data entry into the state’s ALERT Immunization Information System (IIS).
These data are preliminary and subject to change.
Updated vaccination data are provided on Oregon’s COVID-19 data dashboards and have been updated Thursday.
Links to COVID-19 vaccination rules and school reopening
The COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement for Healthcare Providers and Healthcare Staff in Healthcare Settings rules can be found here.
The COVID-19 Vaccination Requirements for Teachers and School Staff rules can be found here.
Recently, OHA and ODE held a series of town hall meetings on Facebook to answer questions about school reopening and COVID-19. Videos are available here: Eastern Oregon/English, Statewide/English, Statewide/Espańol. Also, this FAQ answers common questions submitted by the public for those town halls.
Cases and deaths
The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported Thursday are in the following counties: Baker (15), Benton (12), Clackamas (133), Clatsop (19), Columbia (22), Coos (21), Crook (13), Curry (24), Deschutes (95), Douglas (69), Grant (29), Harney (9), Hood River (5), Jackson (215), Jefferson (8), Josephine (75), Klamath (67), Lake (5), Lane (190), Lincoln (24), Linn (103), Malheur (26), Marion (206), Morrow (13), Multnomah (184), Polk (67), Sherman (1), Tillamook (22) Umatilla (112), Union (13), Wallowa (8), Wasco (23), Washington (158), Wheeler (3) and Yamhill (68).
Oregon’s 3,087th COVID-19 associated death is a 72-year-old man from Josephine County who tested positive on Aug. 10 and died on Aug. 24 at Asante Three Rivers Medical Center. He had no underlying conditions.
Oregon’s 3,088th COVID-19 associated death is an 88-year-old man from Jackson County who tested positive on Aug. 15 and died on Aug. 24 at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center. Presence of underlying conditions is being confirmed.
Oregon’s 3,089th COVID-19 associated death is a 95-year-old woman from Douglas County who tested positive on Aug. 17 and died on Aug. 25 at her residence. Presence of underlying conditions is being confirmed.
Oregon’s 3,090th COVID-19 associated death is an 81-year-old woman from Josephine County who tested positive on Aug. 19 and died on Aug. 24 at Asante Three Rivers Medical Center. Presence of underlying conditions is being confirmed.
Oregon’s 3,091st COVID-19 associated death is an 81-year-old woman from Josephine County who tested positive on Aug. 6 and died on Aug. 23 at Asante Three Rivers Medical Center. Presence of underlying conditions is being confirmed.
Oregon’s 3,092nd COVID-19 associated death is a 52-year-old man from Tillamook County who tested positive on Aug. 12 and died on Aug. 24 at Adventist Health Tillamook. Presence of underlying conditions is being confirmed.
Oregon’s 3,093rd COVID-19 associated death is a 53-year-old man from Washington County who tested positive on Aug. 12 and died on Aug. 24 at his residence. Presence of underlying conditions is being confirmed.
Oregon’s 3,094th COVID-19 associated death is a 78-year-old man from Umatilla County who tested positive on Aug. 15 and died on Aug. 22 at St. Mary’s Medical Center. Presence of underlying conditions is being confirmed.
Oregon’s 3,095th COVID-19 associated death is a 71-year-old woman from Lane County who tested positive on Aug. 16 and died on Aug. 16 at her residence. Presence of underlying conditions is being confirmed.
Learn more about COVID-19 vaccinations
To learn more about the COVID-19 vaccine situation in Oregon, visit OHA's webpage (English or Spanish), which has a breakdown of distribution and other information.
