Oregon reports 7 more COVID-19 deaths, including Deschutes County’s 83rd; 322 new cases

PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- There are seven new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon, including Deschutes County's 83rd death, raising the state’s death toll to 2,810, the Oregon Health Authority reported Thursday.

OHA also reported 322 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. Thursday, bringing the state total to 211,631.

OHA establishes 80% vaccination goal to close equity gap

In early July, Oregon achieved a 70% vaccination rate for Oregonians 18 years of age and older. Approaching this number in late June enabled Governor Brown to reopen the state on June 30. However, vaccination rates for Hispanic/Latino/a/x, American Indian/Alaska Native and Black/African American/African Immigrant communities are still hovering in the mid-40% range. 

To close the equity gap for communities of color, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) is recommitting and focusing on increasing vaccination access through a vaccination equity strategy aimed at achieving a goal of vaccinating 80% of adults of color by the end of this summer. OHA is also committed to vaccinating 80% of all adults in coming months.

“This is about doing everything we possibly can to meet that goal for our communities of color. There is potential to meet this goal by the end of August in some communities, and OHA and its partners will keep pushing until we can say that we have provided every Oregonian with the information they need about vaccines and an opportunity to get vaccinated,” said Erica Sandoval, Equity Director, Oregon Health Authority COVID-19 Response & Recovery Unit.

OHA is supporting both rural and urban areas where efforts would have a high impact on communities of color The OHA data team has been developing data to support this next milestone.

Major dashboard updates are:

• Switching to 80% goal from 65% county goal
• Switching from Population 16+ to Population 18+, keeping Total Population option as is
• Goal will be based on ALERT IIS data only, rather than on CDC data
• New race and ethnicity panel counting down total people remaining to 80% in tribal communities and communities of color statewide

Here is a link to the new dashboard that sends web viewers directly to the Race and Ethnicity tab.

Please note that switching from Population 16+ to Population 18+ resulted in a slight reduction in the race and ethnicity vaccination rates for communities of color; this is likely because younger populations have higher diversity.

Vaccinations in Oregon

OHA reported Thursday that 6,125 new doses of COVID-19 vaccinations were added to the state immunization registry. Of this total, 2,904 doses were administered on Wednesday and 3,221 were administered on previous days but were entered into the vaccine registry on Wednesday.

The seven-day running average is now 5,224 doses per day.

Oregon has now administered 2,591,443 first and second doses of Pfizer, 1,761,856 first and second doses of Moderna and 174,714 single doses of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines.

As of Thursday, 2,438,195 people have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 2,242,125 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).

To date, 2,973,645 doses of Pfizer, 2,266,140 doses of Moderna and 299,100 doses of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines have been delivered to sites across Oregon.

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.

Creating opportunities for youth with disabilities and their families

When they received the news that their organization would receive Health Equity Grant funds to reduce the sense of isolation in children with disabilities and their families, Creating Opportunities put on their khaki shorts and started planning a big drive-thru safari event. As a community-based organization for families of children and adults with developmental disabilities in Marion, Polk and Yamhill counties, they wanted to give families a chance to engage in a fun family outing while still minimizing risk of exposure to their children, many of whom are considered medically high-risk.

Executive Director, Cheryl Cisneros, said, “It is important to us that this special event not only provided a safe activity for families while COVID continues to linger, but to also create an opportunity for youth and adults with disabilities to get a vaccine in a comfortable setting.”

Read more about this unique event on the Oregon Vaccine News blog.

COVID-19 hospitalizations

The number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 across Oregon is 137, which is 15 more than Wednesday. There are 38 COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit (ICU) beds, which is four more than Wednesday.

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.

More information about hospital capacity can be found here.

St. Charles Bend reported 11 COVID-19 patients as of early Thursday, three of whom were in the ICU, with one on a ventilator.

Cases and deaths

The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported Thursday are in the following counties: Benton (5), Clackamas (33), Columbia (8), Coos (3), Crook (6), Curry (2), Deschutes (13), Douglas (15), Jackson (25), Jefferson (1), Josephine (19), Klamath (4), Lake (1), Lane (10), Linn (18), Marion (37), Morrow (4), Multnomah (22), Polk (9), Tillamook (2), Umatilla (32), Union (3), Wasco (3), Washington (39) and Yamhill (8).  

Oregon’s 2,804th death is a 78-year-old man from Deschutes County who died on Jan. 5. The death certificate listed COVID-19 disease or SARS-CoV-2 as a cause of death or a significant condition contributing to death. Location of death and underlying conditions are being confirmed.

Oregon’s 2,805th death is a 59-year-old man from Baker County who tested positive on July 7 and died on July 13 at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center. He had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 2,806th death is a 63-year-old man from Marion County who tested positive on June 30 and died on July 13 at Salem Hospital. He had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 2,807th death is a 75-year-old man from Jackson County who tested positive on July 11 and died on July 13 at Providence Medford Medical Center. He had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 2,808th death is a 56-year-old man from Washington County who tested positive on May 20 and died on June 18 at Kaiser Sunnyside Medical Center. Presence of underlying conditions is being confirmed.

Oregon’s 2,809th death is an 83-year-old woman from Morrow County who tested positive on Nov. 30, 2020 and died on Dec. 9, 2020. Location of death and underlying conditions are being confirmed.

Oregon’s 2,810th death is a 68-year-old man from Umatilla County who tested positive on April 24 and died on May 5 at Providence St. Mary Medical Center. He had underlying conditions.

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.