Oregon reports 38 more COVID-19 related deaths, 901 new cases

PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) — There are 38 new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 5,356, the Oregon Health Authority reported Thursday.

OHA also reported 901 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. today bringing the state total to 399,361.

Note: The summary tables for some OHA COVID-19 dashboards will be temporarily unavailable Friday from 5 to 11:59 p.m. while Tableau engineers perform routine maintenance. OHA appreciates your patience.

OHA releases new COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough report

OHA’s most recent update on COVID-19 breakthrough cases, released Thursday, found that 69.4% of the 6,496 reported COVID-19 cases between Nov. 28 and Dec. 4 occurred in unvaccinated people.

There were 1,989 breakthrough cases, accounting for 30.6% of all cases.

The average age of the breakthrough cases during that period was 43. Forty-four breakthrough cases involved residents of care facilities, senior living communities or other congregate care settings. There were 64 breakthrough cases in people aged 12 to 17.

To date, there have been 47,687 COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough cases in Oregon. The average age of all cases is 47. Breakthrough cases have been reported in all 36 counties.

"Cases of COVID-19 are far more common in unvaccinated people," OHA stated. "The report shows that the rate of COVID-19 in unvaccinated people is more than 3-1/2 higher than in vaccinated people."

To date, 4.4% of all vaccine breakthrough cases have been hospitalized and 1.2% have died. The average age of vaccinated people who died was 81.

Vaccination remains the most effective tool to reduce the spread of COVID-19, OHA said. To date, more than 2.9 million Oregonians have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

The latest breakthrough report can be found here.

COVID-19 hospitalizations

The number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 across Oregon is 404, which is seven more than Wednesday. There are 94 COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit (ICU) beds, which is six fewer than Wednesday.

There are 56 available adult ICU beds out of 682 total (8% availability) and 247 available adult non-ICU beds out of 4,171 (6% availability).

12/9/2021 Available Beds (and Percentage of Staffed Beds Available)
	Statewide	Region 1	Region 2	Region 3	Region 5	Region 6	Region 7	Region 9
Adult ICU beds available	56(8%)	24(7%)	7(8%)	11(12%)	3(5%)	1(10%)	5(11%)	5(19%)
Adult non-ICU beds available	247(6%)	32(2%)	15(3%)	52(9%)	37(8%)	12(24%)	43(10%)	56(47%)

St. Charles Bend reported 25 COVID-19 patients early Thursday, two of whom were in the ICU, both on ventilators. Neither of the two ICU patients were fully vaccinated and 21 of the 25 patients were not fully vaccinated, the hospital reported.

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. 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 32,291 new doses of COVID-19 vaccinations were added to the state immunization registry on Wednesday. Of that total, 2,136 were initial doses, 2,716 were second doses and 10,986 were third doses and booster doses. The remaining 16,351 were administered on previous days but were entered into the vaccine registry on Wednesday.

The seven-day running average is now 23,668 doses per day.

Oregon has now administered 3,600,843 doses of Pfizer Comirnaty, 111,760 doses of Pfizer pediatric, 2,341,352 doses of Moderna and 247,962 doses of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines.

As of Thursday, 2,981,287 people have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 2,706,196 people have completed a COVID-19 vaccine series.

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.

Madras vaccination clinic doubles as block party and resource fair

To improve access to vaccines and community resources, Thrive Central Oregon and OHA recently held a Fiesta del Barrio – Community Block Party and Resource Fair. “We are so grateful for the opportunity to bring vaccine information and resources to those we already have relationships with throughout Central Oregon,” said Sarah Mahnke, executive director of Thrive Central Oregon. “These events give us another opportunity to meet with folks face-to-face, providing them with the resources and care – vaccinations! – they are seeking.”

Thrive’s next Community Block Party will be on Monday, Dec. 13, from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Rolling Sage Apartments in Madras. 

Visit our blog to read the full story. 

Thrive Central Oregon staffer Abigail Fate at the Madras Community Block Party and Resource Fair.

Cases and deaths

The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported Thursday are in the following counties: Baker (2), Benton (16), Clackamas (94), Clatsop (8), Columbia (11), Coos (34), Crook (13), Deschutes (55), Douglas (43), Grant (2), Harney (4), Hood River (9), Jackson (57), Jefferson (8), Josephine (13), Klamath (13), Lane (61), Lincoln (9), Linn (69), Malheur (4), Marion (88), Morrow (2), Multnomah (127), Polk (23), Tillamook (8), Umatilla (6), Wallowa (1), Wasco (7), Washington (92), and Yamhill (22).

Note: An updated news release will follow with additional case and death information.

Learn more about COVID-19 vaccinations  

To learn more about the COVID-19 vaccine situation in Oregon, visit our web page (English or Spanish), which has a breakdown of distribution and other information.