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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 21, 2021)
A3 THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2021 Vaccine: ‘We expect that cases will ramp up quickly’ Continued from Page A1 example, the vaccination rate was 54%. By late Sep- tember, it was 63%. The county initially set the goal in the hopes of reaching herd immunity against COVID-19. But public health leaders have cautioned for the past sev- eral months that it is unclear whether the 70% target will be eff ective as variants such as delta and omicron emerge. In a weekly vaccine task force update, the county also reported Friday that 80% of residents 18 and older are at least partially vaccinated. “We would just urge other folks who are, maybe have been, on the sidelines thinking it over to ask more questions and, hopefully, get vaccinated themselves,” Tom Bennett, a county spokesman, said. The vaccine task force is planning more booster clin- ics that off er the Moderna and Pfi zer vaccines. So far, more than 9,000 residents have received booster doses, the county reported. While the county marked the vaccination milestone, state leaders warned of a new wave of virus cases driven by the omicron variant. “We’re in a race against the clock,” Gov. Kate Brown said during a Friday afternoon press call. The new infections come Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian Clatsop County has among the highest vaccination rates in the state. ONLY 4.4% OF ALL VACCINE BREAKTHROUGH CASES HAVE REQUIRED HOSPITALIZATION, AND 1.3% HAVE DIED. THE AVERAGE AGE OF VACCINATED PEOPLE WHO DIED WAS 81. as Oregon is slowly recov- ering from the delta surge that began last July and peaked in early September. A forecast released by Oregon Health & Science University said the new variant will push out the dominant delta variant by the last week of December. Peter Graven, the lead author of the OHSU fore- Merila: Wants to help change ‘bootstrap ideology’ Continued from Page A1 The fi eld of social work tends to have a high burn- out rate. B ehavioral health care can involve listening to people’s pain in back-to- back sessions, sometimes eight in a day. It is also a profession where it is possible to see how the “isms” — racism, sexism, classism, ageism, ablism and so on — shape the individual . “It’s really important that, while we are doing therapeutic work with folks and helping them to process through whatever it is they need to process through, that we’re also simultane- ously looking at the ways that our society has cre- ated these problems,” Mer- ila said. Even well-intentioned health care providers, she said, can pressure their cli- ents to over-own their trau- matic experiences and posi- tion in the world, to make them feel there’s some- thing basically wrong with them. Through her work at Clatsop Behavioral Health- care , the county’s mental health and substance abuse treatment contractor, Mer- ila said she wants to help change this “bootstrap ideology. ” Merila loves her job . But when she was younger , social work wasn’t the pro- fession she imagined her- self going into. ‘IT’S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT, WHILE WE ARE DOING THERAPEUTIC WORK WITH FOLKS AND HELPING THEM TO PROCESS THROUGH WHATEVER IT IS THEY NEED TO PROCESS THROUGH, THAT WE’RE ALSO SIMULTANEOUSLY LOOKING AT THE WAYS THAT OUR SOCIETY HAS CREATED THESE PROBLEMS.’ cast, said omicron doubles at twice the rate of the delta variant, doubling the num- ber of infections every two days. “We have about two to three weeks before we’ll see omicron accelerate and become the dominant strain,” Graven said. “We expect that cases will ramp up quickly.” The OHSU report said early studies in Europe show vaccines and earlier exposure to the virus are not as eff ective against omi- cron as earlier variations of COVID-19. The Pfi zer and Moderna two-shot vaccination loses about 50% of its protective power with omicron. The third booster shot of Pfi zer or Moderna vaccine, now authorized for anyone over age 16, off ers signifi cant additional protection. The booster is especially needed for those most vul- nerable to severe illness, including immunocompro- mised residents or older adults living in congregant settings. “I’m calling on 1 million Oregonians to step up and get a booster shot,” Brown said. The Oregon Health Authority’s weekly report on virus cases found that unvaccinated people accounted for just under 70% of new infections. Vac- cinated people accounted for just over 30%. The biggest diff erence is in severity of illness. Only 4.4% of all vaccine break- through cases have required hospitalization, and 1.3% have died. The average age of vaccinated people who died was 81. The Oregon Capital Bureau is a collaboration between EO Media Group and Pamplin Media Group. Shop locally online AND GET GREAT DEALS! Shyra Merila | clinical operations offi cer at Clatsop Behavioral Healthcare In the early 2000s, Mer- ila was all over The Asto- rian’s sports coverage as a track and volleyball star at Astoria High School. After she did her under- graduate work — initially at Eastern Oregon Univer- sity, where she played vol- leyball, before fi nishing at Humboldt State University in Northern California — she returned to Astoria and coached track, volleyball and seventh-grade girls basketball. “I really didn’t know anything about basket- ball. I just got thrown into coaching. But it’s not hard when (the students) don’t know what they’re sup- posed to be doing, either,” she said with a laugh. To this day, Merila holds the high school squat record — 225 pounds — for her body weight class (below 130 pounds), according to p rincipal Lynn Jackson. Asked what a profi le about her would be incom- plete without, Merila remembered a time in high school when she ran the 4x100-meter relay . She had reached the second leg and realized that she’d left the baton at the starting line. “That was probably one of the most embarrassing moments of my life,” she said. She wondered if Jack- son tells that story to ath- letes when they’re having a bad day. No, Jackson said in an email, “but it does pro- vide me with a very fond memory.” Gift certificates on sale now at a 20% discount RESTAURANTS • LODGING FURNITURE • SHOPPING Hurry! Limited quantities available Gift certificates mailed within 3 days of online purchase discoverourcoastdeals.com | dailyastorian.com chinookobserver.com | seasidesignal.com coastweekend.com | discoverourcoast.com Shop Local this holiday season • Digital Holly Jolly Gift Guide • Links to Holly Jolly Advertisers • Holly Jolly Gift Guide e-edition www.discoverourcoast.com/holly_jolly_guide/ Register your subscription for unlimited digital access at 800-781-3214