February 10, 2021 Page 3 INSIDE L O C A L N E W S S PORTS page 6 M ETRO page 10 Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are prepared at a drive-thru clinic in Portland. Gov. Brown, following public health guidelines, opened up vaccines to people 80 years or older this week, but reservations for the shots quickly outpaced supply. (AP photo) Vaccine Signups Outrun Supply Hard hit elderly begin to receive shots page 11 O PINION Arts & page 13-15 ENTERTAINMENT C LASSIFIED /B IDS pages 14-15 Established 1970 USPS 959 680 4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 97211 The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. Manuscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and will be returned if accompanied by a self addressed envelope. All created design display ads become the sole property of the newspaper and cannot be used in other publications or per- sonal usage without the written consent of the general man- ager, unless the client has purchased the composition of such ad. © 2008 THE PORTLAND OBSERVER. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED. The Portland Observer--Oregon’s Oldest Multicultural Publication--is a member of the National Newspaper Association--Founded in 1885, and The National Advertising Representative Amal- gamated Publishers, Inc, New York, NY, and The West Coast Black Publishers Association PO QR code P ublisher : e ditor : Mark Washington, Sr. Michael Leighton Office Mngr/Clasfds: Lucinda Baldwin C reative d ireCtor : Paul Neufeldt o ffiCe a sst /s ales : Shawntell Washington CALL 503-288-0033 • FAX 503-288-0015• news@portlandobserver.com ads@portlandobserver.com• subscription@portlandobserver.com Postmaster: Send address changes to Portland Observer, PO Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208 (AP) — Appointments to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Oregon were quickly booked Monday, as residents who are 80 years and older became eligi- ble to receive doses of the scarce and highly antici- pated vaccine. Seniors in Oregon have waited weeks to receive the vaccine, after the original eligibility date was delayed and then Gov. Kate Brown decided to prior- itize educators ahead of the elderly. The elderly have been the hardest hit group in state when it comes to the virus — people 60 years and older account for 90% of Oregon’s COVID-19 deaths. On Monday, seniors 80 and older began to re- ceive shots. Eligibility will expand to younger age groups each week: 75 and older starting Feb. 15, 70 and older starting Feb. 22 and 65 and older starting March 1. The Oregonian/Oregon Live reported Monday that every available appointment for seniors in the Portland area was booked within the first two and a half hours they were eligible. All appointments at the Oregon Convention Center and Portland Inter- national Airport’s red economy parking lot for the next week -- through Tuesday, Feb. 16 -- were taken. Last week, Oregon health officials warned that as 168,000 elderly Oregonians become eligible there could be issues. In preparation for the increase in eligible people, Brown announced Friday that 30 additional Nation- al Guard members would be deployed to help field 211 calls and texts from seniors signing up and seek- ing information on vaccinations. Officials from 211info, Oregon and Southwest Washington’s information referral line for health and human services, said earlier this month that their call volume had gone from 400 calls a day before the pandemic to 1,800 calls a day during the vac- C onTinued on P age 6 Officials Respond to Spike in Shootings Chief moves officers; mayor supports new team Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell and Mayor Ted Wheeler have announced moves to com- bat a spike in shootings and vi- olent crime. Lovell on Thursday said he is moving officers from traffic, K-9, narcotics and other units into street patrol to pursue im- mediate investigations in re- sponse to shootings and help process crime scene evidence. At a news conference, Lovell said he regrets the Portland City C onTinued on P age 6 Chuck Lovell