June 07, 2023
Page 9
FDA Approves First Ever
RSV Vaccine for Adults
photo courtesy of Kaiser press release
RSV should be
taken seriously,
especially in
older adults
The U.S. Food and Drug Administra-
tion approved the first respiratory syncy-
tial virus (RSV) vaccine for ages 60-old-
er for use in the U.S, and since then
many people have been calling Kaiser
Permanente to ask when they can get it.
Dr. Katie Sharff, Chief of Infectious
Disease for Kaiser Permanente North-
west, says the approval of the RSV vac-
cine Arexvy is great news, though the
vaccine will not be available until fall.
“The CDC needs to provide clinical
guidance first and then the vaccine will
need to be distributed, so it may take a
little longer than some people expect.
But it’s still great news because respi-
ratory viruses like RSV should be taken
seriously, especially in older adults.”
In the U.S. alone, the CDC estimates
between 60,000-160,000 older adults
are hospitalized by RSV every year, and
somewhere between 6,000 to 14,000
deaths are attributed to RSV in adults 65
and older. “The virus can be life-altering
in older adults because it can cause lower
respiratory tract disease and life-threat-
ening pneumonia. Furthermore, it can
cause other underlying health conditions
to worsen,” said Dr. Sharff, “causing
worsening of heart failure or COPD.”
Additionally, there is an RSV vaccine
that could be given to pregnant people
to prevent severe RSV disease in in-
fants that will likely seek FDA approval
in August. As we saw with last season,
RSV infection can cause significant bur-
den in infants and young children with
an estimated 58,000 hospitalizations an-
nually in children under 5 years old in
the U.S.
Many people are eagerly awaiting the
vaccines, especially after last year’s long
and severe RSV season. “We need to re-
main patient, but we expect the vaccine
will be available for distribution this fall,
which will be just in time for the typical
cold/flu/RSV season.
Portland Police Address
Online Rumors...
Continued from Page 2
couraged to contact the detectives.
Another of the cases that is being
listed in this group involves a death
investigation on April 24, 2023, at
3:09p.m. in the 9500 block of South-
east Flavel Street. East Precinct offi-
cers responded to a report of someone
found deceased inside a tent. Officers
assisted the Medical Examiner (ME)
on the case, but the ME is primary
investigator as they have the exper-
tise to determine cause and manner of
death. There is no indication that foul
play was suspected by the ME re-
sponder on scene, or the officers who
were there to assist, and the PPB Ho-
micide Unit has not become involved
in the investigation.
PPB currently is not involved with
the Ainsworth State Park (Multnomah
County), Polk County, and the Clark
County death investigations. We have
spoken to those agencies regarding
these investigations but as of now we
are not actively participating in them.
It is common investigative practice,
whether it is retail theft, robbery, sex-
ual assault, or murder cases, to consid-
er possible connections to other cases
both in and out of our jurisdiction.
Like with all investigations of this na-
ture we are routinely in contact with
our law enforcement partners. That
has happened here, but that should not
suggest a connection has been made.
PPB is asking that our community
be aware of the facts about these cases
before sharing speculation. PPB is as-
suring our community that if we learn
of an articulable danger, we will notify
the public about it. PPB will continue
to coordinate with other law enforce-
ment agencies to ensure we are doing
all we can to pursue justice for any and
all crime victims.
Protest signs condemning a measure in Portland City Council that would ban
homeless camps during the daytime in most public places are lined up next to one
of the doors of City Hall in Portland, Ore. on Wednesday, May 31, 2023 (AP Photo/
Claire Rush)
Ban on Daytime
Camping Amid Sharp
Rise in Homelessness
Oregon cities to
update their public
camping restrictions
by July 1
(AP) — City Council members in
Portland were considering on Wednes-
day whether to ban homeless camping
during daytime hours in most public
places, a move that aims to bring the city
into compliance with a new state law and
appease the growing number of residents
frustrated by a deepening years-long
homelessness crisis.
Portland is among progressive West
Coast cities moving to adopt stricter
rules on camping while grappling with
intertwined homelessness, housing, men-
tal health and addiction crises. In Port-
land, homelessness jumped more than
30% between 2019 and 2022, according
to federal data.
Homeless people would have to dis-
mantle their camp every morning and
remove their belongings and any litter
during the day. People who break the
rules would receive a warning for the
first two violations. After three viola-
tions, people could be fined up to $100
or be sent to jail for up to 30 days. The
measure would prohibit camping be-
tween 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. in city parks
and near schools, day cares and con-
struction sites and on some sidewalk
areas. But while there appears to be an
increasing appetite for camping regula-
tions in Oregon’s largest city, advocates
said the new rules would further burden
homeless people and strain nonprofits
already working at capacity.
Mayor Ted Wheeler said at Wednes-
day’s City Council meeting that his goal
is to get enough shelter and housing to
eliminate unsanctioned camping in Port-
land. The City Council voted in Novem-
ber to create at least six large, designated
campsites where homeless people will be
allowed to camp and gradually ban street
camping altogether once the sites are op-
erational. “There are currently hundreds
of unsanctioned, sometimes dangerous
and often squalid homeless camps across
all 146 square miles of the city of Port-
land. These homeless camps ... represent
nothing short of a humanitarian catastro-
phe,” Wheeler said.
Before testimony got under way,
dozens of protesters rallied with mega-
phones outside City Hall to voice their
opposition. At times, advocates inside
the City Council chambers cheered those
speaking against the measure and jeered
people supporting it, including Wheeler,
prompting him to threaten to move the
meeting online if decorum was not re-
spected. Business and property owners
were among those who testified in sup-
port of the ordinance, saying some cus-
tomers and employees don’t feel safe
shopping or going to work because of
encampments. Council members are ex-
pected to vote next week, according to
Wheeler’s office.