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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 7, 2021)
OFF PAGE ONE Thursday, January 7, 2021 East Oregonian A7 Vaccine: Umatilla County recieved 2,400 doses last week Continued from Page A1 J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press Police with guns drawn watch as protesters try to break into the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. Under siege: Vice President Pence evacuated Continued from Page A1 prayed while protesters banged on the doors. Dem- ocratic Rep. Dean Phillips yelled loudly at Republicans, “This is because of you!” A chaplain prayed as police guarded the doors to the chamber and lawmakers tried to gather information about what was happening. Announcements blared: Due to an “external security threat,” no one could enter or exit the Capitol complex, the recording said. Lawmakers tweeted that they were shel- tering in place. Reporters and lawmakers hid under tables as the pro- testers banged on the door, demanding to be let inside. Rumors of guns spread, but it wasn’t clear if any shots were fired beside the one. Tear gas was said to have been dispersed in the Rotunda. After making sure the hallways were clear, police swiftly escorted people down a series of hallways and tunnels to a cafeteria in one of the House office buildings. As he walked out of the Capitol, Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes said he “always assumed it could never hap- pen here.” But others were not so sure. Rep. Mike Kelly of Penn- sylvania, among those chal- lenging Biden’s win, blamed “both sides” for the chaos at the Capitol. “What do you think was taking place in this coun- try?” he told reporters. “There’s been a lot of peo- ple during the last four years that have just been getting more and more incensed over what is going on around the country, on both sides. It’s just too bad. This is not how we handle things in America.” The Senate side was not much different. Vice President Mike OREGON DELEGATION STUNNED BY PRO-TRUMP PROTESTERS WASHINGTON — As the U.S. Congress began certifying the win of President-elect Joe Biden on Wednesday, Jan. 6, protesters breached the U.S. Capitol building, leading to an evacuation. U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici spoke to the Portland Tribune at 11:50 a.m. Pacific Standard Time and said she and her staff were safe and out of the building. “I’m OK,” she said. “But it’s just awful. I’m concerned for the safety of everyone.” The Washington Post and other media reported that throngs of protesters — at the encouragement of President Donald Trump — stormed the Capitol to protest the process for certifying Biden’s win. “Just before 1 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time), a group of primarily white men pushed, then toppled the barricades, storming through them to the grassy fields leading to the Capitol,” according to the Washington Post. “Hundreds scaled and kicked aside the barricades, yelling ‘Forward!’” As the Democrat spoke to the Portland Tribune, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser used an emergency broadcast system to announce a citywide curfew. “The last four years, tempers have flared,” Bonamici said. “Donald Trump has brought this about by urging people to come here, based on false statements.” She continued speaking but said, “I’m sorry. I have to.” And was abruptly cut off. U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, a Democrat, spoke to reporters via conference call around 12:34 p.m. (PST) on Jan. 6, saying “We are safe. Senators were rushed to an undisclosed, safe location. We’re safe and they’re reestablishing control of the Capitol.” He added that his employees are no longer in the Capitol. “As far as I’m aware, my whole staff is safe. I didn’t have much staff here because of COVID,” he said. “But they’re all safe, Pence, who was presiding over the session, was evacu- ated from the Senate as pro- testers and police shouted outside the doors. Police evacuated the chamber at 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time, ushering sen- thank you.” Merkley spoke with anger about the lies regarding the November election, which drove protesters to the Capitol. “That’s what we heard on the floor to- day,” he said. “’We should listen to the mob. And that’s why we should stop the elec- tion of Joe Biden.’ That’s exactly wrong.” Nick Clemens, spokesman for Repub- lican Rep. Cliff Bentz, said that the con- gressman and all his staff in Washington were safe and awaiting word on next steps. Clemens declined to discuss Bentz’s position on the objections to the Electoral College vote. Bentz posted a statement to his Face- book page. “Peaceful protest is essential to our society — violent protest is not,” he wrote. “I urge all those gathered in Washington DC today to respect United States Capitol Police and allow Congress to resume deliberation in the electoral certification process.” Democrat Rep. Earl Blumenauer called the protesters “domestic terrorists.” “The people storming the U.S. Capitol building right now are domestic terrorists emboldened by Trump and every Repub- lican who has spread lies about the results of the presidential election,” he said. This has to stop.” Sen. Ron Wyden also issued a state- ment saying the protest is a fitting end to four years of the Trump presidency. “What’s happening today in our na- tion’s Capitol is a direct assault on democ- racy, a riot by insurrectionists that caps off four years of Donald Trump fanning the flames of fanaticism,” he said. “Every Republican lawmaker who supported his efforts to overturn a legitimate election shares responsibility for the violence at the heart of our democracy.” — Gary A. Warner, Oregon Capital Bureau, and Pamplin Media Group ators to the first of what would be several undis- closed locations. Clerks grabbed boxes of electoral college certificates as they left. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, attend- ing the session, was among those ushered to safety. As soon as they left, pro- testers roamed the halls shouting, “Where are they?” One got on the Senate dais and yelled, “Trump won that election.” Commissioner: Dorran claims ‘disenfranchisement’ Continued from Page A1 represents every citizen in Umatilla County, not just their neighbors. Regardless of where the board chair lives, they should be paying attention to all parts of the county.” Dorran made repeated references at the meeting to the lack of leadership com- ing from the west part of the county. He said that no commissioner from the west part of the county had been elected in six years. Dorran said that most board chair members have hailed from the east in places like Pendleton — even though Shafer was elected to county com- missioner while living in Athena. “Although I have noticed specific regional disenfran- chisement,” Dorran said, “the manipulation of offi- cer rotation directly affects all of the county, and once again it causes a division of the populace that many of us have tried to cure for many years.” Murdock said that Dor- ran’s effort only furthered find it offensive.” Shafer and Murdock each say that historically, freshman commission- ers have not held board “I HAVE ALL THE RESPECT FOR BOTH THE COMMISSIONERS. OBVIOUSLY THIS ISN’T GOING TO BE THE LAST TIME WE DISAGREE, BY ANY MEANS.” — Dan Dorran, Umatilla County commissioner division. He added that upon his election, in 2013, there had in fact been few commissioners who hailed from Pendleton. “It concerns me that it’s been suggested that because two of us are now living in Pendleton we have somehow dispossessed the remain- der of the county,” Murdock said in the meeting. “I find this both divisive and I also chair positions due to the immense responsibility that the position entails. They said that nowhere in the charter is there a refer- ence to geographical repre- sentation, and that county commissioners should work on behalf of all county res- idents, rather than those from the communities where they reside. In his response, Mur- dock highlighted a variety of efforts that leaders in the east portion of the county have made to help those in the west. In the meeting, Dor- ran referenced the fact that commissioner Shafer had been appointed to the posi- tion of vice chair in his freshman year as commis- sioner. However, Murdock and Shafer responded that the only reason Shafer took his position was because commissioner Bill Elfering, who was board chair at the time, stepped down from his position due to medical issues. Shafer and Murdock added that although they may disagree, they are con- fident the commissioners will continue to have a good working relationship. “I have all the respect for both the commissioners,” Dorran said. “Obviously, this isn’t going to be the last time we disagree, by any means.” been asking the state for a firmer plan to get the vac- cine into local arms. It’s work that should have been happening weeks ago, said county public health director Joseph Fiumara, pointing out his depart- ment began preparing this past summer for a vaccine rollout. Thanks to those months of preplanning, officials have crafted a road map to getting the county of 78,000 people immunized against the virus — those who want the vaccine, that is, and not including children. But there has not been a verified timeline on how that’s going to happen, pub- lic health officer Dr. Jona- than Hitzman said on Jan. 4. In the first transfer of vaccine from Oregon offi- cials last week, Umatilla County received 2,400 doses: St. Anthony Hospi- tal in Pendleton and Good Shepherd Medical Center in Hermiston both got an ini- tial shipment of 700, while the public health depart- ment was given 200. Good Shepherd then got another 800 doses, Hitzman said. But, like in every other Oregon county, there’s no telling what — or if — vac- cines will show up each week, Fiumara said. Fiumara, Hitzman and deputy health director Ali- sha Lundgren apprised Umatilla County commis- sioners of the situation on Jan. 4. It could be 100 doses or 1,000 doses to next land, Fiumara said. “We have to see how much we get, then hurry up and plan for that number,” Lundgren told commission- ers in a Jan. 4 morning staff meeting. Moderna’s vaccine can be kept refrigerated for up to 30 days and is stable at room temperature for 12 hours, experts say. The county’s logisti- cal challenges with vacci- nating the public are the same around the country at this moment, Hitzman explained later. “I’m not sure there’s any- one or any group to blame, I think there are issues from the federal government to the states to local health departments. At the end of the day, it’s like all the cli- ches about government inefficiencies come to bear.” The reality is, pandemic or no, government agencies are big and bureaucratic, not designed to be fast and nim- ble, Hitzman said. “Until the federal doses arrive, the state doesn’t know how it will get admin- istered. It’s a ‘Don’t shoot until you see the whites of their eyes’ situation.” Reopening: Continued from Page A1 ing a community that depends on the restaurant industry that is more than a meal — it is Umatilla County’s social lifeline.” Dorran and the group concluded with two points. They requested the state fund a temporary posi- tion called an “open/stay open liaison agent.” In an interview, Dorran said the group envisioned this posi- tion as educating various restaurant owners on how to comply with state rules so that they can operate within them, although it wouldn’t have enforcement capabilities. The other point the group wanted to make was about ventilation. While the state has closed indoor dining out of a concern that the virus could spread in an insufficiently venti- lated room, Dorran said air is circulated more fre- quently in Eastern Ore- And with the surpris- ing speed at which the vac- cine was developed and produced, it caught govern- ments even less prepared for a coordinated deployment of the shots, he added. “The quote I’ve heard is that out of 12 million vac- cines produced, only 3 mil- lion have gone into the arms of Americans.” Fiumara said his depart- ment is obligated to dis- pense the vaccine as laid out by Oregon Health Author- ity, which is following fed- eral guidelines. “There are lots of vari- ables and it’s dependent on so many things.” There’s good news sprin- kled throughout the scene, however, he and Hitzman said. They noted that the first doses to arrive were distributed to front-line health workers. And more manufacturers are racing to get their own version to market. As well, mutual aid partnerships are spring- ing up around the vaccina- tion efforts. Pharmacies like Walgreens have contracted to inoculate residents of some long-term care facili- ties, Hitzman said, although he worries about disabled people who are cared for at home and might not learn of vaccination events. Oregon Health & Sci- ence University in Port- land has chipped in by loaning the health depart- ment an ultra-cold freezer required for the Pfizer vac- cine formula. While the county is now receiving the Moderna vac- cine that only needs stan- dard frozen storage, Fiu- mara said he wants to be well positioned if anything goes wrong in the Moderna production and only the Pfizer formula is available. Health officials every- where are also tasked with planning for the second vaccine doses needed to reach the highest possible immunity. Hitzman is encourag- ing people to remember that the testing for COVID- 19 started out spotty and rough, and expanded dra- matically to fit the need. “And the same thing will happen with the shot. But there will be unfore- seen obstacles that get in the way.” Still, he continued, “real- istically I think the vast majority of adults who want to be vaccinated will be so before next Christmas. I’m hopeful it will be faster, but to have unrealistic expecta- tions is to set yourself up to be disappointed.” The world will get through this pandemic, he added. “We’re going to win this battle and we will be in a much better place.” gon because of the region’s variable temperatures. In the interview, Dorran said the request would cost the state $30,000, money that would include the cost of a temporary employee and material costs like pamphlet printing. While a cost breakdown wasn’t included in the letter, Dor- ran said the group would be pleased if the governor’s office asked them for more details because it would mean the governor took their letter seriously. Gov. Kate Brown closed dine-in restaurants across the state as COVID-19 saw a surge in new cases. Uma- tilla County is no excep- tion, as a recent spike boosts the county toward the precipice of 6,000 total cases. But Dorran said the stakes aren’t just about restaurants, but about keeping their communi- ties from turning toward bitterness. “If all everyone turns to is defeatism, where do we go?” he said.