NORTHWEST East Oregonian A2 Thursday, March 4, 2021 Every county to get J&J vaccine this week By GARY A. WARNER Oregon Capital Bureau SALEM — Every Oregon county will receive 100 doses this week of the new John- son & Johnson single-shot COVID-19 vaccine that Pres- ident Joe Biden said on Tues- day, March 2, is a key part of vaccinating all Americans before summer. “We’re now on track to have enough vaccine supply for every adult in America by the end of May,” said Biden at a press conference in Wash- ington. Biden likened the effort to ramp up production of vaccine to efforts by manu- facturers to join together during World War II. The key to cutting the timeline for inoculating the public is the introduc- tion of the Johnson & John- son one-shot vaccine. Biden announced a deal with phar- maceutical giant Merck to commit two of its manufac- turing facilities to making the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Biden said he will invoke the Defense Production Act to help ready Merck’s facil- ities and to ensure it gets the raw ingredients required for making the vaccine. Along with increased orders of the previously approved two-shot Moderna and Pfi zer vaccines, enough Greg Lehman/Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, File Marty Hansen helps her mother-in-law, Lavonne Hansen, with paperwork on Feb. 11, 2021, at the Milton-Freewater Community Building where a COVID-19 vaccination took place. doses will be available to suppress the virus, which has killed more than 515,000 Americans over the past year, including more than 2,200 in Oregon. Scientists with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have said suppressing the virus as quickly as possible will limit the continued mutations of COVID-19, some of which have proven to be more conta- gious and virulent than the original virus. In early February, the timelines for inoculating all American adults was as long as early 2022 in some esti- mates. Recently, the increase in Moderna and Pfizer vaccines shortened estimates to the end of summer. Oregon will receive 34,000 doses of the John- son & Johnson vaccine. Every county will initially receive 100 doses to famil- iarize health offi cials with the vaccine, the fi rst new vaccine since December 2020. “Because doses will be limited for the fi rst few Forecast for Pendleton Area | Go to AccuWeather.com TODAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY MONDAY Mostly sunny Intervals of clouds and sunshine Winds subsiding and cooler Cloudy most of the time Chance for a couple of showers weeks, the state has commit- ted some allocations to addressing access issues for some Oregonians who’ve experienced barriers to getting vaccinated,” said Jonathan M. Modie, lead communications offi cer for OHA’s public health division. About 4,800 doses will go to Local Public Health Authorities (LPHAs) to vaccinate Oregonians living in adult foster homes and other in-home senior popu- lations. Walmart and Bi-Mart, two 71° 54° 70° 41° 53° 37° 53° 36° 60° 38° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 71° 49° 72° 43° 58° 37° 59° 35° 60° 39° OREGON FORECAST ALMANAC Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. PENDLETON through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW TEMP. Seattle Olympia 49/45 55/38 60/37 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 63/49 Lewiston 56/45 65/44 Astoria 52/46 Pullman Yakima 64/44 55/43 63/38 Portland Hermiston 60/45 The Dalles 71/49 Salem Corvallis 59/42 Yesterday Normals Records La Grande 53/43 PRECIPITATION John Day Eugene Bend 62/43 62/45 57/37 Ontario 54/32 Caldwell Burns 64° 28° 54° 31° 67° (1936) 8° (2019) 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date Albany 60/44 0.00" 0.00" 0.10" 1.08" 0.36" 2.34" Today Boardman Pendleton Medford 68/43 BURNS — A second mule deer has died and at least three more were injured after being struck with blow gun darts within the Burns city limits over the last four months, according to a press release from the Oregon State Police. Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife troopers responded to a citizen report of an injured deer in Burns on Feb. 13. Police found a mule deer doe in failing health with a blow dart lodged in her side. Unable to save her life, troop- ers euthanized the doe where they found her. Troopers found the carcass of a mule deer fawn in the same area with a similar blow dart lodged in its neck in November 2020. Blow gun darts, which Klamath Falls Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021 ers found three additional mule deer in the area with blow gun darts lodged in their bodies. In all three cases, biol- ogists sedated the animals, surgically remove the darts and released the deer. They expect the deer to recover. The Oregon Hunters Asso- ciation is offering $1,000 in reward money for informa- tion leading to a citation. The city-dwelling deer, acclimated to humans, are an easy target for poach- ers, according to Ken Hand, regional director for the Mule Deer Foundation. “Using a dart is an inhu- mane way to kill a deer. It would take a while for them to die,” he said. “Poaching is one of the factors behind declines in mule deer across the state. Aside from being cruel, this is illegal, and it is wanton waste of the animals.” Fri. ENE 4-8 SSW 6-12 WNW 4-8 S 8-16 IN BRIEF SUN AND MOON 54/34 are illegal to use for hunting deer in Oregon, are effective at killing small animals like rabbits and squirrels. When used on larger animals, the darts cause damage that may be mortal over time. Injur- ing an animal with a nonle- thal weapon and leaving it to suffer and likely die is extremely cruel, accord- ing to ODFW biologist Rod Klus, who assisted in saving the three wounded deer. “Either the wound will lead to an infection, or if the stomach or intestines are punctured, the deer will die, but it will take a while, and it will be painful,” he said, “It takes a deer anywhere from days to weeks to die from infection.” Between November 2020 and February 2021, Oregon Department of Fish and Wild- life biologists and OSP troop- WINDS (in mph) 63/34 56/27 0.00" 0.00" 0.10" 3.02" 4.06" 2.61" through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW TEMP. Pendleton 53/40 59/44 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date HERMISTON Enterprise 71/54 61/38 62° 32° 52° 32° 67° (1994) 7° (1896) PRECIPITATION Moses Lake 57/43 Aberdeen 57/37 52/37 Tacoma Yesterday Normals Records Spokane Wenatchee 57/46 Pfizer and Moderna doses have to be kept in ultra-cold freezers, then thawed before administered. The White House on March 2 told states to plan on administering 16 million to 17 million total weekly doses of Pfi zer and Moderna vaccines by the end of March, climbing to 17 million to 18 million weekly by early April. More is on the way. States receiving 14.5 million doses of the Pfi zer and Moderna vaccine will receive 15.2 million doses next week. Johnson & Johnson says it can ship 2.8 million doses to states this week from its production in anticipation of federal approval. But it won’t be able to sustain that number immediately. The company produced 3.9 million doses total prior to federal approval on Feb. 27. The company says it will meet its commitment to deliver 100 million doses by June 30. The deal with Merck could double produc- tion within two months. The Biden administration estimates that after a short dip in doses, the increased production aided by Merck will rise to 4 million to 6 million doses per week by March 31 and 5 million to 6 million doses per week by April 30. Reward linked to deer killed with blow gun darts in Burns East Oregonian PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST new partners in the state’s phar macy vaccinations program, will also receive the Johnson & Johnson vaccines. Additional doses will go to some unspecifi ed health systems in the state. The new vaccine has pros and cons compared to the two-shot vaccine from Moderna and Pfi zer that is currently being used. Its statistical drawbacks have drawn the most atten- tion. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine has shown an effi - cacy of about 80% in tests. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines have an effi cacy of more than 95%. CDC offi cials have said that even if there is a slightly higher chance of getting infected with COVID-19 with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, it is strong enough to prevent severe illness and death. On the positive side, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires only one shot. That makes it a boon for inoculating parts of the population that are diffi cult to reach for second doses or those who might not return for the booster of Moderna or Pfi zer. Because it only needs stan- dard commercial level refrig- eration, it can be transported to areas farther away in rural or mountainous areas. The Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today 6:28 a.m. 5:46 p.m. none 9:27 a.m. Last New First Full Mar 5 Mar 13 Mar 21 Mar 28 NATIONAL EXTREMES Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 87° in Pompano Beach, Fla. Low -13° in Crested Butte, Colo. NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY Minivan driver cited for reckless driving after trooper clocks vehicle at 111 mph BAKER CITY — A 21-year-old Wash- ington man was cited for reckless driving and speeding early on Monday, March 1, after an Oregon State Police trooper clocked the man’s minivan at 111 mph on Interstate 84 in Baker City. Justus America Willott, of Auburn, Wash- ington, was cited about 1:40 a.m. March 1. In a report, OSP Sr. Trooper Nicholas Hage- dorn wrote that he was parked in the center median on the freeway near Milepost 304 when he saw a gray Honda Odyssey minivan in the westbound lanes. The van was traveling at 111 mph, according to Hagedorn’s report. Hagedorn pursued the van, which continue at more than 100 mph, until he stopped the vehicle near Milepost 302, the North Baker City interchange. Willott’s wife and infant child were in the minivan, according to Hagedorn’s report. — EO Media Group CORRECTIONS: In the Page A3 story “Hermiston residents recognized at Distin- guished Citizens Awards,” published Saturday, Feb. 27, the story misstated the nature of a state advisory board Cindy Middleton sits on. It is the State Advisory Council for Special Education advising the Oregon Department of Education. • • • In the Page A1 story “Event marks turning point for CTUIR,” published Tuesday, March 2, the story misstated the dates the Wildhorse vaccination event took place. They were Tuesday, Feb. 23, and Wednesday, Feb. 24. • • • The East Oregonian works hard to be accurate and sincerely regrets any errors. If you notice a mistake in the paper, please call 541-966-0818. Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. 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