A16
Wallowa County Chieftain
LOCAL/STATE
Wednesday, March 30, 2022
Infections expected to rise as new version of omicron spreads
By GARY A. WARNER
Oregon Capital Bureau
SALEM — An upswing
in COVID-19 cases in Ore-
gon is expected to hit some-
time this week, driven by
infections of the hyper-con-
tagious BA.2 version of the
omicron variant, according
to a new state report.
The forecast from the
Oregon Health & Science
University shows a much
lower peak for the new wave
of cases, topping out at under
300 hospitalizations per day
in the fi rst week of May, then
resuming a downward trend
until reaching current levels
again by late June.
“The primary forecast
shows a slight increase in
hospitalized patients as the
impacts of BA.2 and reduced
COVID restrictions are
experienced,” said the report
written by Dr. Peter Graven,
the chief COVID-19 fore-
caster at OHSU.
The forecast is part of the
mixed medical and political
signals around the nation as
the omicron surge that began
in late November and peaked
in mid-January has rapidly
dropped to levels not seen
since before the delta vari-
ant spike began at the end of
June 2021.
As of Friday, March
25, the statistics in Oregon
showed a precipitous drop-
off . The Oregon Health
Authority reported 189 new
cases of COVID-19 and
two deaths. Oregon hospi-
Alex Wittwer/The Observer, File
A thin plastic sheet separates the intensive care unit from the COVID-19 ward at Grande Ronde
Hospital on Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. Hospitalizations are expected to increase in the coming
weeks with the spread of an omicron variant, state health authorities say.
tals reported March 25 that
157 patients with COVID-
19, down four from the day
before. There are 26 patients
with COVID-19 in inten-
sive care units, up one from
March 24 report.
Positive test results —
a key indicator of future
growth of the virus — were
at 2.5%, down from the high
point of 22.6% in mid-Jan-
uary. The OHA has said
throughout the pandemic
that a rate of 5% or under
was manageable for health
care providers.
The pandemic in Oregon
reached two milestones over
the past week, passing 7,000
deaths and 700,000 cases. As
of Friday, there have been
7,035 deaths and 702,750
reported infections.
The expected rise in cases
is due to two factors, one
expected, but the other an
unwelcome surprise.
Even before the offi cial
lifting of indoor face mask
requirements, compliance
with safeguards was wan-
ing. OHSU forecasters said a
slowing of the drop in cases
was likely as more people
became exposed.
But the loosened restric-
tions also came as the BA.2
“subvariant” arrived in Ore-
gon. Beginning this week,
the OHA has started track-
ing BA.2 cases, which have
been small but rising. Anal-
ysis of wastewater around
the state has shown traces of
BA.2.
Last week, nearly all
states were showing a rapid
decline in cases. The BA.2
infections are seen as the
main reason nine states are
now showing a reversal in
the trend.
BA.2 has spread rapidly
in Asia and Europe. Twice
as contagious as its already
superspreading cousin BA.1,
the BA.2 virus has caused
a tsunami of new cases in
China, which is reporting its
highest infection rate of the
29-month pandemic, which
began in Wuhan at the end of
December 2019.
The World Health Orga-
nization reported 18 Euro-
pean countries are seeing a
rise in new cases.
The WHO said that BA.2
was able to spread because
of what it called premature
removal of mask and other
social distancing rules.
But the mixed messag-
ing from medical and polit-
ical sources continues. Ore-
gon Gov. Kate Brown has
announced the state of emer-
gency that’s been in place
since March 2020 will end
April 1.
New York ended its vac-
cine mandate for athletes
and performers. Los Angeles
schools have ended masking.
The U.S. Capitol will reopen
for public tours next week.
Hawaii was the last state to
end indoor masking man-
dates earlier this month. The
rate of people getting a fi rst
shot of vaccine has dropped
off since early in the year.
While President Joe
Biden continues to ask Con-
gress for an increase in
COVID-19 aid, the White
House Easter Egg Roll is on
for the fi rst time since 2019.
All omicron variants so
far have proven to be signifi -
cantly more contagious than
previous COVID-19 spikes,
with the latest OHA statis-
tics showing 61.9% of new
infections were in unvacci-
nated people, while 37.7%
were vaccine “breakthrough
cases.” Of those, 52.7%
were fully vaccinated and
boosted.
Most federal, state and
local political leaders across
the country have said they
won’t impose new restric-
tions unless a more vir-
ulent variant appears. In
the United States, the U.S.
Food and Drug Administra-
tion and Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention are
considering a request from
vaccine-makers Pfi zer and
Moderna to approve a sec-
ond booster shot for either
the elderly or all adults. The
shots have already been
approved for immuno-com-
promised people and some
foreign nations, including
Israel, are off ering the fourth
shot to the general public.
A federal advisory panel
is meeting April 6 to dis-
cuss vaccination policy, but
action could come earlier.
COVID-19 cases in Wallowa County see major drop in March
By RONALD BOND
Wallowa County Chieftain
ENTERPRISE The Ore-
gon Health Authority has
reported a new COVID-19-
related death in Wallowa
County, the fi rst the agency
has listed that occurred in
2022.
The death, originally
reported March 11, was of
a 98-year-old woman who
died Jan 23, just 11 days
after contracting the ill-
ness. She had underlying
conditions, according to the
OHA.
It’s the 15th death of a
Wallowa County resident
that is attributed or linked to
COVID-19, though one of
those has been disputed by
the family.
COVID-19 cases have
taken a sharp drop since the
January omicron spike.
As of March 28, there
have been 1,251 cases in
two years of the pandemic
in Wallowa County. After
more than 330 cases in Jan-
uary, the numbers have
drastically decreased. There
were 99 cases in February,
and through the fi rst 27 days
of March, there have been
just 19 cases.
The OHA on March 23
also reported one COVID-
19 hospitalization in Region
9, the lowest number seen
in the combined region of
Morrow, Umatilla, Union,
Wallowa, Baker and Mal-
heur counties since July
9, 2021. The number of
cases was at two on March
28. The last time there was
nobody in a Region 9 hos-
pital with COVID-19 was
July 8 of last year.
Overall, the number of
patients in Oregon hospi-
tals with COVID is down
to 118, and 15 in intensive
care, according to an update
released March 28. Over-
all, the pandemic has seen
703,132 cases of COVID-19
reported by the OHA, and
7,074 deaths.
While COVID cases
have decreased, the number
of COVID-19 vaccine doses
administered since the start
of the year has taken a dras-
tic drop, as well.
On Dec. 31, there were
4,112 fi rst doses adminis-
tered to adults in the county,
a rate of 72.2%. There had
also been 3,849 adults to
get a completed series, and
2,030 booster doses admin-
istered to adults
Since the calendar turned
to 2022, there have been
just 50 additional fi rst doses
given to adults, 41 doses
administered to complete
a series, and 294 booster
doses, as of March 25.
In the overall population,
there have been 4,485 fi rst
doses administered, a clip
of 62.6%, as of March 25.
There are also 4,168 who
have had a completed series,
and 2,368 boosted.