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THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2021 BAKER CITY HERALD — 5A LOCAL & STATE Oregon to expand vaccine eligibility By Gary A. Warner Oregon Capital Bureau Over 1 million more people will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccines in the next two upcoming eligibility phases, state offi cials said Tuesday. The groups to be added on March 29 and May 1 will nearly double the number of people eligible for vaccination. Like most states, Oregon is already struggling with the gap between vaccine eligibil- ity and availability. To date, there has only been enough vaccine avail- able to inoculate less than half of the approximately 1.36 million Oregonians already eligible. There are an estimated 2.8 million adults in Oregon out of a population of just under 4.3 million. The numbers for the next eligibility groups have not been announced, but were provided by OHA in response to a query by EO Media the Centers for Disease Con- trol and members of multi- generational households. The fi nal two groups are everyone else 45 and older on June 1 and everyone 16 and older on July 1. President Joe Biden has set May 1 as the date when states should open eligibil- ity to all those 16 and older. But Gov. Kate Brown said the state would stick with its current priority system until there is a fi rm commitment Ryan Brennecke/The (Bend) Bulletin from federal health authori- More than one million Oregonians will become eligible ties of a major increase in vac- for a COVID-19 vaccine by May 1. cine being sent to the state. Oregon health offi cials Group. The last change to the put them at higher risk of felt burned in January when eligibility list was March 1, severe illness or death, preg- they announced eligibility for when everyone age 65 and nant women 16 and older and everyone over 65 based on older was approved to get homeless people. what turned out to be an er- vaccinated. On May 1, an estimated roneous statement by federal On March 29, eligibility 550,000 more people will be health offi cials in the Trump will be extended to an esti- eligible. The minimum age for administration. Brown had to mated 530,000 more people, those with medical conditions reverse the order and restore according to OHA. The group will be extended to those 16 a tiered priority system. includes those 45 and older and older. It also includes es- Since the arrival of the with medical conditions that sential workers as defi ned by fi rst vaccines from Pfi zer and POLITICS ‘A robust debate’ Resolutions have been intro- duced in the Legislature to move to a commission like those al- ready used in California and sev- eral other states. Several speakers endorsed such a plan. But even New districts should make if approved by the House and “Greater Idaho” state did not include How they were ignored depended on sense geographically Senate, the change to the state Wallowa County, though he wasn’t each testimonial. New districts should “geographi- constitution would need voter ap- sure why. With the mystery aside, the In a written statement, Uma- cally make sense” to retain an proval. Any change wouldn’t occur discussion could return to Oregon. tilla County Commissioner George Eastern Oregon voice in Washington until the 2031 redistricting. For over an hour, the committee Murdock struck a note between At the end of the evening, Sa- heard three main themes: The dis- hope and resignation over the likely and Salem. “If Oregon gets a new seat, we are linas, chair of the House commit- trict was much too large, it included outcome of the process. not naive enough to expect more tee, said the gathering of so many different communities with different “My greatest concern is that our representation for Eastern Oregon, people from so many places had identities and, in the case of Mal- district could be gerrymandered but we would like to retain what we been time well spent. heur County, a completely different in order to further diminish repre- have,” Murdock said. “A robust debate,” she said. time zone. sentation for a portion of Oregon Nathan Soltz, chairman of the The video ended. The committee Finally, the desires of people in the that refl ects ideology, values, and Democratic Party of Oregon’s 2nd will hold a second hearing on Satur- district were too often ignored in the interests much different than the day, March 20, at 1 p.m. capitals of Washington and Salem. remainder of Oregon,” Murdock said. Congressional District Commit- Advertising of any kind has been a challenge this past year - When? Where? Even Why? Being the new podiatrist in town especially during 2020 with all its new challenges, Juli has been nothing but completely amazing at helping us with different options and offers there are to choose from. I have been very impressed with the quick promptness and professionalism from her and am very happy choosing to advertise through Baker City Herald. Thank you for all your hardwork at keeping us up to date with our monthly y stats and other advertising opportunities. Dr Brian Sanders, DPM Sanders Podiatry “ “ about 24,000 shots per day, putting it in the middle of states nationwide. Because of Brown’s deci- sion to prioritize educators over seniors in January, the state is below the national average for seniors who have been inoculated. Though vac- cine is provided through the federal government and the Centers for Disease Control has a suggested prioritization list, states ultimately have authority to decide who gets inoculated at what point. Oregon has been one of the safest places in the country during the pandemic. The state has the fourth low- est number of COVID-19 cases per capita among all states, according to an ongo- ing count by the New York Times. Only Hawaii, Vermont and Maine have performed better since the fi rst COVID-19 case was reported in Washington on Jan. 21, 2020. tee, said the sparse population and vast landscape made it diffi cult for communities to feel any mutual connection. ”You can drive from Medford to Enterprise — about 10 hours — and never leave CD2,” he said. Brad Bennington of Jackson County said lawmakers needed to listen more to rural voters. “There is more to the state than just Portland and Salem,” he said. “There are a lot of people who feel they haven’t been heard.” Bennington said he would give the legislators the “benefi t of the doubt” in drawing political maps. “Democrats can keep themselves in the supermajority until the day the sun doesn’t come up,” he said. Todd Nash of Enter- prise said it would be diffi cult to draw politi- cal maps with so little population to pool into a district. Nash “We have about 320 acres per person,” he said. Craig Martell, of Baker City, said proximity and highway connections should guide the grouping of com- munities in districts. “Baker City and La Grande, only 44 miles apart on Interstate 84, be- long in the same district,” he wrote. “As lines are currently drawn, Senate District 30 is a grotesque gerrymandered monstrosity.” Continued from Page 3A While the court sifts through the paperwork, the Legislature is plan- ning/hoping/praying the Oregon Su- preme Court will pick its solution. A way to move things along in advance would be to hold the 10 required hearings — two in each of the current fi ve congressional districts. Which brings things back to COVID-19. The usual “road trip” of lawmakers to districts to hear from voters aren’t happening this year be- cause of COVID-19. All 10 redistrict- ing hearings will be virtual. Congressional District 2 covers a lot of territory The Wednesday, March 10, hear- ing was Congressional District 2, a nearly 70,000-square-mile expanse that share borders with California, Nevada, Idaho and Washington. Any- one living east of the Cascades, plus a chunk of the southwest part of the state, lives in the 2nd District. All four of the other congressional districts are represented by Demo- crats. The 2nd is solidly Republican, with freshman U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario, in the seat. The hearing would require some- thing of a technical miracle. Video testimony expected from Wallowa County, Bend, Medford, Klamath Falls, and several other spots in the district taxed the Legislature’s inter- net capabilities. Balky phone lines, echoing microphones, stuck mute buttons and more led to frequent silent spots. Many of the people who signed up to testify either couldn’t get through or gave up prior to their turn in the queue. Two who signed up discovered they lived in other congressional districts. One caller wanted to know why Wallowa County had been left off a map of Greater Idaho. Some of the panel members squinted “what?” Rep. Daniel Bonham, R-Dallas, fi nally piped up to explain the caller’s query was about a theoretical seces- sion of much of Eastern Oregon to form “Greater Idaho” with the neigh- boring state to the east. Bonham even helpfully added that maps circulating for the mythical Moderna in December, about 1.36 million people in Oregon are in the nine priority groups already eligible. But the state reports total shots to date at 1,346,090. The vast majority of the shots are the Pfi zer and Moderna vac- cines, which require two shots spaced about a month apart. That translates into just under 674,000 two-shot inoculations, enough for less than half of those eligible. The gap between eligibility and availability has resulted in widespread frustration over trying to book appointments with county health authori- ties, pharmacies or other medical providers. Recently, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine that requires just one shot has arrived in Oregon. Through March 15, a total of 1,642,505 doses of vac- cines have been delivered to Oregon. Oregon has averaged ■ G Gain i E Exposure. ■ Drive More Business. ■ Find New Customers. Marketing assistance from the print and digital experts. Talk to our customer success team today. 541.523.3673