TUESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2021
Baker City, Oregon
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OUR VIEWS
Reform
state
forest
institute
It wasn’t state ofﬁ cials. It wasn’t our elected
governor, nor our elected state representatives.
It was news organizations — Oregon Public
Broadcasting, the Oregonian, and ProPublica
— who caught a part of state government
doing what it should not.
The Oregon Forest Resources Institute was
acting as a de facto public relations arm of the
forest industry, lobbying and outright sup-
pressing scientiﬁ c information that challenged
industry practices.
State government has now caught up. Sort
of. Gov. Kate Brown ordered an audit. The
audit came out earlier this month. It reafﬁ rms
and adds to what the news organizations
found:
OFRI’s board is made up mostly of industry
representatives. That’s actually by state law.
The organization “presents itself as objec-
tive, but at times oversimpliﬁ es complex
forestry topics to the point of being mislead-
ing,” the audit said.
And OFRI’s statutes prohibit it from
expending funds to inﬂ uence or attempt to
inﬂ uence legislation. But it arguably has. For
instance, it has argued before the Legislature
for more funding. And it scheduled tours tar-
geted to get candidate and legislator attention.
The audit recommended that the state’s
statute covering the OFRI be rewritten to
clarify its role. It recommended including more
nonindustry representatives on its board. It
recommended more oversight and that the
state clarify what OFRI can do to inﬂ uence
legislation.
Oregon should have a state entity devoted
to explaining complex forestry topics to the
public. But the issues are ﬁ ercely debated. And
a state entity must do its utmost to advance
objective understanding, not biased under-
standing. OFRI has failed in the past. Legisla-
tors should ensure these changes are made.
Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the
Baker City Herald. Columns, letters and car-
toons on this page express the opinions of the
authors and not necessarily that of the Baker
City Herald.
Party spreads COVID, despite vaccine
By Allan Massie
I was sitting on an examination table at
an urgent care clinic in Timonium, giving
my history to a physician’s assistant. An
hour later, she would call me to conﬁ rm
that I was positive for COVID-19.
Given the way that I felt, it was what
I expected. But it wasn’t supposed to hap-
pen: I’ve been fully vaccinated for months.
Five days earlier, I had gone to a house
party in Montgomery County. There were
15 adults there, all of us fully vaccinated.
The next day, our host started to feel sick.
The day after that, she tested positive for
COVID-19. She let all of us know right
away. I wasn’t too worried. It was bad luck
for my friend, but surely she wasn’t that
contagious. Surely all of us were immune.
I’d been sitting across the room from her. I
ﬁ gured I’d stay home and isolate from my
family for a few days, and that would be
that. And even that seemed like overkill.
The ofﬁ cial Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention guideline stated that, since
I was fully vaccinated, I didn’t need to do
anything different unless I started develop-
ing symptoms. I’m an epidemiologist at a
major medical research university, which
has a dedicated COVID exposure hotline
for staff. I called it, and workers said I
didn’t need to do anything.
Then, I started to hear that a few other
people who had been at the party were get-
ting sick. Then a few more. At this point, 11
of the 15 have tested positive for COVID.
Fortunately, none of us seem to be seri-
ously ill. When fully vaccinated people ex-
perience so-called “breakthrough” infection,
they tend not to progress to serious disease
requiring hospitalization, and I expect that
will be the case for us. But I can tell you
that even a “mild” case of COVID-19 is
pretty miserable. I’ve had fever, chills and
muscle aches, and I’ve been weak enough
that I can barely get out of bed. I don’t
wish this on anybody.
Our research group at work has shown
that the COVID vaccine isn’t always fully
effective in transplant recipients. I’m proud
of the work we’ve done. But once I got
the vaccine, I ﬁ gured the COVID battle
was over for me. Out of an abundance of
caution I took an antibody test shortly
after my second vaccine dose. It was off the
charts.
As much as I hate me and my fully
vaccinated friends being sick, I’ve been
thinking about what our little outbreak
means for the rest of us. Here’s what I’ve
concluded:
State and local health departments, and
the CDC, need to do a better job collecting
and reporting data on breakthrough infec-
tions. The CDC announced in May that it
was only going to collect data on break-
through infections that led to hospitaliza-
tion or death, which are fortunately rare.
But that means that outbreaks like ours
will ﬂ y under the radar. Any of us could
infect others, apparently including other
vaccinated people. It’s not clear if our group
got sick because of a particularly virulent
variant, because the vaccine is wearing
off or for some other reason. Without good
data, we’ll never know.
Fully vaccinated people exposed to
COVID need to isolate at home and get
tested. I thought I might be overreacting
by leaving work in the middle of the day
and immediately moving to our basement
at home. Now I’m glad I did.
Governments and businesses should
consider bringing back masking require-
ments, even for vaccinated people. We’re
still at risk of getting sick, and we’re still at
risk of infecting others. The CDC recently
recommended masks for vaccinated people
in areas with over 50 new infections per
100,000 people per week. In the seven days
before my exposure, Montgomery County
had 19.4 new infections per 100,000
people.
Pharmaceutical companies, research
institutions and governments should
prioritize research into booster vaccines. At
one point it seemed like two mRNA doses
or a single Janssen dose might be the
answer. But apparently, whether because
of variants or fading immunity, being
“fully vaccinated” doesn’t necessarily mean
you’re immune.
COVID-19 vaccines do an enormous
amount of good. I expect a milder course of
disease since I’m vaccinated. But COV-
ID-19 isn’t over, even for the vaccinated. As
the pandemic continues to evolve, we need
to evolve with it.
Allan Massie (amassie1@jhmi.edu) is
an epidemiologist and biomedical research-
er at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
The views expressed here are his own.
OUR VIEWS
Editorial from Bloomberg
Opinion:
As calls for the Food and Drug
Administration to fully approve
COVID-19 vaccines grow louder,
the agency itself has little to say.
This is a mistake. The agency
insists it is “working as quickly as
possible” and has suggested that
full approval may come for at least
one vaccine by the end of sum-
mer. The public is left wondering:
What’s taking so long?
This isn’t just a minor nui-
sance. It undermines trust in the
vaccines and damages the FDA’s
most valuable asset — its cred-
ibility.
The drug regulators have good
reason to insist on thoroughly
reviewing many months of clinical
trial data before fully licensing
any medicine. The emergency use
authorizations for the vaccines
now administered in the U.S.
were based on just two months
of follow-up data — enough to be
conﬁ dent that the vaccines are
safe, effective, and ﬁ t for use in re-
sponse to a pressing need, but re-
lying on a faster analysis than the
FDA requires for its full approval
process. To fully approve the vac-
cines, the FDA looks at more data
and satisﬁ es itself on a range of
other issues, including developing
detailed guidance on use.
This two-track system, allow-
ing ﬂ exibility when circumstances
demand it, makes sense. To many
outside the agency, however, it
seems contradictory. Late last
year, the FDA pronounced the
mRNA vaccines safe and effec-
tive enough for emergency use;
many months later, it hasn’t fully
licensed them. So are the vaccines
safe and effective or not? That’s
a reasonable question — and the
agency has failed to answer it
clearly.
With the delta variant racing
through the population and the
pace of vaccination in the U.S.
still too slow, many observers,
including some infectious disease
professionals, have accused the
FDA of dragging its feet. Without
transparent communication from
the agency itself, it’s impossible to
know whether that charge is cor-
rect. On Friday, an agency ofﬁ cial
said it was making further efforts
to speed its review, making one
wonder why every effort hadn’t
already been made. The FDA
traditionally hasn’t explained its
ongoing work in detail, but hesi-
tancy over the COVID-19 vaccines
makes that reticence unaccept-
able.
If it’s now in a position to afﬁ rm
that six months’ worth of clinical
trial data provides stronger conﬁ r-
mation that the shots work safely,
it should do so, and announce that
the licenses will soon be forthcom-
ing. It should also explain what
further steps are involved, and
how long they’ll take. This would
reassure Americans that the shots
are indeed safe and that anyone
who hasn’t yet gotten them should
go ahead without delay. It would
assure businesses that requiring
vaccinations for their employees
right away is wise. And it would
discourage states from forbidding
vaccine mandates until the shots
are fully approved.
One more thing. Right now, at
a moment of exceptional stress,
the FDA is hobbled by its lack of
a permanent leader. After more
than six months in ofﬁ ce, Presi-
dent Joe Biden has yet to make
the appointment. The agency’s
professionals are surely aware
of the urgency on vaccines. They
know it would be a mistake to bow
to pressure by cutting corners.
Competently led, they can be more
effective — and help restore public
trust — simply by explaining what
they’re doing.
CONTACT YOUR PUBLIC OFFICIALS
President Joe Biden: The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.,
Washington, D.C. 20500; 202-456-1111; to send comments, go to
www.whitehouse.gov.
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley: D.C. offi ce: 313 Hart Senate Offi ce
Building, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C., 20510; 202-224-3753;
fax 202-228-3997. Portland offi ce: One World Trade Center, 121
S.W. Salmon St. Suite 1250, Portland, OR 97204; 503-326-3386;
fax 503-326-2900. Baker City offi ce, 1705 Main St., Suite 504, 541-
278-1129; merkley.senate.gov.
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden: D.C. offi ce: 221 Dirksen Senate Offi ce
Building, Washington, D.C., 20510; 202-224-5244; fax 202-228-2717.
La Grande offi ce: 105 Fir St., No. 210, La Grande, OR 97850; 541-
962-7691; fax, 541-963-0885; wyden.senate.gov.
U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz (2nd District): D.C. offi ce: 2182 Rayburn
Offi ce Building, Washington, D.C., 20515, 202-225-6730; fax 202-
225-5774. La Grande offi ce: 1211 Washington Ave., La Grande, OR
97850; 541-624-2400, fax, 541-624-2402; walden.house.gov.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown: 254 State Capitol, Salem, OR
97310; 503-378-3111; www.governor.oregon.gov.
Oregon State Treasurer Tobias Read: oregon.treasurer@
ost.state.or.us; 350 Winter St. NE, Suite 100, Salem OR 97301-
3896; 503-378-4000.
Oregon Attorney General Ellen F. Rosenblum: Justice
Building, Salem, OR 97301-4096; 503-378-4400.
Oregon Legislature: Legislative documents and information
are available online at www.leg.state.or.us.
State Sen. Lynn Findley (R-Ontario): Salem offi ce: 900
Court St. N.E., S-403, Salem, OR 97301; 503-986-1730. Email: Sen.
LynnFindley@oregonlegislature.gov
State Rep. Mark Owens (R-Crane): Salem offi ce: 900 Court
St. N.E., H-475, Salem, OR 97301; 503-986-1460. Email: Rep.
MarkOwens@oregonlegislature.gov
Baker City Hall: 1655 First Street, P.O. Box 650, Baker City,
OR 97814; 541-523-6541; fax 541-524-2049. City Council meets
the second and fourth Tuesdays at 7 p.m. in Council Chambers.
Councilors Lynette Perry, Jason Spriet, Kerry McQuisten, Shane
Alderson, Joanna Dixon, Heather Sells and Johnny Waggoner Sr.
Baker City administration: 541-523-6541. Jonathan Cannon,
city manager; Ty Duby, police chief; Sean Lee, fi re chief; Michelle
Owen, public works director.
Baker County Commission: Baker County Courthouse 1995
3rd St., Baker City, OR 97814; 541-523-8200. Meets the fi rst and
third Wednesdays at 9 a.m.; Bill Harvey (chair), Mark Bennett,
Bruce Nichols.
Baker County departments: 541-523-8200. Travis Ash,
sheriff; Noodle Perkins, roadmaster; Greg Baxter, district attorney;
Alice Durfl inger, county treasurer; Stefanie Kirby, county clerk; Kerry
Savage, county assessor.
Baker School District: 2090 4th Street, Baker City, OR 97814;
541-524-2260; fax 541-524-2564. Superintendent: Mark Witty.
Board meets the third Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m. Council
Chambers, Baker City Hall,1655 First St.; Andrew Bryan, Jessica
Dougherty, Chris Hawkins, Travis Cook and Julie Huntington.