A2 THE BULLETIN • SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2021
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Deschutes County cases: 5,839 (15 new cases)
Deschutes County deaths: 58 (zero new deaths)
Jefferson County cases: 1,918 (4 new cases)
Jefferson County deaths: 27 (zero new deaths)
Oregon cases: 152,711 (536 new cases)
Oregon deaths: 2,154 (5 new deaths)
GENERAL
INFORMATION
BULLETIN
GRAPHIC
129 new cases
COVID-19 data for Saturday, Feb. 20:
Crook County cases: 765 (5 new cases)
Crook County deaths: 18 (zero new deaths)
7 a.m.-noon Saturday-Sunday
and holidays
SOURCES: OREGON HEALTH AUTHORITY,
DESCHUTES COUNTY HEALTH SERVICES
New COVID-19 cases per day
130
(Dec. 4)
What is COVID-19? It’s an infection caused by a new coronavirus. Coronavi-
ruses are a group of viruses that can cause a range of symptoms. Some usually
cause mild illness. Some, like this one, can cause more severe symptoms and
can be fatal. Symptoms include fever, coughing and shortness of breath.
108 new cases
120
(Jan. 1)
90
new
cases
110
*No data
available on
Jan. 31
due to state
computer
maintenence
(Nov. 27)
7 ways to help limit its spread: 1. Wash hands often with soap and water for
at least 20 seconds. 2. Avoid touching your face. 3. Avoid close contact with
sick people. 4. Stay home. 5. In public, stay 6 feet from others and wear a cloth
face covering or mask. 6. Cover a cough or sneeze with a tissue or cough into
your elbow. 7. Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.
100
90
80
70
60
47 new cases
50
(Nov. 14)
541-382-1811
7-day
average
8 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri.
28 new cases
(July 16)
ONLINE
(Oct. 31)
30
16 new cases
(Sept. 19)
9 new cases
www.bendbulletin.com
40
31 new cases
20
(May 20)
1st case
10
(March 11)
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Oregon ranks low in vaccinating seniors
BY AIMEE GREEN
The Oregonian
Oregon ranks third to
last for the percentage of se-
niors it has inoculated against
COVID-19 among 31 states
with comparable data, an anal-
ysis by The Oregonian has
found.
Just 21% of Oregonians
age 70 and older received at
least one dose of vaccine as of
mid-February. The rate falls
even lower, to 19%, when cal-
culated against all of Oregon’s
767,000 residents 65 and older.
Only Rhode Island and
Pennsylvania appear to have
vaccinated a smaller percent-
age of its oldest residents.
Ten states have inoculated
seniors at more than double
Oregon’s rate. One state — In-
diana — has vaccinated almost
triple the percentage of resi-
dents age 70 and older.
If Oregon had been vacci-
nating at the same rate as In-
diana nearly 200,000 more el-
derly residents would already
have received a first dose of the
potentially life-saving vaccine.
The findings should come as
no surprise to Oregon’s seniors
— the majority of whom still
are not eligible to be vaccinated
under a plan adopted by Gov.
Kate Brown. Oregon became
the last in the nation to start
offering statewide vaccinations
to seniors by age group, begin-
ning with those 80 and older
Feb. 8.
Residents 70 to 74 won’t qual-
ify until Monday. Oregonians 65
to 69 must wait until March 1.
Many seniors have been left
seething over Brown’s choice
to postpone their vaccinations
in favor of teachers and other
school staff. The governor’s
decision, aimed at reopening
schools, stings all the more as
they watch elderly friends and
relatives in other states send text
messages and share joyous pho-
tos commemorating their vac-
cinations.
Portland resident Terry O’Ro-
urke, 67, knows seniors in Cali-
fornia, Illinois and Florida who
have been able to secure their
first doses. All three states began
vaccinating seniors 65 and older
in December or January — a full
month to two months before
O’Rourke will become eligible.
“The families with young
children, I feel for them,” O’Ro-
urke said, recognizing most are
still learning remotely. “It is a
hardship. But dying is a little bit
more of a hardship.”
O’Rourke has diabetes and
coronary artery disease and
fears what the disease will do to
him if he gets it.
He’s been holed up in his
downtown high-rise studio
apartment with his dog since
last March 8 — he remembers
the exact date. He’s forbidden
anyone who isn’t wearing a
mask from stepping into the el-
Gillian Flaccus/AP file
Susan Crowley, a 75-year-old retired attorney, works in her winter garden at her home in Hood River in Janu-
ary. Crowley submitted public comments to Oregon’s vaccine advisory committee to criticize the state’s deci-
sion to vaccinate others before its oldest residents. “The thing that is so upsetting to me is that seniors don’t
matter, the elderly don’t matter,” she said in an earlier interview. “And it’s painful to hear that implication.”
evator with him when he must
leave for groceries, medications
or doctor’s appointments.
“The stakes are really high for
me,” he said.
The bigger picture
When presented with the
findings that Oregon lags far be-
hind other states in vaccinating
seniors, Brown’s office referred a
request for comment to the Ore-
gon Health Authority.
Health Authority spokes-
woman Erica Heartquist did not
directly address Oregon’s poor
showing vaccinating seniors
compared to others states.
Instead, she highlighted the
state’s good performance keep-
ing coronavirus infections and
deaths low among the general
population — and in seniors.
The state overall ranks fourth
lowest in cases and fifth lowest
in deaths per capita.
Heartquist also faulted the
snow and ice storm that shut
down some vaccination sites for
one to three days from Feb. 12
to 14 in cities including Portland
and Salem.
“Prior to the winter storm of
the last several days, Oregon was
also among the top states in the
nation for the overall percent-
age of the population who had
received a vaccine,” Heartquist
said in an email. “As appoint-
ments are rescheduled, we ex-
pect those numbers to catch
back up.”
But winter storms have
ground appointments to a halt
in other parts of the nation as
well. It also appears Oregon’s
storm had little effect on the
state’s national ranking.
Oregon in late January
ranked fourth in the percent-
age of first doses administered
to eligible residents, including
teachers and health care work-
ers, according to the Bloomberg
vaccinations tracker.
For reasons that are unclear,
the state soon began to slide —
tying for 18th place with two
UMATILLA COUNTY
Infant is state’s first COVID-19-related child death
UMATILLA COUNTY — The
Oregon Health Authority has
reported the state’s first COVID-
19-related death of a child —
an infant boy from Umatilla
County.
The boy tested positive for
COVID-19 on Jan. 17 and died
that same day at Kadlec Re-
gional Medical Center in Rich-
land, Washington, according
to a press release from OHA on
Thursday.
He had unspecified underly-
ing health conditions.
“Every death from COVID-19
is a tragedy, even more so
the death of a child,” Dr. Dean
Sidelinger, OHA’s health officer
and state epidemiologist, said in
the news release. “The death of
an infant is extremely rare. This
other states by the time the win-
ter storm hit. By Friday, days af-
ter much of the ice had melted
and clinics reopened, Oregon
ranked 20th — meaning its
ranking stayed virtually un-
changed.
No reporting standard
States don’t uniformly re-
port vaccination data. Nine-
teen states don’t publicly share
the numbers or percentages of
seniors by age group who’ve re-
ceived at least one dose. But 31
states do.
Even then, there’s no unifor-
mity in the ages they choose to
report.
Some only publicize figures
on seniors 65 and older —
some 70, 75 or 80 and older.
Oregon provided numbers for
seniors 65 and older and 70
and older — allowing compar-
news represents a tremendous
loss to the mother and fam-
ily. My thoughts are with them
during this difficult time.”
Children who contract
COVID-19 are less likely to de-
velop severe symptoms than
adults, but they are still at risk,
Sidelinger said.
The state encourages all
parents with children who test
positive and develop certain
symptoms to seek emergency
medical care.
Those symptoms include
troubled breathing, constant
pain or pressure in the chest,
new feelings of confusion, being
unable to wake up or stay awake
when not tired and bluish lips or
face, OHA said.
— East Oregonian
isons with 30 other states that
also provided that data as of
Tuesday.
States ranged from a low of
18% to a high of 46% of resi-
dents 65 and older who’d re-
ceived at least a first shot. In
Oregon, it was 19%.
For residents 70 and older,
states ranged from 20.86% to
59% vaccinated. Oregon was at
20.96%, just one-tenth of a per-
cent ahead of Pennsylvania.
The bulk of seniors in Or-
egon who’ve been vaccinated
so far have been living in nurs-
ing homes or other long-term
care facilities – and that, like in
other states, has made them el-
igible for shots starting as early
December.
The rollout to seniors overall
has been the subject of harsh
criticism from seniors and
their advocates. Oregonians 60
and older account for 91% of
the state’s COVID-19 deaths.
“Every day counts to peo-
ple over 65, since they are in
the crosshairs,” said Maureen
Hoatlin, a recently retired Ore-
gon Health & Science professor
who studied viruses and rep-
lication and is now an ardent
critic of the governor.
Hoatlin worries that more
contagious variants of the virus
are silently spreading in Or-
egon and across the country,
and we won’t realize that un-
til it’s too late to vaccinate the
state’s seniors in time.
“Oregon has basically hung
all these people out to dry,”
Hoatlin said. “It’s a huge risk
to take.”
Meanwhile, advocates for se-
niors in some other states are
glowing. Indiana — which is
leading the nation with 59% of
seniors 70 and older vaccinated
with at least one dose — is one
of them.
“We’re pleased as punch that
it is going as well as it has,” said
Sarah Waddle, AARP Indiana’s
state director. “Other parts of
the pandemic and how it’s af-
fected the state of Indiana ha-
ven’t been as pleasant, and so I
think this has been a welcomed
surprise.”
Who and when
Long before Brown an-
nounced her plan to offer vac-
cinations to 152,000 day care,
preschool and K-12 employees,
she also allowed vaccinations of
people other states hadn’t yet.
Among them were police of-
ficers, veterinary clinic staff and
jail and prison correctional offi-
cers. Poor communication from
the state also meant leagues of
others — including criminal de-
fense attorneys, court staff and
employees in the health care
sector who work entirely from
home — got vaccinated in the
first wave before state officials
started to clarify their eligibility.
Poor communication also
appears to have led to central
office administrators for Port-
land Public Schools who don’t
come into contact with students
planning to start vaccinations in
the past week. After Willamette
Week inquired about the school
district’s plan, Brown refined her
directions — saying they were
not eligible yet.
But the state’s vaccination
scheduling tool for the Portland
area still was allowing school
administrators to schedule ap-
pointments in the Portland area
as of Friday, without clarifying
that they must come into con-
tact with students.
“Very disappointing,” said
Greg Heinrichs, a 68-year-old
Lake Oswego resident who is
still waiting for his turn in line.
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