A4 THE BULLETIN • TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2021 Patchwork COVID-19 | U.S. death toll passes 500,000 Continued from A1 The states’ fragmented war on COVID-19 has resulted in a resounding defeat. No corner of the planet has been ravaged like the United States. The na- tion makes up 4% of the world population, but has accounted for 20% of the nearly 2.5 mil- lion killed in the pandemic, ac- cording to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center and the U.S. Census Bureau. The political equivalent of herding cats has continued with the arrival of two vaccines that could snuff out the virus. The Pfizer and Moderna vac- cines require two shots, given about a month apart. States have been allocated a portion of the available vaccine equal to their percentage of the national population. For Oregon, that comes out to about 1.3%. With the initial shipments, state health agencies were sent a long list of recommendations on how to parcel out the shots. But in the end, the final pri- ority list for the scarce vaccine was up to each of the 50 gov- ernors. Ethicists call these “lifeboat” decisions — who, when and why someone could be chosen to live or die. An inoculation against a potentially deadly vi- rus fits the bill. Gov. Kate Brown promised Oregon would distribute the shots with equity. The decisions are necessary, but the fragmentation of eval- uating a comparative value of human lives through 50 dif- ferent prisms, was going to be problematic from the start. Governors and health offi- cials are human beings who bring their own beliefs to de- cisions. Any choice will at- tach a social value to people or groups. The start was the easiest part from an ethical standpoint. The first shots were sent to protect doctors, nurses, and other health care workers. The pandemic took a toll on hospi- tals and medical centers, where severe illness and sometimes death affected the very people whose jobs were to save lives of others. The long months of the pan- demic had also shown soci- ety’s weakest points. Nursing homes reported just 5% of all COVID-19 infections nation- wide. But the often frail resi- dents and close quarters mean these residents account for just over one-third of all deaths. Oregon is one of 10 states where more than half of all deaths are from these “congre- gate care” facilities, according to the New York Times. Residents and staff of the homes were put next to med- ical workers at the top of the priority list. At that point, the states’ una- nimity ends. St. Charles Continued from A1 The medical techs voted 94% in favor of authorizing the strike and sent a 10-day no- tice warning of the impending walkout, according to the state- ment. St. Charles Health System described the move as “disap- pointing,” in a press release, es- pecially while it is coping with COVID-19 patients and large- scale community vaccination clinics. “While this strike notice cannot slow our efforts to meet these critical community needs, it just adds new — and unnecessary — challenges when our community needs us most,” said Aaron Adams, president of St. Charles Bend and Redmond. The federation represents about 150 technical employ- ees at the St. Charles campus in Bend. The strike would only affect technical employees at the St. Charles Bend hospital campus. It would have no impact on the health care system’s other hos- pitals or clinics in Redmond, Madras and Prineville. “This is our last resort to improve the conditions at the hospital,” said DeeDee Schum- acher, an ultrasound technol- ogist who has worked at St. Charles for 40 years. “We don’t want to strike and would rather continue working in our com- munity, so we hope the hospi- ‘It’s very hard for me to imagine an American who doesn’t know someone who has died’ Associated Press F or weeks after Cindy Pollock began plant- ing tiny flags across her yard — one for each of the more than 1,800 Idahoans killed by COVID-19 — the toll was mostly a number. Until two women she had never met rang her doorbell in tears, seeking a place to mourn the husband and fa- ther they had just lost. Then Pollock knew her tribute, however heartfelt, would never begin to convey the grief of a pandemic that has now claimed 500,000 lives in the U.S. and counting. “I just wanted to hug them,” she said. “Because that was all I could do.” After a year that has dark- ened doorways across the U.S., the pandemic surpassed a milestone Monday that once seemed unimaginable, a stark confirmation of the vi- rus’s reach into all corners of the country and communities of every size and makeup. “It’s very hard for me to imagine an American who The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that those over age 65 be next in line. About 80% of deaths from COVID-19 in the United States are aged 65 and over. Risk rises with age so that while someone 85 is only twice as likely as a 17-year-old to become infected, they are 7,900 times more likely to die, according to the CDC. All but five states followed the recommendation, includ- ing California and Washing- ton. Oregon did not. Gov. Kate Brown decided teachers, school staff and day care workers should be next in hopes of jump-starting a re- turn to school this spring by students shuttered at home with “virtual learning.” Brown argued that 153,000 educators and school staff were a relatively small num- ber of people to put ahead of the 795,000 Oregonians over the age of 65. Oregon Public Broadcasting estimated that about 86 seniors would die for each week of delay. It was a price Brown be- lieved was worth it to get the state’s future functioning. The governor and health officials portrayed it as a short delay. “I know there will still be some who disagree with this tal will avert this by settling a fair contract.” Strikes in the health care field rarely last longer than a week, said Potter, primarily due to the high cost of tempo- rary replacement healthcare workers. Strikes by technolo- gists are uncommon he added. “We have only been able to identify a single prior example in the last few decades in the United States. That strike lasted only two days,” said Potter. The St. Charles medical techs unionized in 2019 and have since been bargaining for their first contract. Pay and working conditions are the pri- mary issues of contention. The federation also alleges that the hospital broke federal labor laws by changing pay for some health care professionals. The federation said hospi- tal management subsequently agreed to mediation, but has delayed establishing timely bargaining dates. It alleges that more than 90% of medi- cal techs are being underpaid and the hospital’s proposals fall short of adequate wage adjust- ments. “Since September of last year, we have been offering to meet on nights, weekends and even holidays in order to com- plete this contract in a timely manner,” said Potter. “The ad- ministration of St. Charles re- fused every such offer and on December 3rd walked away from the table entirely. Our members are no longer willing Evan Vucci/AP During a speech at the White House on Monday, President Joe Biden reads the number of Americans who died from COVID-19.