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STATE
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, October 21, 2020
COVID-19 ‘on the march again’ in Oregon, U.S.
Willful neglect of safeguards fueling the current surge
By Gary A. Warner
Oregon Capital Bureau
The fight against COVID-19 is
being undercut by precaution fatigue,
willful ignorance and mixed messages
between health officials in Oregon and
Washington, D.C.
The result is that, after a late sum-
mer lull, new cases of the sometimes
deadly virus are on the rise again in
the state and U.S.
“COVID-19 is on the march again
in Oregon,” Pat Allen, director of the
Oregon Health Authority, said at a
Friday briefing.
In the past two weeks, cases have
risen more than 24% in Oregon. Allen
called the increase a “stark reversal”
of gains the state had made previously
on tamping down the virus spread.
The state on Friday recorded 418
new cases and six deaths, bringing
the statewide totals to 38,935 cases
and 617 deaths since the virus first
appeared in Oregon in February.
Allen said it was part of a contin-
ued high count of cases.
“Last week’s total set a new high
for the pandemic,” Allen said. “On
three consecutive days last week
we exceeded 400 cases, including a
record daily total of 484.”
Tests for the infection are cur-
rently coming back 6.4% positive.
Health officials have a target of 5%
to keep the virus at a plateaued level.
Even a small percentage increase can
lead over time to exponential growth.
If cases continue on their cur-
rent trajectory, Oregon could see 570
reported cases and 40 new hospital-
izations each day.
“This is a troubling scenario,” said
Dr. Dean Sidelinger, the state’s top
infectious disease expert.
Social gatherings continue to
be the main way that the infec-
tion is spread as people from differ-
ent households mingle in sometimes
multiple-family situations.
Health officials said it is under-
standable that human nature is to
let your guard down around peo-
ple you know, especially with peo-
ple “fatigued” by keeping their guard
up at all times with masks, social dis-
tancing and extra hygiene.
But for the first time health author-
ities said that willful neglect of safe-
guards by some people is fueling the
current surge.
At a time when President Donald
Trump has told Americans not to be
afraid of COVID-19 despite his own
infection and hospitalization, Ore-
gon health officials are pressing the
message that residents need to dou-
ble down on their efforts to keep the
growth of COVID-19 under control.
“There is massive counter-pro-
gramming that is not helpful — peo-
ple with really big loudspeakers”
Allen said, without specifically nam-
ing Trump.
Sidelinger said he had canceled
his own family plans for Thanksgiv-
ing because he lives with someone
over 80. The rest of the family will
participate virtually.
The argument against exposure
extends to Halloween traditions.
“We are recommending against
gathering including, sadly, trick-or-
treating,” Allen said.
Officials said interactions between
dozens of people and the handing of
candy back and forth could lead to
infection. They suggested alternative
ways to celebrate, such as appearing
outside of family friends’ windows so
they could see costumes.
PMG file photo
Pat Allen, Oregon Health Authority director, at a press conference earlier in
2020.
Allen said, though hospitalizations
in Oregon are nearing their levels in
July, the state has more resources and
knowledge to combat serious cases
of COVID-19, including increased
amounts of personal protective gear
and new medical protocols that do
not require as many ventilators to be
used.
After the press briefing Friday, Gov.
Kate Brown separately announced that
Lane County, home to the University
of Oregon in Eugene, was being added
to the state’s watch list of counties
where the increase of cases is being
more heavily monitored.
The state reported Wednesday that
the 97403 zip code in Eugene, near
the university campus, had the highest
per capita increase in new COVID-19
cases of any zip code in the state.
“There is no question that the
spread of COVID-19 in Lane County
is connected — to a degree — to stu-
dent social activities” Brown said.
“Social gatherings, like off-campus
parties, are incredibly dangerous and
spread this disease.”
Brown said keeping the virus
spread under control in the state’s
fourth most populous county — with
382,067 residents spread from Flor-
ence on the coast to the crest of the
Cascades — was a task that went
beyond the University of Oregon
campus.
“Once COVID-19 is spreading in
the community, small family get-to-
gethers can also lead to dozens of
infections,” Brown said.
The four other counties on the watch
list include Clatsop, Umatilla, Malheur
and Benson counties, the last home to
the Oregon State University campus.
As of Friday, the Johns Hopkins
Coronavirus Resource Center has
recorded over 39 million COVID-19
cases in the world, with more than
1.1 million deaths. In the U.S., there
have been over 8 million cases with
218,137 deaths.
Infection rates are on the rise in the
U.S. and around much of the North-
ern Hemisphere as the seasons shift
from summer to fall and into win-
ter. World Health Organization offi-
cials say indoor gatherings increase
the likelihood of transmission. Sea-
sonal holiday gatherings also lead to
higher chances of prolonged exposure
to someone who is infected.
The new deaths included a 50-year-
old man in Jefferson County, a 65-year-
old woman and 82-year-old man
in Washington County, an 81-year-
old man in Multnomah County, an
88-year-old woman in Curry County
and a 94-year-old woman in Hood
River County
Officials also dismissed a new
dissident medical movement that
has been advanced in recent days by
Trump administration policy advisor
Dr. Scott Atlas, a radiologist with no
experience in communicable diseases.
Health and Human Service Secretary
Alex Azar has also discussed the con-
troversial “herd immunity” idea with
White House policy advisors.
“The Great Barrington Declara-
tion,” named after the New England
town where the idea was put forth at
a libertarian forum, encourages that
“those not vulnerable should imme-
diately be allowed to resume life as
normal.” Those at risk should be pro-
tected, though no plan how to do that
is put forth.
National Institutes of Health Direc-
tor Francis Collins called the idea
“fringe” science.
The proponents say it has been
endorsed by thousands of medical
professionals who signed it online,
though Britain’s Sky News reported
the list has also attracted online troll-
ing, with names including “Dr. Johnny
Bananas” and “Dr. Person Fakename”
added to the list.
Mainstream medical scientists
have dismissed the idea as likely to
lead to a massive increase in deaths
in the older population if it went into
effect as any state or national policy.
“It’s a massacre,” Dr. Gregg Gon-
salves, an epidemiologist with the Yale
School of Public Health told the Wash-
ington Post.
Vaccine plan reserves first doses for health care, essential workers
By Suzanne Roig
EO Media Group
State health officials could
distribute the first doses of
COVID-19 vaccinations as
early as the end of this month
if it’s approved by the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration.
But those vaccines will most
likely be reserved for health care
and other essential workers, who
will be the first to receive them,
according to a plan submitted by
the Oregon Health Authority to
the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.
Nationwide, states were
required to submit their vacci-
nation plans by Friday, accord-
ing to the CDC. States have
about two weeks to establish
distribution systems to meet
CDC’s Nov. 1 deadline. It is
unknown when the vaccines
will be approved, said Jona-
than Modie, Oregon Health
Authority spokesman.
State health officials
assume that vaccine supplies
will be limited at first and
“should be focused on indi-
viduals critical to the pan-
demic response, provide
direct care and maintain soci-
etal function, as well as those
at highest risk for developing
severe illness,” Modie said in
an email.
Topping the list of who
will receive the vaccine are
medical professionals, essen-
tial workers, long-term care
facilities, people with under-
lying health conditions, peo-
ple older than 65, ethnic and
racial minorities, tribal com-
munities, prisoners, home-
less, colleges and universities,
people living in group set-
tings, people with disabilities
and people without insurance,
according to the plan.
The Food and Drug Admin-
istration has authorized the
use of two vaccines under an
Emergency Use Authorization,
but it is unknown if both drugs
or just one will be approved.
In the 136-page Oregon
plan, the state outlines its prepa-
rations for two main scenar-
ios for vaccine release, one for
if the state receives a minimal
order of 1,000 doses, and one
for a large volume.
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