A8
STATE
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, March 31, 2021
Brown: Vaccination eligibility moved up — again
Frontline workers,
people with
underlying health
conditions are
eligible to get
vaccinated April 5
There are now 22 coun-
ties that have begun vaccinat-
ing Oregonians in Phase 1B,
Group 6. It includes people
aged 50 and over with under-
lying medical conditions that
could lead to a severe illness or
death from contracting COVID-
19. The long list of groups also
includes pregnant women aged
16 and above, seasonal and
migrant workers, the homeless
and others.
“With so many counties
across Oregon ready to begin
the next phases of vaccination, I
am accelerating our vaccination
timelines statewide rather than
proceeding county-by-county,”
Brown said.
Under Brown’s directive
on Friday, vaccination will be
available beginning Monday for
Phase 1B, Group 7.
Under a federal directive
from the Department of Health
and Human Services, Oregon
and other states must scrap any
eligibility limits for those aged
16 and over no later than May
1. The date was chosen by Pres-
ident Joe Biden and announced
during his national address on
March 11.
Oregon had planned a
phased roll-out of vaccine that
would not have allowed unre-
stricted eligibility until July 1.
But the federal edict changed
the timeline and compressed the
period that vaccine could be tar-
geted to specifi c groups to just
51 days between Biden’s March
11 announcement and the direc-
tive going into eff ect May 1.
OHA Director Pat Allen said
By Gary A. Warner
Oregon Capital Bureau
Oregon has again moved up
the eligibility dates for COVID-
19 vaccinations ahead of the
national lifting of all limits on
May 1.
Gov. Kate Brown said Fri-
day that frontline workers and
people with underlying health
conditions are eligible to get
vaccinated April 5. That is
two weeks earlier than Brown
announced last week when she
moved the original May 1 date
to April 19.
Brown said discussions with
the Biden administration had
given her confi dence on its abil-
ity to deliver on its promise of
a major increase in vaccine
supply.
Eligibility does not mean
availability. The state has fully
vaccinated about 570,000 peo-
ple since December. Estimates
put the number of people aged
16 and over who can be inocu-
lated at 3.5 million.
Oregon Health Authority
offi cials told Brown that coun-
ties across the state had made
enough progress on vaccinat-
ing people aged 65 and over to
move onto new groups.
EOMG fi le photo/Ryan Brennecke
Karla Toms, a registered nurse with St. Charles Health System,
administers a vaccine in the arm of Suzi Smith, of Bend, during a
COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Deschutes County Fair & Expo
Center in Redmond in January.
during a press call Friday that, if
all goes well, Oregon will con-
sider moving the unrestricted
eligibility for those aged 16 and
over to April 26 — fi ve days
before the May 1 date.
The advanced timeline
would not be statewide. Coun-
ties that submit a letter to the
Oregon Health Authority by
April 15 stating they are ready
to handle the additional demand
will be told by April 22 if they
can lift all restrictions on April
26.
While mass vaccination cen-
ters will continue to be oper-
ated by county and state health
authorities, Allen said federal
supplies will increasingly go to
pharmacies that are easier for
most residents to visit.
Allen said Oregon should
have enough vaccine by June
to be able to vaccinate everyone
who wants a shot.
As the percentages rise,
OHA is increasingly concerned
with the number of people who
are not seeking inoculation or
are actively opposed to it.
In some parts of southwest-
ern Oregon, Allen said less than
50% of seniors were indicat-
ing they wanted to be vacci-
nated. Some of those counties
are among those with the high-
est infection rates as the rest of
the state’s caseload drops.
If the state continues on its
trend of lowering the infection
rate and case totals statewide,
more steps can be taken toward
allowing ever larger events, said
Dr. Dean Sidelinger, the state’s
top infectious disease expert.
Large outdoor events such
as the Olympic Trials in Eugene
in June and the Pendleton
Round-Up in mid-September
could be held with masking and
hygiene safeguards.
Legislative budget writers come
up with 2021-23 framework
Plan maintains services
without many cuts
originally proposed Dec. 1
By Peter Wong
Oregon Capital Bureau
The co-leaders of the Oregon Legis-
lature’s budget committee have laid out
their framework for balancing the next
two-year state budget with more than
$2 billion in federal aid from President
Joe Biden’s pandemic recovery plan.
The framework, which they
announced March 24, will enable law-
makers to maintain state aid to public
schools, state-supported health care and
other services without many of the cuts
proposed in Gov. Kate Brown’s origi-
nal $25.6 billion budget back on Dec. 1.
The state school fund will be at $9.1
billion, excluding the money from the
corporate activity tax that districts get
for targeted programs and separate fed-
eral aid to enable districts to reopen
schools.
The Oregon Health Plan, which
enrolls 1.25 million low-income peo-
ple, will be maintained without cuts.
The federal government has raised its
share of the joint federal-state program
through Dec. 31 of this year.
The budget framework also pro-
poses $780 million from Oregon’s $2.6
billion share of federal aid for programs
and services envisioned under Biden’s
plan, which became law on March 12.
The overall $1.9 trillion plan passed
both houses of Congress without any
Republican support.
“The federal aid in the American
Rescue Plan is a game-changer,” Rep.
Dan Rayfi eld, a Democrat from Cor-
vallis and one of the chief budget writ-
ers, said in a statement. “This support
is critical to our recovery and will help
the state continue vital programs and
services for Oregonians who have been
disproportionately impacted by the cri-
ses of the past year.”
But the budget framework of
almost $28 billion from the tax-sup-
ported general fund and lottery pro-
ceeds will leave $520 million of that
federal aid unspent until the 2023-25
budget cycle, when tax collections are
also projected to fall short of meeting
current service levels.
The budget committee leaders also
propose a record $250 million alloca-
tion to the state emergency fund, given
the continuing uncertainties about the
coronavirus pandemic and wildfi res.
(The Legislature gave more money to
the Emergency Board, which decides
budget matters between sessions,
but only after two special sessions in
2020.)
“Our framework addresses unprec-
edented challenges as we await fur-
ther federal guidance with respect to
the American Rescue Plan money des-
ignated for Oregon,” Sen. Betsy John-
son, a Democrat from Scappoose and
a budget co-leader, said. “Our docu-
ment is suffi ciently fl exible to respond
during budget negotiations. How-
ever, it also prudently anticipates
potential challenges for the 2023-25
budget.”
Counties and cities also will get
share of federal aid under Biden’s
plan. Cities with populations of 50,000
and up, and all counties, will get their
money from the U.S. Treasury. Smaller
cities will get theirs through the state,
based on population.
Unlike Brown’s budget, which
proposed tapping the state education
reserve fund, the legislative frame-
work would leave both the education
and general reserve funds untouched.
Lawmakers did draw $400 million
from the education reserve fund last
year, cutting it in half.
The state budget spends more
money than the tax-supported general
fund and lottery proceeds. But most of
that money is in the form of earmarked
federal grants or other sources, such as
fuel taxes.
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By Gary A. Warner
Oregon Capital Bureau
A virulent COVID-19 variant is
concerning Oregon health offi cials
as they race to vaccinate up to up to
three million more residents.
Oregon celebrated its one-mil-
lionth vaccine shot March 24. All
but a tiny fraction are the two-shot
Moderna and Pfi zer vaccines, put-
ting the fully vaccinated num-
ber of state residents at your over
577,000.
“Today marks an important
milestone in our state — this would
not have been possible without
the dedication of our vaccinators
around Oregon,” said OHA Direc-
tor Pat Allen.
Allen reported the statistics
during his weekly testimony before
the House COVID-19 committee.
There was good news: Along
with the one million shot mark,
Oregon continues to show a long,
steep decline in infections and
deaths since the winter. OHA’s risk
level report for counties has only
two of 36 rated as extreme infec-
tion risk: Coos and Curry.
Twenty counties have been
given the green light to vaccinate
the next group of eligible Orego-
nians. They include people age 45
and above with underlying medi-
cal conditions, pregnant women 16
and over, along with several other
categories.
OHA has expanded the pool of
people who can give vaccines to 30
groups, from doctors and nurses to
midwives and optometry students.
But Oregon’s program is also
experiencing headaches, hiccups
and hints of some troubling signs.
Allen told a legislative commit-
tee that Oregon had been told that
supplies of the one-shot Johnson &
Johnson vaccine are delayed, with
the date of additional shipment
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unknown. Oregon received over
34,000 doses earlier this month and
counted on the one-shot inocula-
tions to rapidly increase the num-
ber of people in the state who are
considered vaccinated.
Oregon continues to receive
about 200,000 doses per week of
the Moderna and Pfi zer vaccines,
which require two shots spaced
about a month apart. The depen-
dence on the two-shot regime
means the state has actually fully
vaccinated just over 500,000 peo-
ple. That is the number of resi-
dents who will be newly eligible on
March 29. Another more than half
million people — including front-
line and essential workers — are
eligible April 19. The remainder of
the population can seek shots as of
May 1.
Allen said dates when newly
eligible groups start seeking vacci-
nations create “pinch points” where
demand outstrips supply.
“We heavily depend on there
being Johnson & Johnson in the
state,” Allen said.
The presence of the “L.A. Vari-
ant,” known to scientists as B.1.429,
has been increasingly detected in
wastewater samples statewide in
recent months. It has been found in
about 20% of wastewater samples
taken around the state, but has not
shown up in positive tests in peo-
ple as yet.
Allen said the variant is esti-
mated to be 20% more transmis-
sible than the original COVID-19
virus.
The variant can also have a
“moderate impact” on vaccines
and “signifi cant impact” on some
treatments for people who become
infected with COVID-19, Allen
said. Existing vaccines are pro-
jected to be eff ective at prevent-
ing severe illness or death from the
variants.
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turing and delivery delays on
the Johnson & Johnson doses.
He told the House COVID-
19 subcommittee that the new
one-shot vaccine was a key
part of reaching state and fed-
eral goals for inoculations.
Allen earlier this week
signed an order activating
Oregon’s use of a federal law
that allows for a vast expan-
sion of who can give vacci-
nations. There are now 30
diff erent professional and stu-
dent groups approved to inject
people with vaccine. The law
protects them from liability
with the exception of “gross
negligence.”
Brown said mobile health
units and pop-up vaccine cen-
ters would increase the state’s
ability to get shots into arms in
more areas.
“Increased
supplies,
expanding eligibility will allow
health care providers and com-
munity-based organizations
to be more effi cient in their
eff orts to vaccinate hard-to-
reach communities,” she said.
Brown’s new directives
came as the state reported a
slight upswing in infection
rates after a long decline since
the peak levels around the end
of last year.
The United States passed
another milestone this week,
with over 30 million cases
since February 2020, resulting
in 546,915 deaths.
Worldwide, there have
been just under 125.7 million
infections and over 2.75 mil-
lion deaths .
Virus variants and vaccine
deliveries challenge Oregon
fi ght against COVID-19
Shifting millions
The state’s new two-year bud-
get cycle starts July 1. Instead of fi eld
meetings, which the pandemic pre-
cludes, the budget committee will
schedule virtual hearings soon on the
framework.
“This is just the beginning of the
process,” House Republican Leader
Christine Drazan of Canby said in a
statement. “We look forward to hear-
ing from our communities and work-
ing with our colleagues to determine
how we can provide ongoing support
for recovery and continue the pro-
grams and services important to fam-
ilies and children.”
Awaiting votes in both chambers
is a continuing resolution that keeps
agencies funded past June 30, if law-
makers have not yet approved their
budgets.
Unlike the governor, who proposes
a single budget, lawmakers approve
individual agency budgets and other
bills that fi t into the co-chairs’ frame-
work. The Legislature’s budget ana-
lysts keep track of the bills.
Budget subcommittees have heard
agency presentations but still have to
do much of the detailed work on indi-
vidual agencies. The fi rst agency bud-
get emerged from the full committee
on March 19.
Brown’s budget proposes a shift of
$280 million into programs intended
to overcome the eff ects of discrimina-
tion against Oregon’s racial and ethnic
minorities. The budget co-leaders said
they are continuing discussions with
lawmakers of color — who now hold
12 of the 90 House and Senate seats
— and others about how to incorporate
those changes into the budget.
“It’s important to protect services
that Oregonians depend on, and to
make investments to overcome dispar-
ities caused by systemic racism,” Sen.
Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, a Dem-
ocrat from Beaverton and a budget
co-leader, said.
Sidelinger said the state
hoped to send out guidance for
major summer events by next
month.
“We’re in a much better
place” coming into the sum-
mer event season than last year,
Sidelinger said.
An increase in infection
rates or an outbreak of one of
the new more contagious vari-
ants of the virus that are circu-
lating in the nation could under-
cut progress.
The OHA team underscored
that the best way to ensure that
popular events and places can
once again be safely enjoyed
was to get vaccinated as soon as
possible.
Brown promised that the
state will work to ensure that
vaccine access for underrepre-
sented communities.
“As we vaccinate our front-
line workers and all Oregonians
with underlying health condi-
tions, we will work to make
sure vaccines reach the commu-
nities that have been hardest hit
by COVID-19: Oregon’s Black,
Indigenous, Latino, Latina, Lat-
inx, Asian, Pacifi c Islander,
Tribal and communities of
color,” Brown said.
Currently, most people are
inoculated with two shots of
either Moderna or Pfi zer vac-
cine given a month apart. A
third vaccine, a single-shot dose
by Johnson & Johnson was
recently approved.
Oregon Health Author-
ity Director Pat Allen testifi ed
March 24 that the state was
receiving reports of manufac-
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