NEWS
A10 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10, 2021
Promise of increased weekly vaccines was a typo
equity is high on Oregon’s agenda,
this is an embarrassing and inexcus-
able contradiction.”
But new doses are on the way
to Umatilla County facilities
New vaccines incoming
By BRYCE DOLE
STAFF WRITER
A boost in COVID-19 vaccine
allocations Umatilla County health
offi cials thought they would be
receiving from now on turned out
to be a typo.
Offi cials had received an email
from the Oregon Health Authority
promising counties across Oregon
a sharp uptick in their weekly allo-
cated COVID-19 vaccines — an
increase from 700 doses to 2,400,
including 1,600 more fi rst doses of
the Moderna vaccine.
With the new doses, Umatilla
County health offi cials hoped to
speed up the vaccination schedule
after shipments and events had been
delayed time and time again.
On Monday, March 1, however,
Joe Fiumara, the county’s pub-
lic health director, received some
unfortunate news: The increase was
a one-time shipment.
“Turns out it was a typo,” Fiu-
mara said of the email from the
state. “And 700 of those doses
was a one-time boost because our
per-capita rates were low. We’re
expecting 900 (fi rst doses) next
week, not 1,600.”
In the email, state offi cials said
nine counties would receive a one-
time increased shipment of doses
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald, File
Volunteers check eligibility and distribute information to those seeking a
COVID-19 vaccine at the Pendleton Convention Center on Jan. 28, 2021.
to improve their vaccination rates.
However, according to Fiumara, the
email only listed eight counties, and
Umatilla County was the one left
out.
“We thought that was the new
(weekly) fl oor for us,” Fiumara
said. He added that the typo was
“frustrating” and “disappointing.”
Approximately 10,043 county
residents have been vaccinated
as of Monday, March 8, accord-
ing to data from the Oregon Health
Authority, placing it at second to
last in vaccinations per capita.
“Us and our partners in the
county have been pretty good at
kicking our vaccine out as of seven
days of having received it,” Fiu-
mara said. “There’s been a few
instances where it’s taken the sec-
ond week to get rid of some strag-
glers, but we’ve pretty much kicked
it out pretty fast. We just haven’t
received enough” doses.
In response to the low totals,
county offi cials last week sent a
letter to Gov. Kate Brown’s offi ce,
claiming the state was failing at its
promises to focus vaccine distri-
bution toward vulnerable minority
communities where infection has
spread disproportionately.
“This is not due to a lack of
capacity to vaccinate our resi-
dents. We have never even tapped
the upper limits of our vaccine allo-
cations,” the letter says. “While
But there is reason to hope that
things will soon begin to shift, Fiu-
mara said. The county has a signif-
icant population of essential work-
ers who will soon become eligible
for the vaccine, which “in theory”
should make it so the state allocates
more doses toward the county, Fiu-
mara said.
In addition, several new county
businesses are to receive doses
in the coming weeks, including
Bi-Mart, Walmart and Rite Aid.
Both Safeway and Mirasol Fam-
ily Health Center are also expected
to see larger shipments of vaccines
than they have previously, Fiumara
said.
The doses sent to those facilities
are in addition to the 900 doses sent
from the state to the county health
department, he added.
“All of that is way more than
we’ve been getting,” Fiumara said.
The county this week also
received its fi rst shipment of 100
doses of the Johnson & Johnson
vaccine — a single-dose vaccine
with an effi cacy rate of 72% against
moderate and severe cases.
Due to its effectiveness com-
pared to that of the Pfi zer and Mod-
erna vaccine, which are each over
90% effective, some people have
voiced skepticism about the new
Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Experts say that comparing these
numbers is problematic. The trials
were held at different places at dif-
ferent times where infection was
spreading at different rates. That
makes it diffi cult to judge if the
lower percent is genuinely due to
the product or the environment.
“It really isn’t an apples to apples
comparison,” Fiumara said, adding
that the effi cacy rate for the Johnson
& Johnson vaccine is still very high
compared to a common fl u shot.
“And I know that makes it really
tough for folks to understand.”
The new vaccine can also be
stored in normal refrigeration for
months, and because it is a one-
shot immunization, health offi cials
nationally have expressed enthusi-
asm that it will help the vaccine roll-
out immensely. Trials also showed
the vaccine prevented 100% of hos-
pitalizations and deaths related to
COVID-19.
Fiumara said local Bi-Marts are
now receiving the Johnson & John-
son vaccine, and health offi cials are
now working with the businesses
to help with their scheduling and
procedures.
“For now, it has been approved
with really good effectiveness
rates, especially against severe ill-
ness,” Fiumara said. “Any way
you look at any of these (vaccines),
they are far better than anything a
year ago we thought we would
have.”
TRCI fi nishes fi rst doses of COVID-19 vaccines for inmates
By BRYCE DOLE
STAFF WRITER
Umatilla County’s two state
prisons finished the first step of
immunizing all adults in custody
against COVID-19 by success-
fully offering the first doses to
all inmates, according to spokes-
persons from the two prisons.
Two Rivers Correctional Insti-
tution in Umatilla fi nished offer-
ing fi rst doses to all adults in cus-
tody at the prison on Wednesday,
March 3, according to a TRCI
spokesperson, which capped off
initial vaccine efforts at the coun-
ty’s two prisons.
In all, 1,263 inmates at TRCI
were vaccinated of the 1,726
offered a shot. The prison held two
large clinics and three smaller ones
to vaccinate its inmates.
Prison offi cials at TRCI are now
vaccinating inmates for a second
time, with 195 having received a
second dose already, the spokes-
person said.
Eastern Oregon Correctional
Institution in Pendleton fi nished its
initial vaccination efforts on Mon-
day, March 1, with 1,081 inmates
taking the shot of the 1,618 who
were offered one.
The prison has also begun vacci-
nating inmates with second doses.
As of March 1, 155 inmates were
fully immunized against corona-
virus, according to a spokesperson
from the prison.
The two facilities have com-
pleted the fi rst round of vacci-
nations after enduring some of
the largest COVID-19 outbreaks
among prisons in Oregon.
At TRCI, 766 inmates have
tested positive for COVID-19
since the pandemic began — more
than any prison in Oregon. In Jan-
uary alone, 15 inmates who con-
tracted the virus died. And among
staff, 127 have tested positive, the
second most in Oregon.
The prison suffered two months
of rapidly surging case counts,
with more than 600 inmates testing
positive between December 2020
and February.
At EOCI, infection surged
through the summer and fall 2020
seasons. With 458 inmates testing
positive since the pandemic began,
the prison has reported the third
highest case count among Oregon
prisons.
Four inmates who tested posi-
tive for COVID-19 at EOCI died.
In response, inmates from
several state prisons fi led a law-
suit against Gov. Kate Brown
and other state offi cials, criticiz-
ing their response to outbreaks
throughout the state’s prison
system.
In February, a federal judge
ordered the state to begin offering
the vaccine to the state’s 11,000
adults in custody.
As of March 5, TRCI had just
15 active cases among inmates
— a stark contrast to active case
counts in January, which for
weeks was upward of 250. EOCI
did not have any active cases as of
March 5.
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