FROM PAGE ONE
A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
Vaccines:
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021
TO GET VACCINATED...
Continued from Page A1
each of the 36 counties. Scholarships
worth $100,000 are also being off ered
to lucky vaccinated youth.
Brown and OHA offi cials said it
was time to push past the current lev-
els of inoculation as medical evidence
and state statistics show the impact of
the virus has separated residents into
two groups with very diff erent likely
futures.
Those with vaccination are almost
completely free of infections, severe
illness and death.
But the pandemic is still “a
shadow” across the state for those
who are not inoculated. OHA said
nine out of 10 deaths are currently
among people who have no record of
vaccination.
Umatilla County adds local incentives
Umatilla County organizations
have the opportunity to receive fund-
ing if they assist COVID-19 vaccina-
tion eff orts as part of a new program
to drive up the county’s vaccina-
tion rates, which are among the low-
est in the state. The county health
department created the “Community
Rewards Program,” which the county
board of commissioners unanimously
approved at its meeting June 2.
The program will work by ZIP
code and will be available for not-for-
profi t organizations, including frater-
nal, civic and religious organizations,
though specifi c criteria are in devel-
opment, offi cials say. The county
will be one of the fi rst in the state to
make such an eff ort using incentives,
according to Commissioner John
Shafer.
When 60% of residents over the
age of 18 in a ZIP code are vaccinated,
the county will divide $10,000 worth
of funds evenly between each organi-
zation that has assisted the county’s
vaccination eff orts, with additional
funds based on population.
The ZIP code encompassing the
city of Hermiston, for example, has
the opportunity to receive $113,000
from the program, Fiumara said. The
ZIP code for a town like Helix would
receive about $11,000.
Some ZIP codes are nearing that
mark, with Helix at approximately
50%, Meacham at 44% and Hermis-
ton at 43%, according to Fiumara.
“We chose (60%) because we
wanted something to be reasonably
obtainable for the localities in our
county,” said Joe Fiumara, the coun-
ty’s public health director. “Our (vac-
Umatilla County residents looking
to get vaccinated against COVID-19
can receive a free shot at Walmart,
Safeway, BiMart, Rite Aid, Family
Health Associates, Mirasol Family
Health Center, Good Shepherd
Medical Center or drive-thru vacci-
nation events hosted by Umatilla
County Public Health.
For details about walk-in times or
how to schedule an appointment,
visit ucohealth.net/covid-events-
new or call 541-567-3113.
To schedule an opportunity to get
the vaccine in Morrow County or
ask questions about the vaccine,
call 541-676-5649 or email COVID-
Vaccine@co.morrow.or.us.
cine) rates are lower than we would
like. Obviously, our goal would be
100%. But we felt that 60% would
be a reasonable accommodation that
would provide a lot of additional pro-
tection within those communities.”
The commissioners agreed to
make the program a direct eff ort to
ramp up vaccinations in the county.
Commissioner Dan Dorran brought
up the idea of setting a target date to
reach the 60% mark to expedite vacci-
nations, saying he “would like to see
Umatilla County get as high a level as
possible as quickly.”
Umatilla County has consistently
reported some of the lowest vacci-
nation rates per capita since Febru-
ary, according to state health data, and
offi cials say demand for shots only
has dwindled in recent months.
The funds come from the nearly
$510,000 the state sent in May as
part of a $25 million eff ort by the fed-
eral government to assist vaccination
eff orts in a variety of ways, includ-
ing providing incentives, according to
Fiumara.
To receive funds, organizations
would need to describe what they
have done to assist vaccinations. The
county has yet to decide how this will
work, but Fiumara said it likely will be
a written description. The county also
will use $51,000 to reimburse partic-
ipating organizations for their eff orts
and to fund organizations that lack the
fi nancial ability to participate. County
organizations that receive the funds
would be able to use them as they see
fi t, Fiumara said.
The 60% threshold for the coun-
ty’s program will have to be met
by December. All unused funds
will be given to ZIP codes that
achieved the 60% mark.
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Families watch and take photos as their graduates cross the stage at Hermiston High School’s
commencement ceremony on Thursday, June 3, 2021.
Graduates:
Continued from Page A1
Graduation this year kicked
off with a gathering of all the
seniors in the high school gym,
where they listened to speeches
while their parents and other
family members waited out-
side. Afterward, district admin-
istrators brought each student’s
six designated guests into the
building to watch them walk
across the stage in the commons
area to receive their diploma.
Graduates then proceeded out
the front doors of the high
school for the last time, greeted
by a photographer, “swag bag”
and the cheers of friends and
family.
The livestream online had
technical diffi culties and did
not include audio, but students
seated inside were able to hear
from Inle Gonzalez, Adam-
aryz Lopez Navarrete, Eleanor
Ernst, Paige Palzinski and Ella
Hagel.
“It feels like a weight has
been lifted off my shoulders,”
Gonzalez said after she exited
the building. “This is the next
step to making my parents
proud.”
She said her favorite memory
from high school was playing
in the band at Hermiston’s state
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Graduates throw their caps after the conclusion of speeches at the
Hermiston High School commencement ceremony at the high school
on Thursday, June 3, 2021.
football championship game.
Now she is headed to Portland
State University, where she
plans to double major in social
work and community develop-
ment with a minor in Chicano/
Latino studies.
Lopez Navarrete said she is
planning to major in computer
science at University of Oregon.
“I’m excited and ready to
take on the world,” she said of
graduating.
As Hagel left the building,
she said felt accomplished, and
happy to have fi nished a hard
fi nal year of school. She plans
to go to University of Oregon,
but is not sure of her major yet.
She said she will miss the cama-
raderie with her friends from
high school the most.
Cristina
Cuevas,
who
served as the high school
counselor to the Class of 2021,
said there were 369 students in
the class who walked at grad-
uation. A few more still are
fi nishing up, however, with
another seven who have since
qualifi ed for their diploma or
will within days.
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