Governor Brown accelerates vaccine timeline, more Oregonians eligible next Monday

SALEM, Ore — With the state expected to receive an influx of vaccines from the federal government, Governor Kate Brown announced that more frontline workers and people with underlying conditions will be eligible ahead of schedule.

On Monday the state announced that 22 counties including Klamath, Lake, and Josephine were given the green light to vaccinate people in Phase 1B Group 6. On Friday, Governor Brown announced that people in those groups will be eligible state-wide starting Monday March 29th.

Originally scheduled for April 15th, Frontline workers and adults 16 and older with underlying conditions under Phase1B Group 7, will be eligible April 5th.

The state announced earlier this month to have all Oregonians eligible for the coronavirus vaccine on May 1st. In a conference Friday, Oregon Health Authority director Patrick Allen says that they are on schedule.

“I should say we plateaued and not dropped off in terms of vaccinations,” Allen said. “Our daily average is the highest its ever been right now, but that will pick up as we move into these large, newly eligible populations.” 

Governor Brown and OHA officials are putting an emphasis on accelerating the vaccine rollout to underserved communities that they say has been the hardest hit by the pandemic.

“As we vaccinate our frontline workers and all Oregonians with underlying health conditions, we will work to make sure vaccines reach the communities that have been hardest hit by COVID-19: Oregon’s Black, Indigenous, Latino, Latina, Latinx, Asian, Pacific Islander, Tribal and communities of color,”  Governor Brown said in a press release. “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.

“And, with increased supplies, expanding eligibility will allow health care providers and community-based organizations to be more efficient in their efforts to vaccinate hard-to-reach communities.”

According to the Oregon Health Authority, Phase1B, Group 6 includes:

  • Adults 45-64 with underlying health conditions,
  • Migrant and seasonal farm workers,
  • Seafood and agricultural workers,
  • Food processing workers,
  • People living in low-income senior housing, senior congregate and independent living,
  • People experiencing homelessness,
  • People currently displaced by wildfires,
  • Wildland firefighters, and
  • Pregnant people 16 and older

Phase 1B Group 7 includes:

  • Frontline workers as defined by the CDC,
  • Multigenerational household members, and
  • Adults 16 and older with underlying health conditions.

 

 

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