PORTLAND, Ore —
How to get a COVID-19 vaccine in Oregon
As of Feb. 22, everyone in Phase 1A and groups one, two, three and four of Phase 1B are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine in Oregon. That includes:
- Health care workers and first responders
- Long-term care residents
- K-12 educators and school staff
- Childcare providers
- People 70 and older
Oregon introduced an online tool that allows eligible residents of Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas, Marion and Columbia counties to sign up to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. The eligibility tool is open to everyone in Oregon to use and ask questions.
Another helpful resource is 211. People can call 211 and ask to be transferred to the reservation call center. Operators will determine eligibility, then book a time to receive the vaccination. People can also text ORCOVID to 898211 to get text/SMS updates or email ORCOVID@211info.org.
Legacy Health working to fix issues for COVID vaccine sign-ups in Portland area
Legacy Health spokesman Brian Terrett said the company is “aware of what happened” Monday when its scheduling website for COVID-19 vaccinations performed miserably during a morning rush in the Portland area. Brian Terrett said the site was overloaded with people trying to get appointments.
Across the state, more than 200,000 seniors aged 70 to 74 became eligible for COVID-19 vaccines on Monday.
“We’ve never experienced this much demand for this system before,” Terrett said.
In other parts of the state, including Marion, Linn and Clatsop counties, vaccination efforts have been going smoother.
Oregon comes close to getting all long-term care facilities vaccinated but misses benchmark
The state of Oregon has not met its own benchmark of vaccinating all long-term care facilities by the middle of February, but it is close. According to the Oregon Department of Human Services, a few dozen out of the state's 688 long-term care facilities are still waiting to be vaccinated. But for the families of residents living in those facilities, the wait has gone on long enough.
Multnomah County holds COVID-19 vaccine clinic for BIPOC community
Smaller vaccination sites are popping up in Multnomah County, with the goal of reaching underserved communities hit hard by the pandemic. Last Friday, Multnomah County, in partnership with its REACH Program, held a vaccination clinic at Highland Christian Center in Northeast Portland. Their goal was to vaccinate seniors who are Black, Indigenous and people of color. At Friday’s event, nearly 400 people, including a handful of white people, signed up and were vaccinated.
Drug executives: Big jump in vaccine supply is coming soon
COVID-19 vaccine makers told Congress on Tuesday to expect a big jump in the delivery of doses over the coming month, and the companies insist they will be able to provide enough for most Americans to get inoculated by summer.
By the end of March, Pfizer and Moderna expect to have provided the U.S. government with a total of 220 million vaccine doses, up sharply from the roughly 75 million shipped so far.