PORTLAND, Ore. — Oregon Gov. Kate Brown ordered the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) to make sure there are at least 12,000 vaccinations against the coronavirus a day by Jan. 22.
Currently, Oregon is among the slowest in the nation to get the COVID-19 vaccine into the arms of people who want it.
As of Monday, roughly 51,000 people have been vaccinated in the first three weeks the shots were available. That's out of 190,000 doses sent to the state. Why is it taking so long?
“So, it really has taken a few weeks to get all those processes and procedures in place to be able to do it safely,” said Dr. John McCreary, vice president of medical affairs at Legacy Health in Portland.
McCreary is very involved in the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines. Legacy received 30,000 doses but administered just 6,000 as of Monday. He said its harder than you might think.
“It’s really a complex issue to distribute this particular vaccine--unlike the flu vaccine," McCreary said. "So, from every step of the process, from receiving it and putting it in storage, thawing it, distributing it to our sites, to deliver, it’s been a challenge. We have to adhere to physical distancing requirements which typically we don’t for a flu vaccine. So, it doesn’t really lend itself to people lining up in a line outside a clinic."
At Oregon Health and Sciences University, they’ve received 12,350 doses and administered 10,331.
The Portland area Kaiser Permanente system received 18,025 doses and so far has used 5,285 as of Sunday.
“We are picking up the pace," said spokesman Michael Foley. "We are now averaging 750 vaccinations a day. We are recruiting volunteers and taking other steps to improve efficiency."
The Providence medical system received 26,000 doses, a mix of Pfizer and Moderna, and expect another 1,950 doses of Pfizer this week.
“One area we are working on is streamlining reporting to the state,” said spokesman Gary Walker. “We anticipate having the information completed and submitted within the next day or two. We can tell you that as of Sunday, Jan. 3, we have vaccinated 13,000 caregivers and providers.”
“We plan to have to have made vaccinations available to our 27,000 caregivers and providers by Jan. 20,” Walker said.
At the Portland Veterans Administration medical center, they get vaccines from the federal VA instead of the state. So far, they've received 8,800 doses and used 3,400. Many of those 3,400 will get a second dose this week. And some who are not directly involved with patients will also get shots, according to Dr. Shana Misra, chief of staff.
Veterans wondering when they can get shots should check the VA’s website or Facebook page.
One group waiting on the sidelines -- eager to get access to the vaccine --include dentists, hygienists and others who work in their offices.
The executive director of the Oregon Dental Association said the lack of planning by the state is extremely frustrating.
“It’s not just that they're not getting the vaccine," said Dr. Barry Taylor. "It’s that they don’t know when they're going to get it. And they don’t know what the plan is. And what I hear from many of them is if they knew what the plan is, if they knew in three weeks they'd get the vaccination, that would satisfy them. It’s that classic lack of information is creating anxiety."
One bit of good news, 20 veterans living at the Vancouver VA campus at the community living center got their second dose of the vaccine over the weekend and became among the first in the Northwest to have as much protection as possible against the virus.