PORTLAND, Ore. — More people age 29 and younger have died from COVID in Oregon in the last six weeks than they have during the entire rest of the pandemic, according to numbers posted by the Oregon Health Authority (OHA).
The numbers are relatively small, but no doubt very important to the friends and families of those who died.
From the beginning of the pandemic in the spring of 2020 until the last week of July 2021, 11 people age 29 or younger died from COVID.
From the first week of August through September 13th, 14 people age 29 or younger have died from COVID in Oregon.
OHA reported cases and deaths overall are improving. Last week was the first drop in the weekly death toll after six weeks of increases. From Sept. 6-12, 120 people died from COVID in the state, that's down from 171 people the week before.
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Every weekday, OHA puts out a report on the pandemic which includes some information about the people who have died. The past few days have been grim and included several people 60 or younger. The state does not report their names.
On September 11, those 60 and younger included:
- 58-year-old man from Douglas County
- 57-year-old man from Lane County
- 36-year-old woman Lane County
- 49-year-old man from Lane County
- 45-year-old man from Tillamook County
On September 12th they included:
- 50-year-old woman from Douglas County
- 54-year-old woman from Josephine County
- 60-year-old man from Lane County
- 33-year-old woman Marion County
September 13th they included:
- 44-year-old man from Klamath County
- 56-year-old woman from Klamath County
- 24-year-old man from Marion County
“I scan those every day and I do gasp when I see the ages of some of the people who have died,” said Dr. Jennifer Vines, the public health officer for Multnomah County who is involved with the county's response to COVID in the greater Portland metro area.
Dr. Vines said advanced age is still the leading factor that will predict whether a COVID patient will die but the delta variant spreads so fast through various communities that relative youth is not always enough— especially if they are not vaccinated.
“The risk of death is not zero in any age group and I think just the sheer number of people being infected by the highly contagious delta variant – it means its finding its way into enough young people to find that person who is going to succumb to the infection,” said Dr. Vines.
The OHA also states in its weekly update that the number of new reported infections is down 11% to 12,997 for the week of Sept. 6-12.
There were 149,123 tests for COVID during that same time period. OHA reports the percent of positive tests was 12%.
Find the OHA’s latest weekly report here.
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