Lane County Vaccine Newsletter – March

New Vaccine Eligibility Guidelines Released on March 22

Following the announcement from the Oregon Health Authority, Lane County Public Health is preparing to roll out a new system for scheduling vaccination appointments to address the increased eligibility groups and prepare for vaccinating all who become eligible by May 1. 

We will continue our commitment to vaccinating those 65+ and in Phase 1A by reserving doses for these groups, while offering doses to newly eligible groups.
The Oregon Health Authority determines the priority and eligibility criteria for COVID19 vaccination. 

Who is eligible right now? 

Phase 1A: All Groups
Phase 1B: Groups 1-5(educators & childcare and community members who are 65+ years of age)

NEWLY ELIGIBLE THIS WEEK (as of 3/22/2021) 

PHASE 1B: GROUP 6

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


Who will be eligible next? 

Phase 1B, Group 7, will be eligible No later than April 19, 2021.

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

Phase 2, will be eligible No later than May 1, 2021.

  • All people 16 and over

If you are unsure of your eligibility, please see the state of Oregon’s Vaccine Eligibility tool at COVID19 Vaccine in Oregon and the Oregon Health Authority Vaccine Eligibility table

You must be eligible under current Oregon Health Authority guidelines to schedule an appointment.  See above for current eligibility and links to OHA eligibility guidance.

Anyone who is currently eligible can schedule their first or second dose by going to www.lanecounty.org/vaxclinics and clicking on “Schedule a Vaccine Appointment.”  You do not need to preregister, update preregistration or wait for an invitation email to schedule an appointment. You DO need to have a scheduled appointment to attend one of the Lane County vaccination clinics.

This webpage also has details on each of the clinic locations, what to expect and what to bring: www.lanecounty.org/vaxclinics

Please call 541-682-1380 or email corona-info@lanecountyor.gov if you need assistance scheduling an appointment. (Las personas que llaman en español tienen la opción de dejar un recado.) 

If you got your first dose at a LCPH mass vaccine clinic, we will also take care of your second dose and you are not competing against others trying to schedule their first doses.  You can use the same link to schedule a vaccine appointment to schedule your second dose and you do not need to wait for an email.   In addition we will continue to send emails and make phone calls to those needing second doses. 

www.lanecounty.org/vaxclinics

When you first try to schedule appointment dates may not be available far enough out for you to scheduled in your second dose window.  Please check the link closer to the start of your second dose window to schedule as we continue to add clinics dates.  Lane County will not administer 2nd doses any earlier that the start of the second dose window.

  • Pfizer second dose window is 21-42 days after your first dose
  • Moderna second dose window is 28-42 days after your first dose.

If you have not been able to schedule your 2nd dose by 36 days after your first dose please contact Lane County Public Health at 541-682-1380 or  corona-info@lanecountyor.gov for assistance with scheduling before the end of the second dose window.  (Las personas que llaman en español tienen la opción de dejar un recado.)

What exactly is equity and what does it have to do with you? 

Equity means giving people access to the things that they need in order to be successful. It’s different from equality because equality means everyone having the same experience. 

When we talk about COVID-19, we see inequities. We see communities of color experiencing higher rates of the disease and death due to the disease as well as lower rates of vaccinations. Here are some examples: 

  • According to the Oregon Health Authority, 26% of COVID-19 cases in the state are Latino. But Latinos only make up 13% of the overall population in Oregon.
  • Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders are dying at 17 times the rate of white people
  • Latinx and Black people are dying at a 3.5 times the rate of white people
  • Native Americans are dying at 2.4 times the rate of white people
  • The life expectancy of Black people declined by three years (from 75 to 72 years) in 2020

This can be for a whole host of reasons. 

To ensure that communities that are most impacted by COVID-19 – specifically communities of color, people who are unhoused, and seniors with disabilities – have access to the vaccine as quickly as possible, Lane County Public Health  are working to meet communities where they are through these tailored strategies: 

  • Lane County Public Health is partnering with Community Based Organizations to hold smaller clinics for the people that those organizations serve. 
  • Lane County Public Health piloted a is partnering with Community Based Organizations to get eligible members of the populations that they serve signed up to receive a vaccination.

Grassroots community organizers have been hard at work throughout this pandemic supporting their communities and that work should not go unnoticed. Some of the Community Based Organizations we want to acknowledge are Latinx Alliance, ARC of Lane County, NAACP of Springfield and Eugene, HIV Alliance, and Centro Latino Americano, and Senior and Disability Services.

We would like to show support to these community organizers (organizations) while honoring and addressing that our diverse communities are part of the fabric that makes Lane County such a great place to learn, grow, and thrive. 

Thank you Lane County for reaching a Low Risk Level!

THANKS TO THE EFFORTS OF OUR COMMUNITY
LANE COUNTY MOVED TO THE LOW RISK LEVEL
ON MARCH 26, 2021


What does it mean? 

Rate of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 over 14 days is below 50.
Percentage test positivity over previous 14 days is below 5%

What’s Open in My County?

COVID-19 Sector Risk Level Guidance Chart

Guidance documents from the State of Oregon

Lane County COVID-19 Vaccination Data Webpage 
updated weekdays (data below as of 3/26/2021 at 8:00 a.m.)

54,704:   Fully Vaccinated 
46,120:Have received first dose only 
153,434:Total doses administered

17.69%: Percentage of Lane County ADULTS – FULLY vaccinated
2,611.1:   People per 10,000 vaccinated

6,900:  Vaccine Allocation Prime doses for the week of March 22
4,516:  Vaccine Allocation of Boost (2nd) doses for the week of March 22

The data reported is direct from Oregon Health Authority’s database, current to the time it was pulled. Since the data is constantly being updated, numbers can vary. Total vaccinations refers to doses, while persons vaccinated is referring to the people who received doses. There is sometimes a delay in reporting of doses administered (meaning the vials of vaccine have been distributed) and the connection to the persons who received it. The percentage of fully vaccinated does refer to those who have received both doses.

If you want more information on vaccination statistics, please visit: OHA Data Page

You can view the most recent press conference regarding vaccination at https://vimeo.com/528987166

LA VACUNA CONTRA EL COVID-19
EL CONDADO DE LANE EN ESPAÑOL

You can find more information about COVID-19 in Lane County at:

www.lanecounty.org/coronavirus 

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