New data show COVID-19 reinfections on the rise in Oregon

COVID-19 reinfections have been one of the largest unknowns during the pandemic. Can you get sick again? If so, when? How serious would a second or third infection be? Does being vaccinated reduce the likelihood of being reinfected? New data compiled by Oregon Health Authority (OHA) help answer these questions.   Let’s start with some […]

Updated COVID-19 booster targets subvariants responsible for 98% of cases today

Available in Spanish The fact that we have an updated bivalent booster dose that targets the predominant variants circulating today is a wonder of science, but how do we know it’s safe and effective? In late June, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) weighed administering the original COVID-19 vaccine as the next round of […]

Improved race and ethnicity data leads to changes in vaccination rates

Starting on Sept. 14, 2022, OHA’s COVID-19 Vaccination Metrics dashboard will include updated population estimates for race and ethnicity data at the state and county level. OHA worked closely with Portland State University’s Population Research Center to incorporate the latest data and methodology from the 2020 American Community Survey (ACS), leading to better estimates of the […]

Understanding personal risk using weekly COVID-19 data

Available in Spanish Oregon Health Authority (OHA) announced last week that some data about COVID-19 will now be updated weekly rather than daily. Starting Sept. 14, weekly updates will include: Although many people relied on daily updates to assess their personal risk, weekly data still shows accurate and useful trends in how COVID-19 is spreading […]

How does COVID-19 affect your heart?

Available in Spanish Over the last two and a half years of the COVID-19 pandemic, medical experts have found that the virus can cause damage to many parts of the body. Although most people experience symptoms in their nose, throat and lungs, the virus also can damage other organs, such as the heart. “COVID-19 can […]

How does COVID-19 affect your lungs?

Available in Spanish COVID-19 can damage several parts of the body, but most people experience symptoms in their respiratory tract, with a sore throat, stuffy nose, cough or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms, specifically coughing and shortness of breath, originate in the lungs. “It may feel like a cold, a bad cold,” said […]

Predicting COVID-19 in Oregon: it’s all in the numbers

Available in Spanish Peter Graven isn’t a fortune-teller, but he tries his best to predict the future. Graven, director of Oregon Health & Science University’s (OHSU) Office of Advanced Analytics, has helped people in Oregon make sense of the pandemic with  regular forecasts that began in March 2020. As complex as COVID-19 data collection and […]

“Plug and Play” mRNA technology works fast, updating vaccines in months

Available in Spanish The COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna use messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, which allows scientists to test, deliver and modify the vaccines quickly. The ability to adapt quickly is on full display this summer. On June 28, as Omicron BA.5 became the predominant COVID-19 variant in the United States, the U.S. […]

What we know about COVID-19 reinfections

Available in Spanish Measles and COVID-19 are caused by two of the most contagious viruses on the planet. When most people recover from measles the immunity acquired is likely to last for the rest of their lives. This is not true for people who recover from COVID-19. Some people have already been infected with COVID-19 […]

One in five adult COVID-19 survivors have a health condition that may be related to the virus

Available in Spanish A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows people who survive COVID-19 are significantly more likely to have certain health complications than those who have no evidence of ever having COVID-19. These types of lingering health complications linked to a COVID-19 infection are commonly referred to as […]