On April 2, Governor Kate Brown announced Oregon was expanding COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to include all household family members of frontline workers. She also announced that Oregon was expanding its criteria of underlying health conditions to match the CDC’s extended list.

These changes will help reduce the racial and ethnic disparities in vaccination rates.

The Governor also asked Coordinated Care Organizations and commercial health insurance providers to reach out to their members with underlying conditions to share information about the importance of vaccinations, and how to get connected to a vaccine.  

The Governor warned that Oregon’s increase in cases and hospitalizations over the past two weeks were cause for concern: “It’s clear that, in Oregon and across the country, the fourth surge of this virus is at our doorstep. While Oregon’s case numbers fortunately haven’t matched those of other states seeing large spikes, our numbers are rising and we are back on alert.”

This graphic shows the updated list of underlying conditions.

A recording of the press conference is available below. Please note the video starts at the 15:18 mark.

A recording of the Spanish language translation is also available on OHA’s Facebook page.

This article first appeared in the April 2, 2021 issue of Oregon Coronavirus Update.