Will vaccines protect from the variants? The answer is “yes”

The good news keeps coming on the authorized COVID-19 vaccines. The current data suggests the authorized COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S. offer protection against severe illness and death caused by all variants of COVID-19. On Wednesday, May 12, OHA Senior Health Advisor Melissa Sutton and Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) assistant professor of medicine (infectious disease) […]

Relaxed precautions, social gatherings and the B.1.1.7. variant increase the spread

You may be wondering why cases have been on the rise recently, especially as we see an increase in vaccination across the state. There are two answers to this question – variants that are more transmissible and increased social gatherings without face coverings.   The CDC and OHA are closely monitoring variants of concern (VOC). VOCs are variants that have mutations in the virus […]