News & Stories for Oregonians
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 […]
Because you can still get COVID-19 if you’re vaccinated, some people believe the vaccines don’t work. But COVID-19 vaccines are, and have always been, highly effective at reducing hospitalizations and deaths. In the first year vaccines were available (Dec. 8, 2020 through Dec. 8, 2021), the vaccines prevented an estimated 15-20 million deaths globally. In […]
To read this story in Spanish, click here. (This story was updated at 9:09 p.m. on May 5, 2022, to include an accurate hyperlink to “vaccination and booster rates” on OHA’s website.) Now that Oregon’s mask mandate has ended for most indoor public spaces, people may feel uncertain or uneasy about venturing out without masks. […]
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released new data highlighting the role of COVID-19 vaccines and boosters in preventing severe illness. For the month of Dec. 2021, the risk of hospitalization in unvaccinated people as compared to people who had received an initial series of a COVID-19 vaccine was: Nine times higher in people ages 12-17 12 times higher […]
Today, the Oregon Health Authority’s Dr. Dean Sidelinger shared promising news about COVID-19 hospitalization and case rates, but also warned that we still need to work together to help Oregon defeat the pandemic. As Dr. Sidelinger reminds us, “Our ability to sustain this hopeful progress and ultimately regain the upper hand over the coming weeks, […]
For many people, Labor Day is a final opportunity to celebrate summer. Barbecues, gatherings with our friends, and last chance summer travels fill our plans. Once again, the COVID-19 pandemic means this holiday weekend will need to look different. You may have already made plans for the Labor Day weekend before Oregon saw cases and hospitalizations surge. If your plans involve outdoor large gatherings or indoor activities that put you and others at risk […]
Oregon continues to see high rates of COVID-19 patients being hospitalized. Our front line health care workers, and all of those who keep the hospitals running, like janitors, security staff, cafeteria personnel and those who greet the public, put themselves in the path of the rapidly spreading Delta variant every day. They are moms and dads. They are […]
As we see an increase in cases and hospitalizations, many of us may be remembering how we have flattened the curve when our hospitals and health care systems were threatened in the past. Let’s recommit to taking steps to protect ourselves, our loved ones and our communities. We can rise to the challenge. Get vaccinated […]
Getting diagnosed with COVID-19 can be scary. However, in addition to the safe and effective vaccines, we now have more treatments available that can reduce the severity of COVID-19 in those who have become infected. Monoclonal antibody (mAb) treatments have the potential to save lives and relieve the burden on Oregon’s health care system and […]
Today, Governor Kate Brown announced that Oregon had finalized contracts with the medical staffing companies Jogan Health Solutions and AMN Healthcare to deploy much needed health care personnel to health care facilities managing the ongoing surge of COVID-19 patients. “The deployment of crisis response teams should provide some welcome relief to our hospitals, particularly in […]
