News & Stories for Oregonians
There is some confusion about the new name for the COVID-19 vaccine produced by Pfizer-BioNTech. Here’s what the Pfizer-BioNTech company website says about the name: “Comirnaty is the new name for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. Once a drug or other intervention receives FDA approval the manufacturer typically gives it a brand name, and Comirnaty is […]
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted full approval to the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine, which will be marketed as “Comirnaty.” Under the newly granted FDA approval, Comirnaty will be available to all people ages 16 and older to prevent COVID-19 disease. Under Emergency Use Authorization, the vaccine will continue to be available […]
Today, OHA’s Medical Director of Respiratory Viral Pathogens Dr. Melissa Sutton spoke with medical officials from across the state to provide an update on the COVID-19 situation in Oregon. Here’s what you need to know. New CDC data displays further proof of vaccine effectiveness Dr. Sutton highlighted information from the Centers for Disease Control and […]
If you are preparing to send your child back to the classroom this fall, you may have questions about vaccinating them against COVID-19. It’s OK to have questions. Reliable sources of information include the CDC, the FDA and OHA’s website. For personal questions, your health care provider is your best source for you and your family. They have firsthand knowledge of the vaccine, how it works and what […]
We continue to see questions surfacing online about the Delta variant (B.1.617.2) and its effect on the COVID-19 situation in Oregon. To get some answers to those questions, we sat down with OHA Senior Health Advisor Dr. Shimi Sharief to dive a little deeper into the matter. You can find a recording of the full interview, […]
Because some people with COVID-19 can have very mild symptoms, some may see natural infection as preferable to receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. The fact is that natural immunity or protection from COVID-19 is not preferable to getting vaccinated. While it’s true that having COVID-19 may create some protection, known as natural immunity, to COVID-19, at […]
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) […]
On Wednesday, April 28, our experts answered post-vaccination questions. You can watch a recording of the video below and use the timestamps listed to jump to specific questions: 10:13 – How effective are the vaccines against the variants? 11:01 – What do I do if I lose my vaccination card? 11:38 – Will county-based restrictions be the same for […]
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 […]
COVID-19 can have serious, life-threatening complications, and there is no way to know how COVID-19 will affect you, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And if you do get sick, you could spread the disease to people you care about. Natural protection, also known as immunity, may come from getting COVID-19, but evidence suggests that reinfection with the virus that causes […]
