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 […]

How to use regional COVID-19 data to make decisions about day-to-day life

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. […]

New data show far fewer hospitalizations for vaccinated and boosted people 

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 […]

Los datos actuales de COVID-19 son prometedores, pero la variante Delta aún “no termina”

El jueves, el Dr. Dean Sidelinger del Oregon Health Authority, compartió noticias prometedoras sobre las tasas de casos y hospitalizaciones por COVID-19, pero también advirtió que aún debemos trabajar juntos para ayudar a Oregón a vencer la pandemia. Como nos recuerda el Dr. Sidelinger, “Nuestra capacidad para mantener este progreso esperanzador y, en última instancia, […]

Current COVID-19 data shows promise, but the Delta variant is ‘far from finished’

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, […]

Protect friends and communities by staying safe this Labor Day weekend 

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 […]

Thanking our health care workers as hospitalizations are high across the state

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 […]

With vaccinations, precautions, and care, we can reverse the surge

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 […]

Medical staff deployed to support Oregon health care facilities facing surge of COVID-19 patients

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 […]

Bend doctor asks for everything possible to be done to help at this time

On Thursday, Aug. 19, Dr. Jeff Absalon, Chief Physician Executive for St. Charles Hospital in Bend, spoke about the crisis facing health systems and hospitals due to the COVID-19 surge. Soon after they lost a patient to COVID-19, Dr. Absalon arrived at the St. Charles Hospital Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in Bend. “Our nurses had […]