What’s next with COVID-19 vaccines or boosters?

Updated 4/4/2023 – This post was updated with a link to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s website for the current schedule of COVID-19 vaccinations. Available in Spanish A lot of people want to know the answer to this question. For example, will federal health officials authorize a second dose of the bivalent booster? […]

Improved race and ethnicity data leads to changes in vaccination rates

Starting on Sept. 14, 2022, OHA’s COVID-19 Vaccination Metrics dashboard will include updated population estimates for race and ethnicity data at the state and county level. OHA worked closely with Portland State University’s Population Research Center to incorporate the latest data and methodology from the 2020 American Community Survey (ACS), leading to better estimates of the […]

A pharmacist goes above and beyond to protect people from COVID-19

Available in Spanish On a hazy summer day in 2021, the crew of a cargo ship off the coast of Oregon had an unlikely visitor. Sandy Le, a Portland pharmacist, approached in a small boat. Through whipping winds she climbed aboard, onto the gangway, with a supply of COVID-19 vaccines in tow. The people on […]

On the road: bringing COVID-19 vaccines and health care to the people

Available in Spanish Getting health care and COVID-19 vaccines to the rural areas of 1,000-square-mile Clatsop County has been challenging at times, but a new mobile health clinic is changing that. This summer, the county was able to buy a mobile health clinic funded by a grant from the Oregon Health Authority. “The van has […]

Add COVID-19 vaccines and boosters to your back-to-school list

Available in Spanish Summer vacation is almost over, and back-to-school time is upon us. No matter how you and your learners like to prepare for the start of the school year—shopping for new folders, catching up on summer reading or soaking up the remaining sunny days—be sure to add getting caught up COVID-19 vaccinations to […]

La propagación de las subvariantes BA.4 y BA.5 de COVID-19 refuerza la necesidad de vacunación y refuerzos

Las subvariantes BA.4 y BA.55 de Ómicron ahora son las variantes predominantes de COVID-19 en Oregon y en todo Estados Unidos. Esto ha llevado a un aumento de las hospitalizaciones (datos en inglés) relacionadas con COVID-19, incluidas las admisiones en la Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos (ICU, por sus siglas en inglés). BA.4 y BA.5 son […]

Spread of BA.4 and BA.5 COVID-19 subvariants reinforces need for vaccination and boosters

Available in Spanish The BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants are now the predominant COVID-19 variants in Oregon and across the United States. They have led to rising COVID-19-related hospitalizations, including ICU admissions. BA.4 and BA.5 are slightly more transmissible than the BA.2 Omicron subvariant, which was significantly more transmissible than the early COVID-19 variants. While […]

FDA panel recommends COVID-19 vaccines for children under age 5

To read this story in Spanish, click here. Update, June 17: The FDA released a statement this morning authorizing the use of both Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines down to age 6 months. Moderna’s vaccine is also now FDA-authorized for children ages 6 months through 17 years. The vaccine was already authorized for people age 18 […]

Severe side effects from COVID-19 vaccination are rare

To read this story in Spanish, click here. The most common reason people have not received a COVID-19 booster dose is concern about side effects, according to a recent survey of our readers. With eight reasons to choose from, 37% chose “I had side effects and I don’t want to go through that again.” Some […]

United States passes 1 million COVID-19-related deaths, nearly 15 million excess deaths globally

To read this story in Spanish, click here. More than 1 million people in the United States have died from COVID-19. It is a somber number. Older adults have been hit especially hard–744,825 people over age 65 have died as of May 18. In at least 90% of the 1 million deaths, COVID-19 has been […]