First COVID-19 vaccinations begin in Oregon
By GILLIAN FLACCUSDecember 16, 2020 GMT
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) Oregon hospitals administered the first coronavirus vaccines in the state Wednesday to nurses, respiratory therapists, housekeeping workers and other health care employees in high-risk jobs, marking the beginning of a broad vaccination campaign in a state that’s seen more than 1,200 COVID-19 deaths since the pandemic began.
Those vaccinated during the coordinated event streamed live over the internet were from Legacy Health System and Oregon Health & Science University in Portland and Saint Alphonsus Medical Center on the Oregon-Idaho border. Vaccine shipments to other hospitals, including Salem Hospital, will continue to arrive this week.
First Oregon healthcare workers receive COVID-19 vaccinations
Governor Kate Brown, state health officials, and hospitals in the Portland area streamed live as the first few healthcare workers received doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
Posted: Dec 16, 2020 12:03 PM
Updated: Dec 16, 2020 2:09 PM
Posted By: Jamie Parfitt / Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. Governor Kate Brown, state health officials, and hospitals in the Portland area streamed live on Wednesday morning as the first few healthcare workers received doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. The first shipments of the vaccine arrived in-state on Monday, and are now being distributed to medical providers around the state.
Legacy Health and Oregon Health & Science University in Portland and Saint Alphonsus Medical Center on the Oregon-Idaho border are among those that began vaccinating staff Wednesday.
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December 16, 2020
JUNEAU, Alaska Health officials in Alaska reported a health care worker had a severe allergic reaction to a COVID-19 vaccine within 10 minutes of receiving a shot.
U.S. health authorities warned doctors to be on the lookout for rare allergic reactions when they rolled out the first vaccine, made by Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech. Britain had reported a few similar allergic reactions a week earlier.
The Juneau health worker began feeling flushed and short of breath on Tuesday, says Dr. Lindy Jones, the emergency room medical director at Bartlett Regional Hospital. She was treated with epinephrine and other medicines for what officials ultimately determined was anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction. She was kept overnight but has recovered.
Oregon sets record with 54 coronavirus deaths
December 16, 2020 GMT
SALEM, Ore. (AP) Oregon announced Tuesday a record high of 54 coronavirus deaths, bringing the state’s death toll to 1,214 people.
The Oregon Health Authority also recorded 1,129 new confirmed or presumptive COVID-19 cases, bringing the statewide total to 96,092.
State health officials said a surge of cases in November contributed to the high number of deaths reported Tuesday because of delays tallying death certificates in some cases.
The grim news comes as Oregon hospitals prepare to administer the first COVID-19 vaccines to health care workers.
Legacy Health and Oregon Health & Science University in Portland and Saint Alphonsus Hospital in Ontario are among those that will begin vaccinating staff at their facilities Wednesday, according to Gov. Kate Brown’s office.
The first doses of a COVID-19 vaccine were administered in Oregon on Wednesday, beginning a process that wonât likely be finished until summer.
Two Portland-area hospitals and one in Ontario, in Malheur County, took part in a live video feed of the first doses of the Pfizer vaccine being administered to health care workers. The vaccine requires two shots, with about three weeks in between.
Gov. Kate Brown said it had been 292 days since the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in Oregon.
âThis is truly the moment we have all been waiting for,â Brown said during the event. âThe beginning of the next chapter of the epidemic.â