Deschutes County approved to begin vaccinating K-12 teachers mycentraloregon.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from mycentraloregon.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Deschutes County gets state OK to begin vaccinating K-12 educators, staff
Expects to vaccinate 2,500 this weekend; child care providers, seniors to follow
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) Deschutes County announced Thursday it has received approval from the Oregon Health Authority to begin providing COVID-19 vaccines to local K-12 educators and staff.
The approval signals the start of vaccine delivery to residents in Phase 1B of the state’s vaccine framework.
Deschutes County and St. Charles Health System said they expect to provide vaccines to 2,500 K-12 teachers this weekend.
The county and St. Charles are coordinating with local school districts and private schools to notify employees directly and provide instructions on how educators can schedule vaccine appointments online.
Starting next week, St. Charles Health System and Deschutes County plan to begin hosting vaccination clinics at the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center. The clinics will be available to individuals in the phase 1a group by appointment only. "We are preparing to move vaccine clinics to the fairgrounds so that we can safely vaccinate more people faster," said Dr. Jeff Absalon, chief physician executive for St. Charles. "We are going to be ready to deploy vaccine to our community. But we also acknowledge the vaccine is in very short supply. We are striving to get as many doses here as possible." In a press conference today, Gov. Kate Brown and Oregon Health Authority Director Patrick Allen announced changes to eligibility requirements for the vaccine: Vaccination of the 1a group including health care providers, first responders, medically fragile children and their caretakers and those with intellectual disabilities continues. It is the only group eligible for v
St. Charles, Deschutes County moving vaccination clinics to fairgrounds
Residents will be able to sign up for info, vaccinations online
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) Starting next week, St. Charles Health System and Deschutes County plan to begin hosting vaccination clinics at the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center in Redmond.
Initially, the clinics will be available to individuals in the phase 1a group by appointment only, expanding to other high-priority groups, including educators, child care providers and seniors, in tandem with the state as outlined Friday by Gov. Kate Brown and the Oregon Health Authority.
“We are preparing to move vaccine clinics to the fairgrounds so that we can safely vaccinate more people faster,” said Dr. Jeff Absalon, chief physician executive for St. Charles. “We are going to be ready to deploy vaccine to our community. But we also acknowledge the vaccine is in very short supply. We are striving to get as many doses here as possible.”
Deschutes County Health Services is partnering with Oregon Health Authority to offer a free drive-thru COVID-19 testing event from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 13, at the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center. This testing event is open to anyone. No symptoms or ID are required to be tested. Participants are asked to wear a mask and register online at https://www.doineedacovid19test.com/Redmond OR 4369.html. Staff will be onsite to register those who are unable to preregister. Individuals will receive a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test and test results will be available in two to three days. "We are grateful to be able to provide an opportunity for our community to easily access free COVID-19 testing," said Deschutes County Public Health Director Nahad Sadr-Azodi. "This event will also allow our teams to prepare for future vaccine clinics at the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center."