ONTARIO
Approaching its first year in the community this month, the Malheur County Health Departmentâs Walk-Thru Wednesday program is going strong. An essential service that was launched just after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020, Walk-Thru Wednesday is a PRIME Peer program aimed at providing peer-based harm reduction support for people who use drugs.
âThe purpose of Walk-Thru Wednesday is to meet people where theyâre at,â said Hannah Roy, certified recovery mentor for the health department.
Every Wednesday from noon to 3 p.m., Roy and other peers set up at Mallard Grocery in Ontario to offer resources, such as safer-use supplies and syringes, hygiene and wound care kits, safe sex supplies, educational materials, information about hepatitis and HIV testing and links to treatment when needed, and referral to other support programs, including Oregon Health Plan application assistance, WIC, family planning and home visiting.
WESTERN TREASURE VALLEY
The Argus Observer is reaching out to public health officials this morning regarding the breaking national news about the U.S. ârecommending a âpauseâ in administration of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine,â as reported by the Associated Press early this morning.
Many will likely be meeting this morning to discuss the development.
Erika Harmon, public information officer for the Malheur County Health Department said that is what she and Director Sarah Poe will be doing this morning, after their weekly staff meeting wraps up.
Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration are investigating reports of potentially dangerous blood clots, with six women reportedly having developed them âdays after vaccination, in combination with reduced platelet counts.â
MALHEUR COUNTY
COVID-19 cases in Malheur County are low enough now that as of Friday, the county will go into the lowest risk category of four risk levels, ranging from âextreme riskâ to âlower risk,â as established by Gov. Kate Brown. This also moves the county out of a two-week caution period.
Malheur County has been in the âmoderate riskâ level since Feb. 26. Prior to that, the county had been in âextreme riskâ restrictions since Nov. 18, 2020; that was meant to be a two-week âpause,â however, Brown extended it indefinitely on Dec. 3.
Moving up and down in categories is based on new case counts and test positivity rate. For Malheur County, from March 21 to April 3, there were 15 new cases, and a 2.9% test positivity rate, according to data from the Oregon Health Authority.
Malheur County officials continue to push state to reduce COVID-19 restrictions
The health director told KTVB the only reason spread isn t considered low-risk is because of how the state has Malheur County categorized. Author: Joey Prechtl Updated: 10:13 PM MDT April 1, 2021
BOISE, Idaho Nearly everyone in Malheur County is now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. This week, the Governor’s Office approved a Malheur County request to expand the eligibility within the county.
Now, people who are eligible include frontline workers, people living in multi-generational households, anyone age 16 and older with an underlying health condition, and those people from previous eligible groups.