[ad_1]
Twenty counties have received approval from the Oregon Health Authority to speed up their immunization timelines. It’s not a huge acceleration. The approval means more than half of the state’s counties, all outside the Portland metropolitan area, will be able to immediately begin immunizing people who would have been eligible to receive vaccines starting Monday, April 5.
The people who may be able to roll up their sleeves a little earlier are part of “Phase 1B, Group 7,” which the state defines as frontline workers (as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), people living in multiple generational households and adults aged 16 and over with health problems that put them at increased risk of COVID-19.
The approved counties do not include the Portland metropolitan area, but they do cover a large portion of the state. In the Willamette Valley, Group 7 members from Benton, Lane and Marion counties are immediately eligible for the shots. On the coast, the counties of Lincoln and Coos were approved. In central Oregon, the approved list includes Crook, Deschutes, and Jefferson counties, as well as Josephine, Klamath, and Lake counties along the California border.
Counties in eastern Oregon include Grant, Harney, Malheur, Morrow, Sherman, Umatilla, Union, and Wheeler.
Oregon recently sped up vaccination deadlines to a full two weeks by setting a new eligibility date of April 5. Oregon officials also said all residents 16 and older would be eligible for the vaccine starting May 1.
Washington also announced new deadlines on Wednesday – setting a date of April 16 for all Washingtonians 16 and older to be eligible for vaccines.
[ad_2]
Source link