Portland’s First Mass COVID-19 Vaccination Site Opened Today: Here’s What You Need To Know

Leaders from the four largest hospital systems in the Portland area on Wednesday celebrated the opening of the Portland area’s first mass COVID-19 vaccination site at the Oregon Convention Center in northeast Portland.

The site hosted a smooth opening on Wednesday for around 1,500 healthcare workers and others in Phase 1a of the vaccine rollout who are eligible to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The site plans to begin immunizing approximately 2,000 early childhood, kindergarten, and kindergarten to grade 12 workers per day.

The site is expected to be open seven days a week by appointment only. Organizers say educators will be contacted by their employers with instructions on how to make appointments.

Officials plan to offer an online or phone reservation system before vaccines are made available to segments of the general population unrelated to particular employers – such as the planned rollout for Oregonians aged 80 and over. more from February 8.

The site could increase to 7,500 vaccinations a day or more – if Oregon’s vaccine allocations by the federal government allow.

“This is not a short-term event, we will have it open for months,” said Wendy Watson, chief operating officer of Kaiser Permanente Northwest, at a press conference Wednesday with the four hospital systems. who will manage the site.

Joining Kaiser are Legacy Health, Providence Health & Services, and Oregon Health & Science University.

Organizers expect it to be the main vaccination center in the Portland area, although the OHSU is planning a smaller drive-thru vaccination site in one of the Portland International Airport parking lots. . The state also plans to rely on some mobile vaccination sites to provide access to vaccination to hard-to-reach communities.

Asked by a reporter why the Oregon Convention Center site is vaccinating people indoors, where the coronavirus and especially its more contagious British variant can spread more easily, organizers said people would be spaced at least 6 feet and the organizers believe the site will be safe. Watson said bad weather was one of the reasons vaccinations weren’t held outdoors. Another was that a drive-thru site could not immunize as many people each day as the indoor site.

“In and out, it’s pretty quick,” Watson said.

The new Portland site is one of Oregon’s few mass vaccination sites. This includes one at the Polk County Fairgrounds and another at the State Fairgrounds in Salem. This week, educators began receiving vaccinations in Marion County – days before the state’s official start date for vaccinations for daycare, preschool and kindergarten to grade 12 workers on the 25th. January, according to KATU.

Oregon administered about 225,000 doses on Wednesday as the rate of inoculations accelerated from a slow deployment. In fact, Patrick Allen, director of the Oregon Health Authority, said the big problem Oregon faces right now is getting enough vaccines to vaccination sites.

“Every vaccinator that we had contact with in the past week, while doing 15,000 vaccinations a day, requested more vaccines that just weren’t available to assign to them,” Allen said.

Allen said that although the federal government provides the vaccines at no direct cost to vaccine recipients, health systems will be reimbursed for their operational costs of operating the Portland vaccination site. Allen said the Oregon Health Plan, Medicare, private insurance, or a special fund for people without insurance would pay health systems a set amount for each vaccination. But since that will likely not cover their expenses, the state is considering dipping into federal money recently passed by Congress for coronavirus-related costs.

On December 16, Oregon began immunizing healthcare workers, residents of long-term care facilities and other healthcare professionals. Governor Kate Brown then prioritizes teachers, followed by Oregonians 80 and older, with a fairness committee ready to make its recommendations heard before the governor fixes the order after that.

Trent Green, COO of Legacy Health, asked for the public’s patience as the site grows.

“I know people are anxious,” Green said. “After months of this pandemic, it’s really hard to wait. I can tell you that our phones are ringing fast and people want to know when and where they can be vaccinated. “

Green continued, “Calling your doctor’s office or calling the hospital can’t speed up the process. Calling your doctor or hospital also cannot change what stage you are in.

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– Aimee Green; [email protected]