[ad_1]
A group of Oregonians tasked with recommending who should be next in line for coronavirus inoculations spent much of their first substantive meeting on Thursday basing themselves on the fundamentals of the state’s immunization program and explaining how health systems have disadvantaged minorities.
The 27-member Vaccine Advisory Committee is responsible for advising the Oregon Health Authority on who should get vaccinated against the coronavirus vaccine once healthcare workers, residents and staff at senior care were vaccinated, with particular emphasis on ensuring that historically marginalized groups receive vaccines.
“The systems are created in such a way that they completely disconnect from the reality of working with people,” said Marin Arreola, committee member, director of a group that helps non-English speakers access health care. “And for me, it’s really important to deal with this trauma and make people feel not left out but valued.”
The Oregon Health Authority convened the group as part of its goal to “tackle structural racism and other forms of systemic oppression” to ensure marginalized and hard-hit communities can access the vaccine.
Members of those communities, including Latinos, Pacific Islanders, blacks and people with disabilities, took turns on Thursday to share doubts their respective groups have about the health system, including the reluctance of some to to get vaccinated.
“This community does not trust any system of any form of government,” said Musse Olol, president of the Somali American Council of Oregon. “And that’s the very reason I joined this group.”
The three-hour committee meeting did not result in a decision on the appropriate order of vaccination. A proposal for a vote on whether the group should approve the efficacy of coronavirus vaccines has been tabled until the next meeting so members can find out more.
Oregon has yet to immunize the approximately 360,000 healthcare workers, as well as the residents and senior care workers who are the first to be vaccinated. About 65,000 Oregon residents have so far received at least one vaccine against the coronavirus, according to state data.
At the governor’s request, the state’s roughly 75,000 educators will likely be next, along with inmates, who will be vaccinated to avoid a trial against a prisoner, the Oregon Health Authority director of public health said.
“I just wanted to be really frank and clear about the decision points that were made,” said Rachael Banks, tempering the committee’s expectations regarding the scope of his affecting.
The advisory committee does not have the power to direct certain decisions of health authorities, but will advise the agency on who should get vaccinated after priority groups in the state.
The committee should meet at least once a week for the next five weeks before making recommendations.
Patrick Allen, director of the Oregon Health Authority, said his agency would follow the committee’s recommendations.
“We will be following your responses because you represent the communities most directly affected by the coronavirus,” Allen said at the meeting.
Allen’s agency created the committee to help ensure that some of the most needy groups are not overlooked for early access to the vaccine. Blacks in Oregon, for example, had more than twice as many cases per 100,000 population as whites, according to the Oregon Health Authority, and Hispanics had four times as many cases per 100,000 population as non-Hispanics.
The group seemed to be facing a learning curve.
Zhenya Abbruzzese, a member of the committee representing the Oregon Slavic community, wanted to establish that everyone was in favor of the coronavirus vaccine, asking if members were “willing to put our credibility behind and promote it to our people. communities ”.
At least one member said she didn’t know enough about the vaccine and the committee cast a vote on the matter until its members had a chance to find out more.
The committee will meet again on January 14.
Do you have any advice? Get in touch.
– Fedor Zarkhin
[email protected] | 503-294-7674
[ad_2]
Source link