It’s the moment that many have been waiting for all year: Vaccines designed to safeguard against the COVID-19 virus have arrived in Central Oregon. St. Charles Health System received its first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine Thursday, which arrived in the state earlier this week.
WATCH: St. Charles released a video Thursday of the arrival of its first doses:
In a press event Tuesday, representatives from St. Charles said the health system was scheduled to get 975 doses to start with—all of which were slated to go to caregivers at St. Charles, including those in Madras, Redmond and Prineville as well as Bend, who have already begun scheduling their inoculation times. In an internal survey, about 90% of medical staff said they would get the vaccine, St. Charles reported Tuesday.
The State of Oregon is expected to send additional doses within 21 days, when the second dose is needed. Both the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which already received emergency use authorization, and the Moderna vaccine, expected to be approved this week, require two doses.
Earlier this month, officials from the Oregon Health Authority said they anticipated having about 100,000 doses of coronavirus vaccine by the end of December, vaccinating both frontline health care workers as well as “very high risk individuals.”
This article appears in Dec 16-23, 2020.
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Deschutes County veterans are strongly encouraged to enroll and follow the Veterans Administration COVID 19 updates to include vaccination opportunities.
We have a very high trans-generational Veteran population – you can discover the percentage of Veterans living in your zip code using this site –
http://www.centraloregonhealthdata.org/ind…
Our population is a high risk population due to age, service connected illnesses and disabilities, and co-occurring conditions that can be exacerbated by the virus.
Check in with the VA – get enrolled – and follow the guidelines provided. “No Fallen Comrade Left Behind”.
“COVID-19 vaccines: Stay informed and help us prepare
We’re working to get COVID-19 vaccines to Veterans as quickly and safely as possible based on CDC guidelines and available supply. We need your help to prepare. And we want to keep you informed at every step.
“Sign up below to help us understand your interest in getting a vaccine. We’ll send you updates on how we’re providing vaccines across the country—and when you can get your vaccine if you want one. We’ll also offer information and answers to your questions along the way.”
https://www.va.gov/health-care/covid-19-va…
“In Deschutes County and throughout the country, veterans are a major focus of the American Community Survey (ACS), conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, publishes detailed estimates on the veteran population each year.”
https://www.livestories.com/statistics/ore…