By Nicole Montesano • Staff Writer • 

More volunteers needed as more vaccines expected

Volunteers need not be medical professionals, said Health and Human Services Director Lindsey Manfrin. The county also needs people to help direct traffic outside and participants inside.

During a Zoom meeting of elected officials from the county this week, Manfrin said the county is providing vaccine doses to both the Sheridan federal prison and the county jail, but both are having their own medical staff administer the vaccines to prisoners.

Pressed on why other states seem to be getting their populations vaccinated more quickly, Manfrin said it wasn’t a question she could answer without more information.

Manfrin said the county is still receiving around 1,200 to 1,400 first doses of Moderna vaccine weekly, but it has been told to expect a large increase in April.

It’s not clear exactly how much the increase will be, she said, but her teams are preparing to administer anywhere from 6,000 to 10,000 doses a week.

Manfrin said the county is also receiving additional doses for second shots, which total about the same number as first shots given the preceding week, she said, and most people are showing up to receive their second dose.

As of Thursday, the county had given at least one dose to 21,818 people.

Yamhill County reported seven new cases of COVID-19 Thursday, continuing the low numbers the county has witnessed over the past few weeks. It has now seen a total of 3,869 cases, and 69 deaths.

New daily cases have dropped below 10 this week, sometimes to as low as just one new case, a trend that health authorities and business owners hope will continue.

Statewide, however, although deaths and hospitalizations dropped, new cases increased 31% for the week of March 8 through 14.

The state has reported up-and-down transmission trends over the past few weeks; new cases were down for the week of March 1, but up the week of Feb. 22.

On Thursday, the state reported 393 new cases and four deaths, bringing it to 2,353 deaths and 160,622 cases.

Manfrin said the decrease “is a very welcome reprieve for the health team,” but that “I do still want to remind people, continue follow public health guidance … so we can keep case rates low … and get to a place of more normalcy.”

Currently in Oregon people 65 and older, and people who are health care workers, first responders, educators or child care providers, are eligible for vaccination.

Another group becomes eligible on March 29, including: people 45 to 64 years old with underlying conditions; people who work in agriculture, seafood plants or food processing plants; and seasonal farm workers and people living in low-income senior housing, senior congregate and independent living settings.

The county is not yet taking registrations for that group.

People eligible for phase 1A or 1B group 1 should email covid@co.yamhill.or.us to register.

People who are 65 or older should continue to use the online form to register for notification when appointments become available. The form is online through the county’s website, at hhs.co.yamhill.or.us/publichealth/page/covid-19-vaccines.

The county is asking people not yet eligible not to register yet.

Anyone with questions may call 503-474-4100.

Oregon had planned to continue rolling eligibility categories out gradually over the coming months, but earlier this week, the Oregon Health Authority said it would comply with a demand from the federal government to make all residents eligible starting May 1.

It is unclear when there will be enough vaccine for everyone, the state noted.

Comments

oldeee

How about a number to call and volunteer?

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