As Oregon stumbles to get vaccines distributed to certain selected members of the public, Oregon Governor Kate Brown visited Salem Health's vaccination clinic at the Oregon State Fairgrounds, where she visited with Oregon National Guard members who are administering vaccines at the clinic, spoke with community members in the 1a vaccination group who were attending the clinic, and met with officials from Salem Health. The Governor was joined by Adjutant General Michael Stencel, Salem Health President and CEO Cheryl Wolfe, and Salem Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ralph Yates.

"Today I had the opportunity to visit with Jason, a hospice care worker who received a COVID-19 vaccine administered by Private First Class Juan Rojas," said Governor Brown. "It's truly overwhelming. As a hospice worker, not only does Jason make people feel more comfortable as they're nearing the end of their lives, he also provides massage therapy for cancer patients. With this vaccination, we're going to make sure Jason can continue this important and honorable work.

"I am very proud of the leadership of Salem Health, who stood up this vaccination clinic on their own, and who are vaccinating hundreds of people a day. They also have a great partner with the Oregon National Guard, who are providing vaccination support. We are working to develop more partnerships like this one—in communities large and small across the state—to get Oregonians vaccinated as quickly as possible."

As of this point in time, the Oregon Health Authority is reporting that 133,090 persons have been vaccinated in Oregon, or about 3% of the population. The daily record for vaccines is 12,039 on January 8. Even at that record pace, it would take over a year to get all Oregonians vaccinated.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2021-01-15 08:02:33