Oregon reports 909 new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases, 19 new deaths
PORTLAND, Ore. — There are 19 new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 5,527, Oregon Health Authority (OHA) reported at 12:01 a.m. Thursday. OHA reported 909 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. Thursday, bringing the state total to 404,229.
OHA releases new COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough report
OHA’s most recent update on COVID-19 breakthrough cases, released Thursday, found that 69.8% of the 4,983 reported COVID-19 cases between Dec. 5 through Oct. 11, occurred in people who were unvaccinated. There were 1,507 breakthrough cases, accounting for 30.2% of all cases. The average age of the breakthrough cases during that period was 44. Nineteen breakthrough cases involved residents of care facilities, senior living communities or other congregate care settings. There were 53 cases in people ages 12 to 17. To date, there have been 49,250 COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough cases in Oregon. The average age of all cases is 47. Breakthrough cases have been reported in all 36 counties. Cases of COVID-19 are far more common in unvaccinated people. The report shows that the rate of COVID-19 in unvaccinated people is currently four times higher than in vaccinated people. To date, 4.4% of all vaccine breakthrough cases have been hospitalized and 1.3% have died. The average age of vaccinated people who died was 81. Vaccination remains the most effective tool to reduce the spread of COVID-19. To date, more than 3 million Oregonians have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
COVID-19 Hospitalizations
The number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 across Oregon is 389, which is nine more than Wednesday. There are 96 COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit (ICU) beds, which is two more than Wednesday. There are 57 available adult ICU beds out of 694 total (8% availability) and 239 available adult non-ICU beds out of 4,136 (6% availability). The total number of patients in hospital beds may fluctuate between report times. The numbers do not reflect admissions per day, nor the length of hospital stay. Staffing limitations are not captured in this data and may further limit bed capacity. Note: Please do not visit an emergency department for COVID-19 testing, unless you require emergency care for your symptoms. Emergency departments in Oregon are under significant strain. You can find a test here. If you have a medical condition that doesn’t require emergency care, contact your provider. An urgent care center may also help you get the care you need and will save emergency departments from added strain.
Vaccinations in Oregon
Thursday, OHA reported that 28,283 new doses of COVID-19 vaccinations were added to the state immunization registry Dec. 15. Of that total, 1,770 were initial doses, 1,564 were second doses and 9,738 were third doses and booster doses. The remaining 13,172 were administered on previous days but were entered into the vaccine registry Dec. 15. The seven-day running average is now 21,513 doses per day. Oregon has now administered 3,673,741 doses of Pfizer Comirnaty, 138,188 doses of Pfizer pediatric, 2,403,152 doses of Moderna and 251,514 doses of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines. As of Thursday, 3,006,825 people have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 2,735,236 people have completed a COVID-19 vaccine series. These data are preliminary and subject to change. Updated vaccination data are provided on Oregon’s COVID-19 data dashboards and have been updated Thursday.
COVID-19 Cases
The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported Thursday are in the following counties: Baker (3), Benton (15), Clackamas (88), Clatsop (17), Columbia (11), Coos (29), Crook (5), Curry (4), Deschutes (60), Douglas (25), Hood River (3), Jackson (67), Jefferson (9), Josephine (25), Klamath (10), Lake (1), Lane (65), Lincoln (16), Linn (36), Malheur (2), Marion (76), Morrow (3), Multnomah (133), Polk (28), Tillamook (10), Umatilla (14), Union (1), Wallowa (1), Wasco (5), Washington (121), and Yamhill (26).