Oregon reports 1,046 new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases, 42 new deaths
PORTLAND, Ore. — There are 42 new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 5,228 the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) reported at 12:01 a.m. Thursday. OHA reported 1,046 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. Thursday, bringing the state total to 393,232.

OHA releases new COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough report
OHA’s most recent update on COVID-19 breakthrough cases, released Thursday, found that 71.3% of the 4,134 reported COVID-19 cases between Nov. 21 and Nov. 27 occurred in unvaccinated people. There were 1,186 breakthrough cases, accounting for 28.7% of all cases. The average age of the breakthrough cases during that period was 45. Twenty-eight breakthrough cases involved residents of care facilities, senior living communities or other congregate care settings. There were 45 cases in people aged 12 to 17. To date, there have been 45,545 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 four times higher than in vaccinated people. To date, 4.4% of all vaccine breakthrough cases have been hospitalized and 1.2% 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. .

COVID-19 Hospitalizations
The number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 across Oregon is 384, which is 20 fewer than Wednesday. There are 90 COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit (ICU) beds, which is two fewer than Wednesday. There are 49 available adult ICU beds out of 691 total (7% availability) and 312 available adult non-ICU beds out of 4,078 (8% 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.  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 26,172 new doses of COVID-19 vaccinations were added to the state immunization registry on Dec. 1. Of that total, 2,278 were initial doses, 4,024 were second doses and 10,485 were third doses and booster doses. The remaining 9,295 were administered on previous days but were entered into the vaccine registry on Dec. 1. The seven-day running average is now 11,810 doses per day. Oregon has now administered 3,530,606 doses of Pfizer Comirnaty, 75,802 doses of Pfizer pediatric, 2,275,997 doses of Moderna and 244,417 doses of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines. Note: Thursday’s cumulative total doses of Pfizer Comirnaty vaccine is lower than yesterday’s total. This is due to the removal of duplicate doses found during data reconciliation. As of today, 2,955,159 people have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 2,667,597 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 today are in the following counties: Baker (7), Benton (19), Clackamas (84), Clatsop (2), Columbia (26), Coos (36), Crook (22), Curry (7), Deschutes (83), Douglas (41), Harney (6), Hood River (6), Jackson (86), Jefferson (17), Josephine (43), Klamath (18), Lane (70), Lincoln (6), Linn (64), Malheur (3), Marion (62), Multnomah (157), Polk (22), Tillamook (5), Umatilla (7), Union (3), Wallowa (2), Wasco (8), Washington (117), and Yamhill (17).