READ FULL STORY: Oregon predicts staggering omicron infections, hospitalizations; expands vaccination efforts dramatically
Gov. Kate Brown held a press conference on Friday to discuss Oregon’s ongoing response to COVID-19 as the state braces for rapid spread of the omicron variant.
Brown was joined by representatives from the Oregon Health Authority and Oregon Health & Science University.
The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 topped 800,000 on Tuesday, a once-unimaginable figure seen as doubly tragic, given that more than 200,000 of those lives were lost after the vaccine became available practically for the asking last spring. In Oregon, which has maintained low death rates through the pandemic, nearly half of all fatalities have occurred since the delta surge.
The Oregon Health Authority on Thursday reported 909 new known cases of COVID-19 and 19 deaths.
The state also released a new vaccine breakthrough report showing that 70 percent of the 4,983 reported COVID-19 cases between Dec. 5 and Dec. 11 occurred in people who were not vaccinated or not fully vaccinated. The other 30 percent were among fully vaccinated individuals, roughly in line with the share of breakthrough infections in recent weeks.
But officials are worried breakthrough infections could spike in the weeks ahead as early evidence indicates omicron can evade baseline vaccine protections. About 2.5 million Oregon adults are fully vaccinated, but less than 1 million have received booster shots, and officials are pushing boosters as the best defense among the fully vaccinated against the emerging variant.
The average age of the breakthrough cases during that period was 44. To date, there have been 49,250 COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough cases in Oregon. The average age is 47, and such cases have been reported in all 36 counties.
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.
Visit our our Coronavirus at a glance page for the latest Oregon COVID-19 numbers, maps and charts to keep you up to date.
– The Oregonian/OregonLive
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