OPB’s First Look: What Oregonians need to know about COVID-19 shots

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Good morning, Northwest.

Earlier this month, the governors of Oregon, Washington, California and Hawaii formed an alliance to release their own recommendations for the COVID-19 booster shot, countering guidance from the federal level that limited the shot to people aged 65 or older.

Now, the vaccine is again available at many retail pharmacies and clinics in Oregon and Washington.

If the changes in guidance are giving you emotional whiplash, you’re not alone. This morning, OPB health reporter Amelia Templeton outlines what we currently know about the COVID-19 vaccine: where it’s available, when to get it and more.

In other news, an Oregon man will receive more than $14 million after being wrongfully convicted for the death of his girlfriend over a decade ago — becoming the first person in state history to be granted a certificate of innocence.

We wrap up today’s newsletter with a flashback to 100 years ago, when a small, smart college was first established in Portland.

Here’s your First Look at Tuesday’s news.

— Sukhjot Sal

How to navigate getting the COVID-19 booster vaccine

This is the time of year when updated boosters for COVID-19 are typically available. But this year has been anything but typical.

Here’s a short guide to what we know – at present – about where COVID-19 vaccines are available and who qualifies for them in Oregon.

We’ll be updating this information as the situation continues to evolve. (Amelia Templeton)

Learn more

3 things to know this morning

• In 2011, a Coos County jury found Nicholas McGuffin guilty for the death of his girlfriend, Leah Freeman. Now, he’ll receive more than $14 million as part of a series of settlements after he was wrongfully convicted and imprisoned. (Conrad Wilson)
• The Trump administration has made it a lot more expensive to hire skilled workers from other countries through the H-1B visa, and the company most affected in Oregon could be sportswear giant Nike. (Kyra Buckley)
• This Portland City Councilor once dreamed of opening a hot dog stand, but he was thwarted by city regulations. Now he’s introducing a proposal to remove the bureaucratic barriers that he claims stifled his business dreams. (Alex Zielinski)

Headlines from around the Northwest

• I-5 bridge replacement slogs through permitting as costs rise (Mia Maldonado and Jerry Cornfield)
• More shrimp sold at Fred Meyer and other Kroger stores recalled for possible radioactive contamination (Associated Press)
• Spirit Airlines to furlough 1,800 flight attendants amid second bankruptcy (Rio Yamat)

Listen in on OPB’s daily conversation

Noon and 8 p.m. weekdays on OPB Radio, opb.org and the OPB News app. Today’s planned topics (subject to change):

• What Clark County’s housing hotline says about area’s housing, homelessness crisis

Intellectual hothouse: The history of Reed College

More than a century ago last week, a small liberal arts college was established in Portland with the sole mission of promoting the life of the mind.

Founded by a prominent minister and brought to life by a visionary young upstart president, Reed College soon became a well-regarded institution of higher learning nationally.

It also became something of a lightning rod for criticism locally. From campus radicalism to unconventional teaching methods to experiments with co-ed living arrangements, Reed weathered controversies as it strived to live up to its founders’ ideals — and is still today considered among the nation’s academic elites.

Subscribe to OPB’s First Look to receive Northwest news in your inbox six days a week.