Vaccines

Over the weekend, health systems and county public health departments worked to ramp up the number of doses administered. The focus: getting the COVID-19 vaccine to first responders and health-care workers who’ve been passed over or don’t work for a hospital system.

People want to know: when are my parents gonna get vaccinated? Teachers? Me? Apologies, but it gets really complicated.

Health officials are still working to vaccinate people in the first, 1A, phase of vaccinations including frontline health workers. It is still unclear when vaccinations will start in the second phase which includes groups like educators, people over the age of 75 and people with pre-existing conditions.

In Clark County, hospitals delivered about 5,000 out of 22,000 vaccine doses in the last four weeks, health officials say. Rural communities, with smaller numbers, report moving more efficiently.

Some hospitals have too much vaccine. Some don't have enough. And it's still unclear how doctors, dentists, caregivers, and nurses that don't work in hospitals will get the vaccine.

Cold-storage concerns, the holidays and confusion about when doses will arrive have all meant the vaccine isn't getting to health care workers as quickly as planned.

Oregon's COVID-19 vaccine rollout plan is moving ahead, despite another setback in shipment of doses.

The top military official with the federal vaccine effort spoke less than 24 hours after Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine became the second to win an emergency use authorization from the FDA.

The legislative branch of government is rapidly moving to receive the coronavirus vaccine, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi getting the shot on Friday and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell saying he will “in the coming days.”

The Oregon Heath Authority acknowledges it won't be able to vaccinate as many front-line workers and long-term care residents this month as previously thought.