Oregon to start COVID-19 vaccinations of teachers Jan. 25, seniors 80+ to wait until Feb. 8 – OregonLive

Gov. Kate Brown laid into the federal government Friday, blaming its empty promises to increase COVID-19 vaccine shipments as the reason she is postponing the date older Oregonians will be eligible to get vaccinated by two to five weeks.

Instead of opening vaccinations to all residents ages 65 and older starting Jan. 23, as she announced days earlier, Brown said shed now allow Oregonians ages 80 and older to start vaccinations Feb. 8, followed by ages 75-plus on Feb. 15, 70-plus on Feb. 22 and 65-plus on March 1.

At the same time, Brown said she would move forward with her plans to prioritize the states day care, preschool and K-12 school employees -- allowing them to receive vaccinations starting as early as this week, with most eligible beginning Jan. 25.

The governors announcement Friday came after a wild 24 hours in which state officials learned a Tuesday pledge from the federal government wouldnt result in up to 225,000 more vaccine doses for Oregon. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar had promised to release the federal governments entire supply of vaccine doses, rather than holding second shots in reserve, and he also called for states to open vaccinations to residents who are 65 and older or have underlying health conditions. Azar had made no recommendations about vaccinating teachers or other school employees -- Brown did that Tuesday on her own initiative.

By Thursday evening and into Friday morning, however, many states learned the additional stockpile wasnt coming because it doesnt exist -- the federal government had already shipped out its second doses. Brown was among several governors across the country who expressed outrage over the ensuing confusion.

I am shocked and appalled that the federal government would set an expectation with the American people -- on which they knew they could not deliver -- with such grave consequences, Brown said during a news conference Friday after blasting the feds on Twitter for deception on a national scale.

Azar, responding to Browns comments during an interview on NBC News, suggested Brown failed to listen to information his agency provided and was out to score political points: Every piece of data about this is completely transparent.

At the news conference Friday, Brown received pointed questions asking why she is prioritizing teachers and other school employees before older Oregonians, who are most at risk of dying from COVID-19. Since the pandemic began, 91% of people whove died in Oregon have been age 60 or older. That age group makes up 25% of the population.

The statistics grow grimmer for the oldest Oregonians, with people 80 and older accounting for 53% of deaths but comprising only 4% of the population.

State officials at times struggled to articulate their decision, with Oregon Health Authority Director Patrick Allen at one point incorrectly saying the age group accounted for only 30% of deaths. Allen later apologized and said he mixed up his numbers.

Brown responded that many of the seniors at highest risk of dying -- those living in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities -- have already been offered a vaccination.

Statistics suggest a two-week delay rolling out the vaccine to older Oregonians could add up to at least 140 more deaths at the current rate. The numbers could be higher given the expected longer waits for those between the ages of 65 to 79.

Pressed on her decision in light of those figures, Brown said seniors are an important priority.

We have worked very hard to protect and care for our seniors, Brown said. Im absolutely committed to getting this population vaccinated as quickly as we can.

Facing a limited supply of vaccines and difficult choices, Brown said she is gravely concerned about the education of children, who are struggling academically and emotionally through online learning because the vast majority of classrooms in Oregon have remained closed since March. She said the youngest elementary students especially need to get back to in-person learning and vaccinating school staff is a necessary step. Children younger than 16 arent allowed to be inoculated anywhere in the U.S. because vaccines havent been proven safe yet in their age group.

I know of families where 12 and 13 year olds are committed, committing, attempting suicide, Brown said. I talked with the CEO and president of Salem Health on my vaccination tour this week. She is hearing of many 11 and 12 year olds attempting suicide.

The Oregonian/OregonLive asked Salem Health representative for more details about the conversation the governor had with the CEO but did not immediately hear back. The Oregon Health Authority did not report an increase in suicides among the general population in the first nine months of 2020 compared to the same time in 2019, according to an OPB report last month.

Many Oregon parents and educators alike are highly concerned that students are lagging farther behind in school than their counterparts in areas of the country whove kept in-person classes in session. Research shows remote-learning students falling months behind in reading and math. The gap is more pronounced among low-income, Black and Latino children.

The governor said Oregon is home to about 100,000 childcare, preschool and K-12 educators, and that itll take only about two weeks to vaccinate all of them before moving onto seniors. In contrast, U.S. Census figures show there are about 767,000 Oregonians age 65 and older. The state estimates it will take about 12 weeks to vaccinate the entire group of seniors who live independently and have not yet been vaccinated.

At least a dozen states already started vaccinating their elderly residents or had announced they were just about to start before confusion over Azars statements. Only two of the 12 -- Hawaii and Michigan -- are vaccinating both teachers and seniors.

In a videotaped address posted to social media, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said his state has vaccinated more than 500,000 people aged 65 and older, far more, he said, than any other.

Depending on the source, Florida ranks first or second among 50 U.S. states for the highest proportion of residents 65 or older. Oregon ranks 12th.

Im not going to rest until every senior that wants a shot, gets a shot, said DeSantis, whose state has not yet opened vaccinations up to teachers. ... To our seniors -- we will continue to put you first.

Despite the delayed schedule Brown outlined Friday -- pushing vaccination eligibility past Jan. 23 for seniors and school employees -- the revised timelines are nonetheless ahead of initial expectations that Oregon might not begin expanding eligibility until sometime in mid- to late February.

Officials said theyll be able to expand eligibility beyond health care workers, long-term care residents and others based on doses they have now and doses scheduled to be delivered in the weeks ahead. And Brown said shell demand answers from the Trump administration, whose empty promises are literally playing with peoples lives.

Starting next week, Allen, the Oregon Health Authority director, said Oregonians will be able to talk to someone in a call center who can answer questions about their eligibility and where they can go to get immunized.

Next Wednesday, the Portland areas largest hospital systems -- Legacy Health, Oregon Health & Science University, Providence Health & Services and Kaiser Permanente -- plan to begin jointly operating a mass vaccination center for eligible residents at the Oregon Convention Center. Its goal is to begin inoculating 5,000 people per a day.

That wont include ages 65 and older for the first few weeks.

Portland resident Raymond Becich, 76, was devastated to learn Brown is delaying vaccinations for seniors. He described Fridays news conference as a blame game.

I just cant believe I am seeing seniors in other states getting vaccinated and we are out in the cold here in Oregon, he said.

Becich, who has hypertension and diabetes, said he worries the state may postpone its timeline for seniors again.

This is very important for me, he said. Its a matter of life or death.

-- Aimee Green; agreen@oregonian.com; @o_aimee

Reporters Andrew Theen and Brad Schmidt contributed to this report.

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Oregon to start COVID-19 vaccinations of teachers Jan. 25, seniors 80+ to wait until Feb. 8 - OregonLive