When will Oregon EMS workers receive COVID-19 vaccine? – KOIN.com

Oregon nurses and doctors have been receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. Are EMTs and paramedics next in line?

by: Amanda Arden

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) Oregons first frontline medical workers began receiving the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine Wednesday, and an official with Metro West Ambulance says the states first EMS workers will likely be vaccinated by the end of this week.

KOIN 6 News spoke to Shawn Baird, vice president of rural services for the Metro West family of companies, on Monday. Hes been communicating with the Oregon Health Authority on distributing the vaccine to paramedics and EMTs.

According to Baird, the first group of EMS workers who will receive the vaccine, among the Metro West companies, will be in Clatsop County. Their vaccinations will likely occur before the end of the week. Baird said these EMS workers are receiving them first because theyve partnered with a hospital in Astoria to receive an allocation of vaccines.

Baird said its hard to say which EMS workers will receive the vaccines next. It depends on availability and on how each county distributes them.

Hopefully over the coming weeks, with any luck, theyre talking about numbers that we could, maybe, by the first of the year have most all of our licensed staff vaccinated, Baird said.

After nurses and doctors at local hospitals began receiving the vaccine on Wednesday, Dec. 16, some people contacted KOIN 6 News saying they were concerned EMS staff wouldnt be prioritized with other frontline workers.

However, according to the Oregon Health Authoritys Phase 1a Vaccine Sequencing Plan, EMS providers and other first responders are included in the first group of health care personnel who will be vaccinated.

Non-emergency medical transport personnel are included in Group 3.

Baird said nothing has changed and EMS workers are still among the first in line to receive the vaccine, its just going to take some time to get everyone in Group 1 vaccinated.

Last week we started seeing the first shipments trickle into Oregon, but we saw, I dont know the exact number, a few thousand doses come in and we have hundreds of thousands of eligible healthcare workers, Baird explained.

He said its possible some paramedics will receive the vaccine before others, depending on the kind of risks they face in their daily duties. He said some paramedics treat more COVID-19 patients than others.

According to Baird, not all of Metro Wests EMS staff in each county will be vaccinated on the same day. He said they want to make sure they have enough staff available in case some people have a reaction to the vaccine.

He said hes optimistic that as the Moderna vaccine is shipped to Oregon, it will be easier to get to more EMS workers in rural parts of the state, since its a more stable vaccine and doesnt need to be stored at such a low temperature.

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When will Oregon EMS workers receive COVID-19 vaccine? - KOIN.com