Oregon, Washington receive first shipments of COVID-19 vaccine

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    PORTLAND, OR (KPTV) — The first doses of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine have arrived in Oregon and Washington, and soon they’ll go straight into the arms of high-risk frontline workers.

The Oregon Health Authority said Legacy Health’s Holladay Park site in Portland and Meridian Park site in Tualatin each took a delivery of a 975-dose package Monday morning.

OHA says more doses are expected at three other locations on Tuesday: OHSU Pharmacy, Kaiser Permanente’s Airport Way Center, and St. Alphonsus Medical Center in Ontario. Each are expected to also receive 975-dose packages.

According to OHA, the remaining 30,225 vaccine doses from this week’s allocation of 35,100 will arrive at hospitals throughout the rest of the week, with 10,725 doses going to skilled nursing facilities for vaccinations that start next week.

“In recent weeks, as COVID-19 vaccines reached the final stages of approval, I have said time and again that hope is on the way. Today, I can tell you that help is here,” said Governor Kate Brown. “The first shipments of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine have arrived in Oregon, the first of many that will be distributed across the state. Starting with the frontline health care workers who have been our first line of defense against COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, and the long-term care facility residents who are among the most vulnerable, each day, more and more Oregonians will be vaccinated against this disease.”

OHA says most Oregon hospitals and health systems that registered as vaccine provider sites are expected to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine over the next two weeks. OHA also says a vaccine manufactured by Moderna Inc. – which has not yet received FDA emergency use authorization – is scheduled for delivery in the state on Dec. 22 and Dec. 29.

Health officials anticipate there will be enough of the two vaccines to provide first doses to about 100,000 people, with second doses in January.

“As for who receives these first doses,” Becky Hultberg, president and chief executive officer of the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems, said, “we strongly support putting our frontline health care workers at the top of the list. We need to take care of them, so they can take care of us. It’s what they always do, putting the patient first.”

OHA says health care workers, as well as long-term care facility employees and residents will be getting the first doses. Essential workers, followed by people with underlying health conditions and those older than 65 are next in line as they are identified by OHA’s equity-focused Vaccine Advisory Committee.

According to OHA, the general population isn’t expected to be eligible for vaccination until sometime in spring 2021.

The Washington State Department of Health announced Monday morning that the first shipments of the vaccine have arrived and the state is gearing up to begin vaccinations.

Washington will received 62,400 doses and those will be given to high-risk health care workers, as well as staff and residents of long-term care facilities.

The Washington Secretary of Health John Wiesman said in a statement, “This vaccine is a sign of hope that the pandemic is something we can overcome. We still have a long way to go to beat COVID-19, but this is the tool that will start saving lives immediately.”

State officials say if everything goes according to plan, most people in Washington will be vaccinated by mid-summer.

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