Our local COVID-19 updates represent the coordinated effort of the agencies that make up the DCCRT
JOINT INFORMATION CENTER PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – February 24, 2021
DOUGLAS COUNTY COVID-19 RESPONSE TEAM - DAILY UPDATE
(Douglas County, Ore.) Douglas County COVID-19 Test Results: As of 12:00 pm Today, Wednesday, February 24, 2021, there are TWENTY-SEVEN (27) people with new positive test results and TWO (2) deaths to report since our noon case update yesterday. The total number of cases (people with positive test results and presumptives) in Douglas County is now at 2,417*. Currently, there are SIXTEEN (16) Douglas County COVID-19 patients that are being hospitalized, twelve locally and four out-of-the-area. Our Douglas County COVID-19 Response Team, under the direction of the Douglas County Board of Commissioners, continue to devote all resources available to our local COVID response.
Two More COVID-19 Related Deaths of Douglas County Residents
Our Douglas County Public Health Officer, Dr. Robert Dannenhoffer, has confirmed the deaths of two more Douglas County residents related to the COVID-19 virus. Our fifty-second death is a 74-year-old woman who was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Monday, February 1, 2021 and passed away on Wednesday, February 17, 2021. Our fifty-third death is a 71-year-old woman who was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Monday, February 8, 2021 and passed away on Tuesday, February 23, 2021. In the interest of privacy for the loved ones of these residents, no additional information will be released. Each death related to COVID-19 is painful for all Douglas County residents, and a sad reminder of the terrible impact COVID-19 has had in our local communities. The Douglas County Board of Commissioners, Dr. Dannenhoffer, DPHN and the DCCRT team extend our heartfelt condolences and sympathies to all family members, friends, relatives, co-workers and community members of those who have passed after contracting this deadly virus.
Local Contacts and Cases Being Supported in Isolation and Quarantine
Currently, DPHN is supporting 275 cases in isolation, as well as another 567 contacts in quarantine in Douglas County. Isolation is recommended for confirmed and presumptive cases, quarantine is recommended for contacts of confirmed or presumptive cases. Currently, staff is supporting an astounding 842 total contacts and cases in isolation or quarantine. This number represents a snapshot of the significant amount of work being done locally to help control the spread of COVID.
|
Date |
Saturday, February 20, 2021 |
Sunday, February 21, 2021 |
Monday, February 22, 2021 |
Tuesday, February 23, 2021 |
Today, Wednesday, February 24, 2021 |
|
Total COVID-19 Cases |
2,321 |
2,335 |
2,356 |
2,390 |
2,417 |
|
People w/ Positive PCR or Antigen Test Results |
2,199 |
2,212 |
2,231 |
2,266 |
2,293 |
|
Presumptive |
122 |
123 |
125 |
124 |
124 |
|
Total Currently Hospitalized |
16 |
15 |
19 |
19 |
16 |
|
Total Currently in Isolation |
269 |
282 |
271 |
277 |
275 |
|
Total COVID-19 Related Deaths |
51 |
51 |
51 |
51 |
53 |
*Our daily update includes the total number of cases in Douglas County, which combines people with positive test results and presumptives, as well as a breakout of those case numbers. There will be times when a presumptive will move to a positive test result, and our total case number will not change because the case has already been counted. On Thursday, February 11, 2021, we removed the vaccination distribution row from our daily COVID chart, and instead we will be providing a vaccine tally once a week on Fridays, of the vaccines received by our local public health, and then deployed to local vaccinators. Please note that our cumulative vaccine numbers do NOT include other vaccination sites like the Roseburg VA, Mercy Medical Center, EMS, Cow Creek Tribe, Pharmacies and local care facilities that have received their vaccines directly from the Federal and State Government.
COVID-19 Vaccine Eligibility**
According to the State of Oregon/OHA’s vaccination eligibility plan, as of today, Wednesday, February 24, 2021, residents in the following categories are eligible to make an appointment for the COVID-19 Vaccine:
- Phase 1-A, Groups 1-4: All health care facilities, providers and workers; first responders; EMS, skilled, long term and memory care facilities; correctional facility workers; tribal health programs; VA workers and qualifying Veterans; caregivers of medically fragile individuals who live at home; age-eligible individuals with a medical condition or disability who receive services in their homes.
- Phase 1-B, Group 1: Child care providers, early learning and K-12 educators and staff.
- Phase 1-B, Group 2: Residents 80-years-of-age or older
- Phase 1-B, Group 3: Residents 75-years-of-age or older
- Phase 1-B, Group 4: Residents 70-years-of-age or older
Now Eligible: Phase 1-B, Group 4: Seniors 70 And Older**
According to the State, as of Monday, February 22, 2021, the next group of seniors, residents who are aged 70-years-old and older (Phase 1-B, Group 4), are now eligible to call and schedule an appointment with their local health care provider, local pharmacy or local health care facilities who are signed up to be vaccinators in Douglas County. As a reminder, we ask that you please be patient and gracious with the staff at DPHN, our vaccinators and health care partners, as they are doing the best they can to schedule appointments based on the supply of COVID-19 vaccine that has been sent to Douglas County.
I am Eligible, How Do I Sign Up to Get the COVID-19 Vaccine?
Our local public health continue to follow the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Oregon Health Authority’s (OHA) eligibility guidelines, and are ONLY scheduling appointments for residents that are listed on OHA’s list of currently eligible groups at this time. Douglas County, DPHN or your Doctor’s Office did not set the guidelines for who is eligible to get the vaccine. For more information, on how the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Oregon Health Authority (OHA) set up their COVID vaccine guidelines, please contact them directly. As a reminder, eligibility dates and vaccine availability are always subject to change, and eligibility does not mean availability. Please, if you are not in an eligible vaccine group right now, we ask that you continue to be patient, and wait to call, email or try to set up an appointment until after your age or eligibility group becomes eligible.
ELIGIBLE PHASE 1-A, GROUPS 1-4
Are you in a Phase 1-A eligibility group, but have not got the vaccine yet? For those residents who are included in Phase 1-A, but have not received the COVID vaccine, please send an e-mail to vaccines@DouglasPublicHealthNetwork.org and DPHN will connect you with a local vaccine provider. Please only send a request to get a vaccine to this email if you are Phase 1-A eligible.
ELIGIBLE PHASE 1-B, GROUP 1
For those residents in Phase 1-B, Group 1: educators, childcare and early education workers, who were eligible as of January 25, 2021, you should have already received two emails about your eligibility from DPHN or Douglas ESD. If you are in that group and still want a vaccine, please send an email to educatorvaccines@DouglasPublicHealthNetwork.org. If you did not receive an e-mail, please contact your employer.
ELIGIBLE PHASE 1-B, GROUP 2, 3 & 4: SENIORS 70 AND OLDER
Are you 70-years-of-age or older? Then, you are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. As of Monday, February 22, 2021, residents 70-years-of-age and older became eligible to schedule an appointment to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Eligible seniors are asked to call and set up an appointment with their health care provider, local pharmacy or local health care facility on our current local vaccinators list. On Friday, February 5, 2021, we published the Douglas County Senior Population COVID Vaccination Plan**, complete with a list of local health care agencies that have signed up vaccinate residents. Click here to review and find out more information about Douglas County's Senior Population Plan. Our plan for Senior COVID-19 Vaccinations in Douglas County is to have eligible seniors get their COVID vaccine where they get their regular health care or flu vaccine. As a reminder, because the COVID vaccines have very specific handling constraints, all providers offering to vaccinate eligible residents will be administering vaccines with a scheduled appointment only. Doctor’s offices, medical facilities, Urgent Care Clinics and Pharmacy’s will not and cannot do walk-in appointments.
Our current list of local vaccinators includes:
Albertsons- Edenbower
Albertsons- Stephens
Angela Jones, MD
Umpqua Valley Internists
Aviva Health - Glide
Aviva Health - Myrtle Creek
Aviva Health - North County
Aviva Health - Roseburg
Aviva Health - Roseburg SBHC
Aviva Health - Sutherlin
Bi-Mart Pharmacy 609
Bi-Mart Pharmacy 652
Bi-Mart Pharmacy 676
Canyonville Health & Urgent Care
Christine Seals
Confederated Tribes Coos, Lower Umpqua, Siuslaw Indians
Costco Pharmacy
Current Orthodontics
Douglas County Fire District 2
Evergreen Family Medicine
Evergreen Family Medicine Harvard Campus
Evergreen Family Medicine South
Excellence in Women’s Healthcare
Family Tree Medical Clinic
Fred Meyer Pharmacy 281
Genoa Healthcare Pharmacy - Roseburg
Gerald A Jaworski, Md, PC
Glendale Ambulance District
Gordons Pharmacy
Kidsdocs, PC
Lower Umpqua Hospital
Mercy Medical Center - Roseburg
North River Pediatrics PC
Nova Health - Goetz
Nova Health - Roseburg
One Peak Medical Clinic - Roseburg
Southriver Community Health Center
Steelhead Oncology
Two Rivers Integrative Medicine LLC
Umpqua Health - Newton Creek
Umpqua Valley Ambulance
Valley Ridge Family Medicine
**Please note that there are many more residents and seniors who need and want vaccine than there are available doses. Vaccine supply is beyond our control, but we continue to submit requests and strive to get as much vaccine sent to Douglas County as possible. Over a period of 5 weeks, about 30,000 Douglas County seniors will become eligible for the vaccine, but we expect to only receive a small fraction of the doses needed to vaccinate them. Even though a medical facility or office is listed as a vaccinator, does not guarantee they will have vaccine; they are organizations that have signed up to help vaccinate. We ask for your patience as we work with the State and OHA to acquire more vaccines.
LOCAL TRIBAL HEALTH VACCINE PROGRAMS
Are you a member of the Cow Creek Band of the Umpqua Tribe of Indians? If you are a member of the Cow Creek Band of the Umpqua Tribe of Indians, please contact them for information on their COVID-19 testing and vaccination programs at (541) 672-9405 or log onto: https://www.cowcreek-nsn.gov/public-health/. Tribal Health Care Programs receive their vaccines directly from the Federal Government, and not through our local public health allocation from the State.
VA WORKERS AND ELIGIBLE U.S. MILITARY VETERANS
If you are a U.S. Military Veteran, you might be eligible to get vaccinated at the Roseburg VAMC. The Roseburg VA Health Care System is setting up appointments for specific groups of veteran patients to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. To qualify for the current round of COVID-19 vaccinations at the Roseburg VAMC, veterans must be 75 or older, or be homeless, or be a frontline essential worker, hemodialysis or organ transplant patient, or a chemotherapy patient receiving care at a clinic or hospital. Also, note that according to the vaccine criteria established by the Federal Government and the CDC, at this time, spouses of veterans are not included on the list of eligible persons to get a COVID-19 vaccine from the Roseburg VAMC. However, there is one exception that we have found, a Veteran’s Care Provider, who is being paid by the VA under the new Family Caregiver Assistance program might be eligible. Anyone interested in applying for that program or to find out about veteran vaccine eligibility needs to contact Roseburg VAMC directly. The Douglas County Veterans Service Office at the county does not have the authority or ability to get vaccines for veterans or their spouses. VA Health Care Systems receive their vaccine directly from the Federal Government and not through our local public health allocation from the State. For more information, call the Roseburg VAMC at (541) 440-1000 or log onto: https://www.va.gov/health-care/covid-19-vaccine/.
WHAT IF I AM NOT ON THE OHA ELIGIBLE LIST RIGHT NOW?
As we have mentioned before, if you are not specifically listed on one of OHA’s published eligible vaccine groups, then you are not eligible to get or sign up for the vaccine yet. We ask that you please be patient and wait until you are eligible to contact your doctor, health care provider, DPHN, Douglas County, local hospitals and our hotline. Again, just because you will be in an upcoming eligibility group does not mean we have vaccines available for you, or that we know when we might receive vaccines for your group.
UPDATE: COVID-19 Vaccine Availability and Allocation Information
Your Local Public Health Administrator and Douglas County Public Health Official, along with DPHN and our local health care partners have been working hard to acquire more vaccines and vaccinate those that want the vaccine, that are eligible.
We are finally seeing some hope on the horizon with our vaccine allocation from the State. Dr. Bob Dannenhoffer, our Douglas County Public Health Officer, has been an absolute stalwart advocate for the county and a burr in the State’s saddle for making the vaccine distribution equitable to Douglas County compared with the rest of the State.
“Previously, Douglas County had been left behind in getting our fair share of COVID-19 vaccine doses from the state, compared with other counties. But, now it appears that Douglas County is moving towards a more equitable distribution of vaccines from the State. At this time, I believe vaccine distribution has been normalized in Oregon, and Douglas County should be getting a reasonable and fair share of doses, which properly reflects the number of residents and seniors in our population. Douglas County expects to get 2,500 new doses each week for the next 6 weeks, plus second doses to match doses from 4 weeks earlier from the State. While it is great that we have so many willing local vaccinators, but it has been frustrating not to have enough vaccines to distribute. Our efforts with the state have paid off with their recent allocation formula change,” commented Dr. Bob Dannenhoffer.
As a reminder, in addition to the first dose vaccines that we receive from the State of Oregon, we also receive our allotment of second doses of the vaccine, which are paired with the first dose for each resident, and are not counted in our cumulative total of vaccines that we have received, because they are the match doses for the first dose. Please note that our local cumulative vaccine numbers do NOT include other vaccination sites like the Roseburg VA, Mercy Medical Center, EMS, Cow Creek Tribe, Pharmacies and local care facilities that have received their vaccines directly from the Federal and State Government or their partners.
How Do I Get My Second Dose of the COVID Vaccine?
For those residents who have already received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, here are a few answers to questions about your second and final dose.
- At the present moment, we are told that those who get vaccinated can expect a second dose about 4-6 weeks after the first dose. Currently, the State/OHA and the Federal Government are considerably behind on sending the second dose of the vaccine out.
- You should have received a vaccination card when you received your first dose that details the brand of vaccine, its lot number, and the date the vaccine was given. This card is for your records only, and is not official proof that you have received the vaccine. Proof of your vaccination rests with the State Alert System, which is accessible by medical facilities.
- You should get your second dose from the same provider or organization from which you received your first. However, the physical address where you receive the second dose may change.
- You will be notified by the provider or organization that gave you your first dose about where and when you’ll receive your second dose.
- I got a first vaccine out of the area, can I get my second vaccine in Douglas County? The second vaccine dose is “paired” to the first dose, and your second dose will be sent to wherever you got your first dose. So, except in rare circumstances, you will need to return to where you got your first dose.
- If you have questions, please contact the provider or organization where you received your first dose.
Please Keep You and Your Family Safe
We are not able to predict when we will receive more vaccines, or when State guidelines might change or when we can start to resume some sort of normality in our lives, but, we can continue encourage everyone, for the sake of our local businesses, services and residents, to gauge your risk level, and make the best choice in order protect yourself and those around you from contracting or spreading the coronavirus. We have provided education on the widely proven COVID-19 safety measures, and encourage you to limit your contact with others not from your household, stay home if you are sick, and wear face coverings where recommended. Click here, for a graphic on how to protect you and your family from the spread of COVID-19. We know how important family, businesses and faith are to you, so we ask that you consider all options available in order to eliminate and minimize the spread of the COVID-19 virus in our communities to help protect the ones you love, the businesses you love and the places you love to go.
Local COVID-19 Testing and Facebook Live
Douglas County COVID-19 Drive-Thru Testing Clinics
Due to widely available COVID-19 testing opportunities in Douglas County, your local public health authority and DPHN have decided to step-back our drive-through testing clinics to one day a week for the time being. If needs increase, we are prepared to increase testing to 2-3 times a week again. As we have reported before, we were one of the first counties in the state to do a drive-through COVID-19 testing clinic, and we have done 2-3 clinics a week since March 2020 in Roseburg, as well as drive-through testing clinics in Reedsport. DPHN has also been part of increasing the availability and types of testing at multiple sites and locations across the county, also leading the state in rapid testing availability. The next drive-through testing clinic will be Friday, February 26, 2021, in Roseburg. As a reminder, if you are having symptoms of COVID-19 including cough, fever, shortness of breath, muscle aches and pains, diarrhea, sore throat or decreased sense of smell and taste, talk to your health care provider about being tested for COVID-19. Patients without a Primary Care Provider that are looking for a COVID-19 test can contact the Sutherlin Aviva Health Clinic at (541) 459-3788.
Facebook Live with Dr. Bob
Join us Friday, February 26, 2021 at 4:00 pm for the next Facebook Live with Dr. Bob Dannenhoffer, the Douglas County Public Health Officer. The show is hosted by DPHN on the DPHN Facebook page. Please submit your questions during the live show or you can email questions to: Facebookquestions@douglaspublichealthnetwork.org. Dr. Bob and the DPHN team will do their best to respond to as many questions as they can during the live shows.
State and Federal COVID-19 Info
Again, it is important to note that we are not the ones setting the guidelines for vaccine eligibility or availability. We are following the current priority group guidelines and criteria set by the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Oregon Health Authority (OHA). Go online or contact the CDC or OHA directly for more information. OHA posts it’s COVID updates and reports at www.healthoregon.org/coronavirus.
Please do not call 911, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office or Douglas County Offices to report compliance issues with the State of Oregon, OHA or Governor’s orders. The Governor has directed the State offices for Oregon Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) and the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) to be the enforcement agencies responsible for ensuring restaurants, bars, and other businesses comply with the current State COVID guidelines. If you have concerns, questions or wish to report compliance issues contact these state agencies directly: OSHA: (800) 922-2689 or OSHA website or OLCC (503) 872-5000 or OLCC website
Local COVID-19 Resources
Your Douglas County Board of Commissioners, Douglas County Public Health Officer, Dr. Robert Dannenhoffer, DPHN and the DCCRT have been working hard to cooperatively provide accurate and timely information to Douglas County residents since March 8, 2020.
Local Online Access to Updates: Stay up to date with accurate and local COVID-19 information in Douglas County on the Douglas County Government website or DCGOV Facebook page or the DPHN website or DPHN Facebook page.
Free Local e-Newsletter Subscription: You can also sign up for the Douglas County e-Newsletter that publishes and sends out the daily update to our subscription base for free. You can sign up for the Douglas County e-Newsletter at www.co.douglas.or.us. Your Douglas County Board of Commissioners, Douglas County Public Health Officer, Dr. Robert Dannenhoffer, DPHN and the DCCRT have been working hard to cooperatively provide accurate and timely information to Douglas County residents since March 8, 2020.
Douglas County COVID-19 Hotline (541) 464-6550: Your Douglas County Board of Commissioners and DPHN continue to offer a local resource hotline for Douglas County residents for COVID-19. The hotline provides answer to frequently asked questions, basic information and referrals to resources and services. The Hotline is staffed from 8:00 am to 5: pm, 7 days a week.
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Contact Tamara Howell, Public Information Officer, Douglas County COVID-19 Response Team, (541) 670-2804 cell (541) 957-4896 tjhowell@co.douglas.or.us
Contact Vanessa Becker, Public Information Officer, Douglas Public Health Network, (541) 817-6552 cell (541) 440-3571 vanessa@douglaspublichealthnetwork.org