Oct. 14, 2021

Contact: OHA External Relations, orcovid19.media@dhsoha.state.or.us

Oregon reports 1,237 new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases, 24 new deaths

PORTLAND, Ore. — There are 24 new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 4,141, the Oregon Health Authority reported at 12:01 a.m. today.

Oregon Health Authority reported 1,237 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. today, bringing the state total to 347,616.

OHA releases new COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough report

OHA’s most recent update on COVID-19 breakthrough cases, released today, found that 72.8% of the 9,141 reported COVID-19 cases between Oct. 3 through Oct. 9, occurred in people who were unvaccinated.

There were 2,490 breakthrough cases, accounting for 27.2% of all cases.

The average age of the breakthrough cases during that period was 47. Sixty-five breakthrough cases involved residents of care facilities, senior living communities or other congregate care settings. There were 122 breakthrough cases in people ages 12 to 17.

To date, there have been 30,687 COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough cases in Oregon. The average age of all cases is 48. Breakthrough cases have been reported in all 36 counties.

Cases of COVID-19 are far more common in unvaccinated people. The report shows that the rate of COVID-19 in unvaccinated people is currently approximately 3.5 times higher than in vaccinated people.

To date, 4.4% of all vaccine breakthrough cases have been hospitalized and 1% have died. The average age of vaccinated people who died was 81.

Vaccination remains the most effective tool to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

The number of vaccine breakthrough cases identified in Oregon remains very small when compared to the more than 2.75 million Oregonians who have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

The latest breakthrough report can be found here.

This week OHA added three new features to the breakthrough report. Data is now available by vaccine manufacturer, including the number of breakthrough cases and their severity. This report also shows the number of Oregonians who received each vaccine, as well as the number of breakthrough cases per 100,000 vaccinated people.

In addition, OHA has expanded demographic data to include race and ethnicity for breakthrough cases, hospitalizations, and deaths.

Finally, OHA added a new map showing cumulative breakthrough cases for each county. In general, breakthrough case counts correspond with population size, vaccination rates, and overall case counts.

Pediatric weekly dashboard update

Today, OHA published its latest dashboard report of pediatric COVID-19 case data in Oregon.

This dashboard replaces the previous report and is published weekly on Thursdays with the most recent full week’s data.

New dashboard displays case and vaccination information by age group 

Today, OHA published a new weekly dashboard, titled Oregon’s COVID-19 Case and Vaccination Stories. The agency developed this dashboard to highlight COVID-19 case trends as vaccination rates increase.

The dashboard displays COVID-19 case and hospitalization rates, COVID-19 related deaths and the percentage of Oregonians who received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine over time.

Specifically, OHA compared the fall 2020 and spring 2021 surges at their peaks for those under 65 years old and those 65 and older. Data indicate the peak case rate per 100,000 for people ages 65 and older was 66% lower during the spring 2021 surge than during the fall 2020 surge. Among people under 65, a group where broad vaccination efforts took place later, the peak case rate was 38% lower during the spring 2021 surge than the fall 2020 surge.

The dashboard presents similar comparisons of hospitalizations and deaths by age group during the fall 2020 and spring 2021 surges. It is important to note that this is a population-level analysis, not an assessment of individual risk. Observing a trend, such as low hospitalization rates in a specific age group, does not mean all individuals in that group will avoid hospitalization or death after contracting COVID-19.

Because the summer 2021 surge is ongoing, a full analysis of its impacts is not yet possible. This analysis will be updated as more data become available.

For additional insights, please visit the Oregon’s COVID-19 Case and Vaccination Stories dashboard, where you can use an “Explore the Data” feature to create your own charts for COVID-19 cases, severe cases and the percentage of Oregonians vaccinated over time.

COVID-19 hospitalizations

The number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 across Oregon is 575, which is 20 fewer than yesterday. There are 146 COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit (ICU) beds, which is one more than yesterday.

There are 56 available adult ICU beds out of 685 total (8% availability) and 289 available adult non-ICU beds out of 4,094 (7% availability). 

The total number of patients in hospital beds may fluctuate between report times. The numbers do not reflect admissions per day, nor the length of hospital stay. Staffing limitations are not captured in this data and may further limit bed capacity.

Note: Please do not visit an emergency department for COVID-19 testing, unless you require emergency care for your symptoms.

Emergency departments in Oregon are under significant strain responding to the current surge in COVID-19. You can find a test here.  

If you have a medical condition that doesn’t require emergency care, contact your provider. An urgent care center may also help you get the care you need and will save emergency departments from added strain.  

More information about hospital capacity can be found here.

Vaccinations in Oregon

Today, OHA reported that 12,696 new doses of COVID-19 vaccinations were added to the state immunization registry on Oct. 13. Of that total, 1,071 were initial doses; 1,206 were second doses and 3,624 were third doses and booster doses. The remaining 6,760 were administered on previous days but were entered into the vaccine registry on Oct. 13.

The seven-day running average is now 10,301 doses per day.

Oregon has now administered 3,144,034 doses of Pfizer Comirnaty, 1,926,449 doses of Moderna and 221,987 doses of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines.

As of today, 2,779,073 people have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 2,563,481 people have completed a COVID-19 vaccine series.

These data are preliminary and subject to change.

Updated vaccination data are provided on Oregon’s COVID-19 data dashboards and have been updated today.

Medical and public health experts determine when to recommend a booster

This week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will consider whether to recommend that individuals who were vaccinated with Johnson & Johnson and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines should get booster doses.  

The decision to recommend a booster for people who received these vaccines depends on how significant the decrease in immunity is for each vaccine. Like the Pfizer vaccine, the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) may decide that only certain groups of people need a booster. Immunity may be waning more quickly in some people than others. This could mean that the people who are losing immunity should be given a booster to boost their immunity.   

VRBPAC members will hear presentations of data from the companies that manufacture these vaccines. They will also consider the FDA’s own analysis of the data. They will look at data that show whether there are significant decreases in immunity in people who have received the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine and the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine individually, and whether a booster dose significantly boosts their immunity; then, decisions will be made separately for each vaccine.  

Once the VRBPAC decides, the committee will make a recommendation to the FDA. If the FDA decides to recommend boosters, the decision will be considered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). The ACIP is an independent panel of medical and public health experts. Before recommending, ACIP reviews all available clinical trial information, including descriptions of: 

• Who is most at risk for COVID-19, in particular for more severe disease
• Who received the vaccine (age, race, ethnicity, underlying medical conditions)
• How different groups responded to the vaccine
• What side effects people had

Later this month, the VRBPAC will also consider whether the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine should be granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for children who are five through 11 years of age. The same process will be used to determine whether this vaccine should be recommended for children.  

You can read more about this in Oregon Vaccine News.

Cases and COVID-19 deaths

The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported today are in the following counties: Baker (11), Benton (26), Clackamas (87), Clatsop (7), Columbia (8), Coos (27), Crook (37), Curry (3), Deschutes (136), Douglas (39), Grant (10), Harney (13), Hood River (10), Jackson (56), Jefferson (21), Josephine (16), Klamath (48), Lake (6), Lane (93), Lincoln (11), Linn (22), Malheur (33), Marion (98), Morrow (4), Multnomah (132), Polk (37), Tillamook (6), Umatilla (75), Union (11), Wallowa (7), Wasco (25), Washington (88), Wheeler (5) and Yamhill (29).

Note: More information about deaths and cases will be included in a follow-up news release

Learn more about COVID-19 vaccinations  

To learn more about the COVID-19 vaccine situation in Oregon, visit our webpage (English or Spanish), which has a breakdown of distribution and other information.