The Oregon Health Authority on Wednesday reported 481 new coronavirus cases and seven deaths, as state officials released a tally of vaccine doses that have been discarded since inoculations began in December.
The problem could strip 15 million doses from the national supply, jeopardizing Oregon's promise to vaccinate every resident 16 and older before summer.
The Oregon Health Authority said it lacks the personnel to continue releasing details but the decision means it will be impossible to track the effect of the governor's decision to delay the vaccination of seniors.
Fewer than 100 infections from the strain have been identified in the United States yet federal officials worry it could be the dominant form of the virus by March.
The state does not recommend that anyone exposed to COVID-19 get tested even though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed its policy to recommend testing.
The number of Oregonians tested for coronavirus during historic wildfires is likely to plummet to levels not seen since this spring, a senior public health adviser said Monday, with the long-term impact of wildfires on the pandemic unclear.
Gov. Kate Brown pushed Umatilla County to stay-at-home status after learning of a study by Oregon State University.
A forecast says the state could see 910 new daily infections by mid-July, with only a fraction identified, and 82 hospital admissions a day.
The Oregon Health Authority on Wednesday refused to release key statistics used to help justify and monitor Oregon counties allowed to reopen during the coronavirus pandemic.
Coronavirus infections in the metro area have largely spared Portland’s close-in neighborhoods and its most exclusive suburban enclaves, flourishing instead among people who live in far-flung suburbs and exploding in the Woodburn area of Marion County.
