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.
Out of more than 2 million doses administered, 656 have been wasted, spoiled or expired, officials said.
Broken or improperly discarded vials are considered wasted. Spoiled doses are those that had been prepped for administration but not given within the allotted timeframe, or those compromised because of freezer or refrigerator failures. Expired doses are those that had not been administered before the labeled expiration date.
The vast majority of discarded vaccines, 544, were made by Moderna. The state reported just 70 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech and 42 doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine had been discarded.
The Oregon Health Authority did not immediately respond to a request for detailed counts by category or questions about why the Moderna figures were comparatively high.
“We believe that our health system partners are managing their vaccine responsibly and doing everything that they can to minimize waste,” Dave Baden, the health authority’s chief financial officer, said in a statement.
“At this point, considering the logistical complexity of operating large-scale vaccination programs, the small amount of wasted vaccine in Oregon is expected and not surprising,” he added. “This amount is a small fraction of the more than 2 million doses that have been safely delivered, managed and injected in the arms of Oregonians.”
Vaccines: Oregon reported 36,104 newly administered doses, which includes 24,097 Tuesday and the remainder from previous days.
Where the new cases are by county: Baker (4), Benton (9), Clackamas (55), Clatsop (4), Columbia (13), Coos (5), Crook (1), Deschutes (32), Douglas (11), Harney (1), Hood River (1), Jackson (23), Jefferson (1), Josephine (17), Klamath (11), Lake (2), Lane (40), Lincoln (3), Linn (21), Malheur (3), Marion (29), Morrow (3), Multnomah (92), Polk (11), Sherman (2), Tillamook (4), Umatilla (5), Union (1), Wallowa (3), Wasco (3), Washington (61) and Yamhill (10).
Who died: Oregon’s 2,428th COVID-19 death is a 60-year-old Clackamas County man who tested positive March 29 and died April 6 at his residence.
The 2,429th fatality is a 90-year-old Douglas County woman who tested positive Feb. 22 and died March 25 at her residence.
Oregon’s 2,430th death is a 96-year-old Deschutes County woman who tested positive March 29 and died March 30 at her residence.
The 2,431st fatality is a 72-year-old Jackson County man who tested positive Feb. 1 and died April 5 at Asante Three Rivers Medical Center.
Oregon’s 2,432nd death is a 51-year-old Multnomah County woman who tested positive March 9 and died March 30 at Kaiser Sunnyside Hospital.
The 2,433rd fatality is a 67-year-old Polk County man who tested positive March 6 and died April 5 at Salem Hospital.
Oregon’s 2,434th death is a 48-year-old Union County man who tested positive Nov. 11 and died March 23 at Legacy Emanuel Hospital. The death certificate listed COVID-19 as a cause or significant condition contributing to his death. He had no underlying conditions.
Unless noted otherwise, each person had underlying health conditions or state officials were working to confirm if the person had underlying medical conditions.
Hospitalizations: 171 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 are hospitalized, up eight from Tuesday. That includes 42 people in intensive care, the same as Tuesday.
Since it began: Oregon has reported 168,128 confirmed or presumed infections and 2,434 deaths, among the lowest per capita numbers in the nation. To date, the state has reported 2,067,318 vaccine doses administered.
This story was published by The Oregonian/OregonLive.
