More than 80% of Oregon Latino adults have now received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine, state health officials announced Wednesday, surpassing the state’s vaccination goal eight months later than desired.
The Oregon Health Authority in July 2021 announced a goal that 80% of adults of color would be at least partially vaccinated by the end of last summer, as part of the state’s efforts to close long-known equity gaps.
But that didn’t happen.
Wednesday’s announcement isn’t the result of a huge increase in the number of Latino adults who have been recently vaccinated. Instead, it’s because state health officials this week said they are using updated population figures that indicate fewer Latino adults live in Oregon than originally estimated, with the latest population about 333,000 people.
Because of that decrease in population estimates, the share of Latino adults vaccinated with at least one shot increased to 80.7% from 68.6%, the state said.
Using that new population estimate, Latino adults reached the 80% threshold on May 17 – eight months after the state’s initial target.
Since reaching the milestone, 2,530 Latino adults have been vaccinated for the first time, or about 22 people a day.
“I want to extend my heartfelt congratulations and thanks to everyone in Oregon’s Latino, Latina and Latinx community for achieving this goal,” Gov. Kate Brown said in a statement. “It took hard work by community organizations, health care workers and volunteers partnering together to reach this milestone. I thank you all for your dedication and the work you do each and every day to keep community healthy and safe.”
The population changes also shifted the reported vaccination rates for others. The share of Black adults at least partially vaccinated jumped to 94.7% from 82.4%, the state said, while the share for white adults dropped to 81.7% from 85.6%.
Historical oppression and existing health care barriers contributed to lower vaccination rates among Oregon’s communities of color and required the state to do more, Rachael Banks, Oregon’s public health director, said in a statement.
“Today we are seeing positive results from public health and community partners who helped vaccinate their communities using culturally specific approaches,” she said.
All but one racial or ethnic group has now surpassed the 80% threshold.
Vaccination rates among American Indian/Alaska Native adults did not significantly change and are now estimated at 72.6%. At the current rate, it would take about four more years to partially vaccinate 80% of the population.
Meanwhile, the Oregon Health Authority reported 3,967 newly identified coronavirus cases in the past week across all Oregonians. That total is considered a significant undercount because it does not include many people who identify infections through at-home testing.
Publicly reported cases, test positivity rates and the number of people hospitalized with positive coronavirus tests have been decreasing through the summer.
Since it began: Oregon has reported 885,963 confirmed or presumed infections and 8,492 deaths.
Hospitalizations: 253 people with confirmed coronavirus infections are hospitalized, down 16 since Wednesday, Sept. 7. That includes 26 people in intensive care, down five since Sept. 7.
Vaccinations: The state has reported fully vaccinating 2,961,872 people (69.4% of the population), partially vaccinating 300,741 people (7.1%) and boosting 1,743,745 people with a monovalent booster (40.9%) and 48,175 people (1.1%) with a bivalent booster.
New deaths: Since Sept. 7, the Oregon Health Authority has reported 39 additional deaths connected to COVID-19.
-- Brad Schmidt; bschmidt@oregonian.com; 503-294-7328; @_brad_schmidt