Weekly COVID-19 vaccinations double in Umatilla County

PENDLETON, Ore. — Umatilla County’s weekly COVID-19 vaccinations have more than doubled since mid-June, according to data from the health department.

In addition, new state data shows that people who have been vaccinated are less likely to get the virus. More than 95% of all confirmed COVID-19 cases from Jan. 1 to Aug. 26 were among people who have yet to get the shot, according to the Oregon Health Authority.

From late June to mid-July, the county reported some of its lowest vaccination rates since efforts began in December 2020. For the week of July 11, the county reported just 591 vaccinations, its second lowest all-time. By that point, weekly vaccinations in the county had declined for four straight months, and Umatilla County had one of the lowest vaccination rates in Oregon.

But for six consecutive weeks now, weekly vaccinations have increased, bringing the county’s overall COVID-19 immunity up by a few percentage points after it was entrenched below the 40% mark for months. Last week, the county reported 1,212 inoculations, the highest weekly total since late May.

“It’s a good trend,” said Joe Fiumara, the county’s public health director.

In addition, county data suggests young people may be driving the slight uptick.

According to Fiumara, residents 20 to 29 had been the least vaccinated age group for months. That changed two weeks ago, Fiumara said, when the group surpassed people ages 30 to 39. Also, vaccinations among youth under the age of 19 are continuing to increase, a promising sign to health officials as school gets underway.

The increase follows national trends of increased vaccinations as the delta variant infects large swaths of America’s unvaccinated. In early August, all 50 states reported their COVID-19 vaccinations rates were increasing.

Meanwhile, the delta crisis has unfolded with grim consequences, placing a strain on hospitals statewide. Umatilla County set pandemic records for COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations in August and reached its highest infection rates since the pandemic started. The county has reported more than 400 COVID-19 cases for five straight weeks.

Fiumara said this shows, as more people are being infected and being hospitalized, people are changing their minds about the shot.

“People kind of thought (the pandemic) was over,” he said. “There were people who were nervous about the vaccine and wanted to wait and see. And then all the restrictions opened and everyone didn’t want to bother with it. Then case numbers started going up and hospitalizations and everything — that’s what’s driven it more than anything.”

More than one in seven Umatilla County residents have contracted COVID-19, according to the Oregon Health Authority, yet less than half of the county’s residents have been vaccinated against the virus.

But Fiumara said he believes the uptick has nothing to do with the Food and Drug Administration’s latest approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Aug. 23.

“I’m sure there are some people who were legitimately waiting for that and are now going to get the shot, and that’s fantastic,” he said. “But I think most of the claim around that was an excuse, not a reason. And I think now that that excuse is gone, I think others are coming in place.”

Breakthrough casesThe Oregon Health Authority on Aug. 26 released its latest data showing COVID-19 breakthrough cases, or cases among people who were vaccinated. Of Umatilla County’s 5,765 total confirmed COVID-19 cases from Jan. 1 to Aug. 26, 278 came from people who had been vaccinated.

Across the state, only about 5.5% of COVID-19 cases in vaccinated individuals have led to hospitalization while less than 1% have died — meaning the overwhelming majority of those hospitalized or who have died are unvaccinated.

The number of breakthrough cases didn’t surprise Fiumara, who said no vaccines are perfectly effective against stopping the spread and the real power of vaccines comes from when the majority of the community has chosen to partake.

“The vaccines are not going to be 100% against stopping all illness,” he said, “but they do a very good job at preventing illness, and they do an even better job at preventing hospitalization and death.”

While most other vaccinations are not perfectly effective, he said, most people don’t see those illnesses because the majority of people are vaccinated.

Fiumara emphasized that while the delta variant spreads more easily and studies show it spreads faster, the COVID-19 vaccines still are very effective and it is far safer to get vaccinated. He said vaccinated people don’t necessarily need to be worried, but should be cautious in their day-to-day activities regardless.

“They can go about their business,” he said, “but watch for symptoms and if you start getting sick, isolate. Because we do want to try to stem some of this spread as much as we can.”