(Update: Weekly report shows fewer cases, more deaths, hospitalizations; Legacy Health providing 1,700 doses to Deschutes County)

Two more Deschutes County residents have died; vaccine shipments delayed

PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- There are six new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon, including a northeast Oregon infant who died a month ago, raising the state’s death toll to 2,149, the Oregon Health Authority reported Thursday.

The two newly reported Deschutes County deaths bring the county's death toll to 58.

OHA also reported 466 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. Thursday, bringing the state total to 151,713.

Oregon infant death

“Today’s update on the number of COVID-19 related deaths includes an infant (from Umatilla County) who had tested positive for COVID-19 and died the same day,” said Dr. Dean Sidelinger, OHA’s health officer and state epidemiologist. “Every death from COVID-19 is a tragedy, even more so the death of a child. The death of an infant is extremely rare. This news represents a tremendous loss to the mother and family. My thoughts are with them during this difficult time.”

“We have all worked together for nearly a year in Oregon to protect the lives of those we hold most dear,” said Governor Kate Brown. “The loss of a life so young is an indescribable tragedy for a family. Dan and I send our thoughts and condolences to the mother and family of this child, whose grief must be unimaginable in this moment. The hearts of all Oregonians are with you today.”

“Children infected with COVID-19 are less likely to develop severe illnesses, compared to adults,” Dr. Sidelinger added. “Risks still remain to children of developing more severe illnesses from COVID-19, and we continue to encourage all parents to seek emergency medical care for their children, if certain symptoms are present.”

Symptoms requiring urgent medical attention for children with COVID-19 related conditions include:

• Trouble breathing
• Pain or pressure in the chest that doesn’t go away
• New confusion
• Being unable to wake up or stay awake when not tired
• Bluish lips or face

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the hospitalization of children for COVID-19 related illnesses remains low compared to adults, and only 1.3% of all positive and presumed cases of COVID-19 have been reported among Oregonians 9 years old or younger. The CDC notes that children with certain underlying medical conditions and infants younger than 1 year old might be at increased risk for severe illness from SARS-CoV-2 infections, and among those who experienced severe illness from COVID-19, most have had underlying medical conditions.

Information and resources for families with young children can be found on OHA's webpage.

Weekly COVID-19 data and outbreak reports

The Oregon Health Authority’s COVID-19 Weekly Data report, released Thursday, shows sharp decreases in daily cases and increases in hospitalizations and deaths from the previous week.

OHA reported 3,453 new daily cases of COVID-19 during the week of Monday, Feb. 8 through Sunday, Feb. 14 — a 15% decrease from last week.

But new COVID-19 related hospitalizations increased, from 230 to 272.

COVID-19 related deaths also increased, from 66 to 114.  

There were 102,112 tests for COVID-19 for the week of Feb. 7-13, which represents a drop from the previous week. The percentage of positive tests was 3.4%, down from 4.2% the previous week. That’s the lowest percentage of weekly positive tests since Oregon implemented its test-based method in mid-November.

People age 20 to 49 still account for more than half of COVID-19 cases, while people 70 and older have accounted for 76% of deaths associated with the virus.

Thursday’s COVID-19 Weekly Outbreak report shows 96 active COVID-19 outbreaks in senior living communities and congregate living settings, with three or more confirmed cases and one or more COVID-19 related deaths.

Vaccinations in Oregon

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continues to report COVID-19 vaccine shipments across the country, including in Oregon, are delayed due to severe weather. Winter weather has hampered shipments of Moderna vaccine out of Memphis, TN.

On Thursday, OHA reported that 22,663 new doses of COVID-19 vaccinations were added to the state immunization registry. Of this total, 14,414 doses were administered on Wednesday and 8,249 were administered on previous days but were entered into the vaccine registry on Wednesday.

Cumulative daily totals can take several days to finalize because providers have 72 hours to report doses administered and technical challenges have caused many providers to lag in their reporting. OHA has been providing technical support to vaccination sites to improve the timeliness of their data entry into the state’s ALERT Immunization Information System (IIS).

Oregon has now administered a cumulative total of 729,823 first and second doses of COVID-19 vaccines. To date, 922,300 doses of vaccine have been delivered to sites across Oregon.

St. Charles Health System reported 23,149 COVID-19 vaccinations given as of early Thursday.

One of the stalled vaccine shipments is one Deschutes County was expecting for clinics scheduled later this weekend, according to Morgan Emerson of Deschutes County Health Services.

But Legacy Health System in Portland is providing help, transferring 1,700 doses to Deschutes County. Emerson said Life Flight Network is mobilized to transfer the doses to Redmond Thursday afternoon.

These data are preliminary and subject to change. OHA's dashboards provide regularly updated vaccination data, and Oregon’s dashboard has been updated Thursday.

In addition to delaying vaccine shipments, severe weather in Oregon has also impacted the ability for vaccine sites to actually administer vaccines. These weather-related issues may cause changes to daily number trends reported by OHA in its updates on the cumulative number of doses administered, the daily number of administered doses and the number of doses delivered to Oregon.

OHA said remains in regular contact with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for updates on delivery schedules and to ensure Oregon doses are safely delivered to Oregon vaccination sites.

If you are scheduled for a vaccination and have questions about potential delays or disruptions, check with your scheduled vaccine provider for the latest updates.

COVID-19 hospitalizations

The number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 across Oregon is 169, which is 21 fewer than Wednesday. There are 52 COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit (ICU) beds, which is two fewer than Wednesday.

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.

St. Charles Bend reported 12 COVID-19 patients as of 4 a.m. Thursday, two of whom were in the ICU on ventilators.

More information about hospital capacity can be found here.

Cases and deaths

The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported Thursday are in the following counties: Baker (6), Benton (17), Clackamas (31), Clatsop (2), Columbia (6), Coos (8), Crook (9), Curry (4), Deschutes (19), Douglas (25), Harney (1), Hood River (2), Jackson (27), Jefferson (12), Josephine (13), Klamath (6), Lake (3), Lane (41), Lincoln (1), Linn (5), Malheur (3), Marion (46), Morrow (2), Multnomah (66), Polk (13), Tillamook (3), Umatilla (21), Union (2), Wasco (4), Washington (54) and Yamhill (14).

Oregon’s 2,144th COVID-19 death is a 76-year-old man in Deschutes County who tested positive on Feb. 10 and died on Feb. 15 at St. Charles Bend. He had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 2,145th COVID-19 death is an 84-year-old man in Deschutes County who tested positive on Feb. 8 and died on Feb. 12 at his residence. He had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 2,146th COVID-19 death is a 68-year-old man in Marion County who tested positive on Nov. 18 and died on Feb. 14 at Kaiser Permanente Westside Medical Center. He had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 2,147th COVID-19 death is an 84-year-old man in Josephine County who tested positive on Jan. 25 and died on Feb. 12 at his residence. He had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 2,148th COVID-19 death is a 72-year-old man in Coos County who tested positive on Jan. 16 and died on Feb. 11 at Oregon Health & Science University Hospital. He had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 2,149th COVID-19 death is an infant boy in Umatilla County who tested positive on Jan. 17 and died on Jan. 17 at Kadlec Regional Medical Center. He had underlying conditions.

Learn more about COVID-19 vaccinations

To learn more about the COVID-19 vaccine situation in Oregon, visit OHA's web page, which has a breakdown of distribution and other useful information.