Oregon Hospital Association Sounds Warnings About the Governor’s Vaccine Timeline

As Gov. Kate Brown held a press conference to defend her decision to vaccinate seniors, a key health care group warned of ongoing confusion.

COVID-19 vaccine doses in Multnomah County. (Motoya Nakamura)

The Oregon Association of Hospitals & Health Systems expressed concern Friday about whether health care providers could vaccinate as many people as quickly as Gov. Kate Brown has instructed.

The governor says school staffers can get COVID-19 vaccines as soon as tomorrow, Jan. 25. Oregonians over 80 can get doses beginning Feb. 8—and the age minimum goes down five years every week after that.

But the hospitals say that may be an optimistic timeline.

"Since the state does not control the vaccine supply, Oregonians are being asked to take it on faith that the state can keep to the governor's timeline," said Becky Hultberg, president and CEO of the association, in a statement.

"It will take several weeks to get through teachers in the Portland metro area based on current supply, and that does not include vaccinating the remainder of Phase 1(a)," says Hultberg. "Adding 80-year-olds on Feb. 8 and then other age bands in the weeks after that will compound this problem."

The statement appeared to be an attempt to ward off the wrath of older Oregonians—who are waiting longer than in other states for the vaccine—and to call into question the timeline that Brown said was possible.

The governor already faces repeated criticism for putting teachers in front of older Oregonians. She continued to defend her decision last week.

"If we…prioritize the needs of Oregon kids, it puts a two-week delay on beginning vaccinations for seniors who live independently," said Brown on Friday.

The hospitals were asked just weeks ago by the state to set up mass vaccine clinics, association officials say. (Previous plans had them in charge only of inoculating their own employees, they say.)

Now they appear to fear that they will face a deluge of people seeking to be vaccinated as soon as they are eligible.

"At 15,000 doses a week in the Portland metro area, we should all be honest about the fact that there will be significant wait times for vaccines and that completing our efforts will take many, many months unless supply increases," Hultberg continued. "Setting unreasonable expectations will not speed up vaccinations but will lead to confusion on the part of Oregon seniors, and will increase the operational burden borne by hospitals tasked with explaining to those who believe they have a place in line that they will have to wait even longer."

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