Oregon began rolling out COVID-19 vaccines for people 80 and older on Monday. It is the first phase of the introduction of Oregon’s COVID-19 vaccine to seniors. Over the next four weeks, the number of people eligible for vaccination will more than double as people 65 and older are eligible, one age bracket at a time. How each person will be vaccinated depends on where they live – the process will look very different in each province. Oregon Health Authority officials anticipate “chaos” when new systems are tested.
Nancy and Ira Wikstrom were first in line for doses of a COVID-19 vaccine at a new site in Ridgefield, Washington on January 26, 2021. The site opened to deliver more than 700 vaccines per day.
Troy Brynelson / OPB
The Oregon Health Authority announced a number of new changes to its website last week. During the first phase of the vaccine rollout, some groups – such as health workers not affiliated with a major system, or caregivers at home – were overlooked or struggled to get a vaccine.
OHA is rolling out a number of new tools to fill those gaps. aimed at addressing some of the cracks revealed during the early stages of reopening. But those tools, and those that existed before, have yet to be tested with such a wide range of people. And if there’s one thing we’ve learned about this pandemic, it’s that any website, well-designed or not, can be confusing and crash if overloaded.
“I don’t think anyone is under the illusion that the things we implement will create an instant, seamless experience for every senior,” said OHA Communications Director Robb Cowie, “And we know, especially for the senior population, that technology isn’t always easy. . “
To try to make things less confusing, here is a list of resources with frequently asked questions, troubleshooting tips, and guidelines for those who are not yet a candidate for the COVID-19 vaccine.
The Oregon Health Authority determines who is eligible to be vaccinated and decides how many vaccines are sent from the state’s weekly shipments to each county. The details of how the portion of each county will be divided is up to the local public health authorities. The best way to get vaccines into humans
Related: Oregon’s plan to defeat COVID-19, an illustrated guide
the Portland region will be very different from the best way to get vaccines to people in Harney County, so the rollout will look very different in each of Oregon counties.
Some counties have already used their assigned amount of vaccines to target groups that fell through the gaps in other parts of the rollout. Some counties will also move faster than others: some counties already started vaccinating people aged 80 and older last week, when they finished vaccinating people who were already eligible and wanted the vaccine.
This week, vaccinations are only available to people 80 and older and those who were already eligible. Here’s what we know about who comes next. Other seniors can also schedule vaccinations for future dates starting today, but that will change by province.
- Feb 15 – People 75 and older are eligible
- February 22 – People 70 and older are eligible
- March 1 – People 65 and older are eligible
That’s nearly 800,000 extra people, and there are still people in Group 1a who have yet to receive the vaccine. Oregon is expected to receive about 75,000 first doses of vaccine every week, although that number may increase as more vaccines become available. The Oregon Health Authority estimates that at this rate, 75% of eligible seniors will have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by early April.
Once 75% of seniors, teachers, and stage 1a members have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, the Oregon Health Authority will make vaccines available to other groups.
If you’re 80 or older, chances are you can get the COVID-19 vaccine pretty quickly. People in the age group 75 and older may also have it easier.
But the number of people who qualify increases as the age limit for seniors gets lower. According to OHA data, vaccine demand will quickly outpace supply.
“The gap between eligible people and the number of vaccines is pretty big at first, and it’s only going to get wider,” explains OHA Director Patrick Allen.
Many people cannot get an appointment for their first vaccination until the end of March. If the appointments are full when you try to register, please try again later.
There are currently two tools available to help people find out if they qualify for the COVID-19 vaccine and help them make appointments.
The first system is a chatbot on the OHA website that tells you if you are eligible and helps people make appointments. It only works in English and Spanish. The second is a Google tool called Get Vaccinated Oregon that connects people with vaccination events in their area. It will be available in 12 languages. It will be available on the OHA COVID-19 vaccination page.
Go to the Oregon Health Authority’s COVID-19 vaccination website, covidvaccine.oregon.gov. Scroll about halfway down the page (it’s a very large page) and look for the link that says “Vaccine Eligibility.” Then click on ‘Get started’. A chatbot – which is really just an interactive survey – will appear in the bottom right corner of the screen. Follow the chatbot’s instructions. It will lead you to a page to make your appointment.
Step 1 is always to refresh the page and start over. If you accidentally leave the page, the bot will (usually) remember information you entered previously.
That can be a problem if you make a mistake, but the bot does have a “start over” button that clears your previous conversation. Some users have reported that that button was not working. If that happens, try clearing your browser cookies before reloading the page.
Clearing cookies is simple, but you do it differently in each browser. Google ‘how to clear cookies’ and the name of your browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari, etc.) and the operating system you were using (such as Windows, Mac, iOS and Android.)
OHA maintains a page that directs you to vaccination information in various provinces. You may find more information there, but you may also have to wait for new appointments to be made and try again.
The Oregon Health Authority partnered with Google to create a new vaccine registry tool. It’s not possible to get you make an appointment, but it will tell you if you are eligible for the vaccine and send updates on eligibility and events.
To sign up, go to getvaccinated.oregon.gov. There are two buttons on the screen, one with ‘Log in’ and one with ‘Check your eligibility’. If it is your first time to use the website and create an account, click on ‘Check Eligibility’.
You will receive a short survey about your age, occupation and other factors that affect eligibility. If you are eligible, you will be taken to a page to complete your profile. If you are not eligible, you can still complete your profile and sign up to receive notifications when you are eligible.
People currently eligible for the vaccine can sign up for alerts about local vaccination events.
It is best to try again at a less busy time. The times before 9am and after 9pm are usually less busy. But vaccination sites are first-come, first-served, so appointments may also be full if you wait too long to register.
The state maintains a COVID-19 helpline, which can be reached by calling 211. That line has had long wait times, so the Oregon government Kate Brown announced on Friday that it will mobilize an additional 30 National Guard troops to the line. to man.
But the line can still be full.
As the line may be busy, a text line is also available to assist. You can text ORCOVID to 898211 to receive that information as well.
The Oregon Health Authority is implementing vaccinations for seniors, age group by age group, to prevent congestion. But some are still inevitable.
Although people over 80 can make appointments, OHAs Allen asked that people under 80 wait a while before registering. If you’re someone who can stay home easily and are unlikely to get sick, you can help more at-risk people get their vaccinations by waiting a few weeks – even after your group is eligible to schedule appointments.
“We want to ask seniors to stand still so that the over 80s can access the system,” Allen said.
Once the initial flow of people wanes, any technical issues and delays should diminish.
You can also help by using the chatbot or by texting ORCOVID to 898221 (see above) before trying the 211 helpline. If a question cannot be answered in those ways, call 211 as a last resort.
You will receive information on how to schedule a second dose after you have received your first dose.
Spanish is supported on the OHA website and by the chatbot. Spanish-speaking speakers are also available on the 211 hotline. Translations can also be provided by the Oregon Health Authority, by contacting the Health Information Center at 1-971-673-2411
It is possible to access most of OHA’s website with Google translate, although the translations may not be completely accurate. You can do this by downloading this app.
211info.org/COVID also contains resources in various languages.
Large text and Braille versions of OHA documents are also available. To access it, contact the Health Information Center at 1-971-673-2411. The website for the 211 number, 211info.org/COVID, provides information on accessing health resources for the deaf or hard of hearing, and TTY numbers for relevant agencies.
To contact the Health Information Center via TTY, dial 711 before calling 1-971-673-2411.