Teachers in Oregon, school staff and other education workers should be next – after medical staff and residents and caregivers – to receive the coronavirus vaccine, Gov. Kate Brown said Tuesday.
Brown’s statement comes as tens of thousands of doses of the vaccine arrive in Oregon and tens of thousands more are expected in the coming days.
DETAILED MAP AND CORONAVIRUS DATA TRACKING IN OREGON
About 350,000 people in the priority categories have not yet been vaccinated before officials move on to educators and other priority groups, such as front-line workers in other fields and people aged 75 and over. The Oregon Health Authority plans to decide by mid-February exactly which groups will be prioritized in the future, a state spokesman said.
Since vaccinations in Oregon began Dec. 16, at least 7,200 have received the first of two doses of COVID-19.
Although it may take some time for the vaccines to reach them, Brown concluded that educators must continue to come.
“I do this because I think it’s essential that our teachers, our educators, our school staff – whether it’s people who work in the dining halls or do the transportation – are protected and that we do this while we work for getting our kids back in class, ”Brown said.
It is unclear whether the next will be front-line workers and the elderly, as the state is still working to set up its Vaccine Advisory Committee, which will advise the governor and others on how vaccines are distributed. State officials say they are working to form a committee whose members represent communities disproportionately affected by the pandemic.
Rural hospitals in Oregon will soon benefit from the recently approved Moderna vaccine, which is easier to store and transport than the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine because it does not require ultra-cold temperatures.
The state will receive 72,100 doses of Modern vaccine by the end of the week, along with 25,000 next week, said Oregon Health Authority Director Patrick Allen.
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– Fedor Zarkhin
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