Cases Rise Among Unvaccinated
New cases of COVID-19 are up about 11% in Oregon over the past week. According to the Oregon Health Authority only about 5% of the new cases are of the Delta Variant that seems to be gaining ground across the U.S. many of the newly infected individuals are among the unvaccinated population. Concerns about the side effects of vaccinations are what many individuals are using to keep from getting vaccinated, but Ben Schroeder, a physicians assistant with Peace Harbor Hospital says there is now over a year of data with vaccines and individuals for the most part are not having adverse effects.
“We’ve got about a year now and the folks that were involved in those first trials, you know They’re not seeing any kind of strange side effects.”
Schroeder says that the long term efficacy of the vaccines are holding up over time and they are seeing positive results against new strains including the Delta Variant.
”It seems like these vaccines we have are basically just as effective against these variants that keep coming out.”
The Delta Variant according to health authorities is more virulent and even causes greater sickness and is even more deadly. Schroeder says the unvaccinated are at a greater risk and should consider the positive data out there and get vaccinated.
OHA Changing Reporting Features
The Oregon Health Authority continues to pare down their reporting on COVID-19 cases even as the rate of the virus continues to climb across the state. on Friday the OHA reported that it will be shortening their daily newsletter which outlines the latest statistics around the state and will instead redirect individuals to the many data sites that it is currently maintaining. Individuals that want to stay current should have some familiarity with the individual reports. Over the past year the OHA has developed many different types of reports to break down what has been happening with COVID-19. Their one page report will now have links to the separate data points for statistics like deaths, new cases, immunizations, and the breakdown of what vaccines are available and where. The OHA has already stopped reporting on weekend numbers and tallies them for a Tuesday report.
New Cases For Florence
Lane County Public Health added another COVID-19 case for the Florence Area on Friday. The new numbers released from Lane County still do not reflect the recent outbreak at a local care facility in Florence. Those numbers are expected to hit the report this week. Jason Davis with Lane County Public Health said on Friday that it will take a little time to confirm all the individuals affected. Lane County on Friday afternoon reported 28 new cases. Multnomah County still has the highest rate of new infections across the state followed by Washington, Jackson and Clackamas.
City Council Back to In-Person Sessions
The Florence City Council meets in person for the first time in more than a year. This evening at 5:30 City Hall will once again allow in person viewing of meetings with a fairly stout agenda. The council will hold a public hearing on a proposed sale of a portion of a lot in the Pacific View Business Park. Hyak fiber internet services is seeking a portion of lot #20 along kingwood street. If the sale is approved the city will receive approximately $19,000 in revenue and the funds would be utilized by the City of Florence Municipal Airport Fund. The city will also consider an economic development grant and consider entering into an agreement with United Way of Lane County. The council will also consider ratification of the three year collective bargaining agreement with the Florence Police Employees Association agreement. The city has been in negotiations since December of 2020. The prior agreement ended on June 30th. the current agreement when ratified will be back dated to July 1st of this year. A complete agenda for this evening’s meeting is available at ci.florence.or.us.
