Portland’s first high-volume COVID-19 vaccination site opens today: Here’s what you need to know:

Leaders of the four largest hospital systems in the Portland region celebrated opening Wednesday First in the Portland area Massive COVID-19 vaccination site At the Oregon Convention Center in Northeast Portland.

The site held a soft open on Wednesday for approximately 1,500 healthcare professionals and others in Phase 1a of vaccination-eligible vaccine deployment. COVID-19 (new coronavirus infection) (# If there is no character limit, add parentheses when it first appears.. The site will begin vaccination of approximately 2,000 childcare, kindergarten, kindergarten to high school workers per day.

This site is scheduled to open 7 days a week by appointment. According to the organizer, the educator will be contacted by the employer with instructions on how to book.

Authorities plan to provide an online or telephone booking system by the time the vaccine is finally available to the general population segment unrelated to a particular employer-Oregons over 80 from February 8th. Deployment to is planned.

If federal government permits Oregon vaccination, the site may increase up to 7,500 vaccinations per day.

“This is not a short-term event, it will be open for several months,” Kaiser Permanente Northwest Chief Operating Officer Wendy Watson said in a press conference Wednesday with the four hospital systems that operate the site. Stated.

Participating in Kaiser are Legacy Health, Providence Health & Services, and the University of Oregon Health & Sciences.

Organizers expect OHSU to become a major vaccination center in the Portland region, although it plans a small drive-through vaccination site in one of the parking lots at Portland International Airport. The state also plans to rely on several mobile vaccination sites to provide vaccination access to hard-to-reach communities.

When the organizer asked why the Oregon Convention Center site vaccinated people indoors where the coronavirus and especially its more contagious British variants could spread more easily, the organizers said. Safe, saying people are at least 6 feet away. Watson said bad weather was one of the reasons for not vaccination outdoors. Second, drive-through sites couldn’t vaccinate as many people daily as indoor sites.

“It’s pretty fast going in and out,” Watson said.

Portland’s new site is one of the few such mass vaccination sites in Oregon.This includes Pork County Fairgrounds State trade fair venue In Salem. This week, educators began vaccination in Marion County. This is January 25, a few days earlier than the official state immunization start date for employees from nursery schools, kindergartens, kindergartens to high schools. According to KATU..

As of Wednesday, Oregon had approximately 225,000 doses, and the pace of vaccination has accelerated since its slow deployment. In fact, Patrick Allen, director of the Oregon Department of Health, said the major problem Oregon is currently facing is getting enough vaccine at the vaccination site.

“All the vaccinations we contacted last week begged for additional vaccines that couldn’t be assigned to them when they were doing 15,000 (vaccinations) a day,” Allen said. ..

According to Allen, the federal government provides vaccines to vaccinated people at no direct cost, but the operating costs of running a Portland vaccination site will be reimbursed to the health care system. Allen said Oregon’s health care program, Medicare, private insurance, or a special fund for people without insurance would pay the health care system a set amount for each vaccination. However, it is unlikely to cover their costs, so the state is considering immersing itself in federal funding recently passed by Congress for coronavirus-related costs.

Oregon began vaccination of health care workers, caregivers and other health professionals on December 16th. Governor Kate Brown is then set to prioritize teachers, then Oregons over the age of 80, and then the Fairness Commission is set to publish its recommendations before the Governor issues orders.

Legacy Health Chief Operating Officer Trent Green sought the patience of the general public as the site expanded.

“I know people are worried,” Green said. “It’s really hard to wait a few months after this pandemic. We can say that our phone cuts off relationships with people who want to know when and where they can get vaccinated.”

Mr Green continues. “Calling a doctor’s office or a hospital cannot speed up the process, nor can you change the current stage by calling a doctor’s office or hospital. . “

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-Amy Green; [email protected]