The White House Prioritizes Vaccines for Teachers | Coronavirus

Federal policy represents another setback for older Oregons who are most vulnerable to the virus. As a result, Governor Kate Brown and the Oregon Department of Health urged local pharmacies to ignore federal guidance and continue vaccinations for older people aged 65 and over.

“This was a decision made at the federal level without prior consultation with state leaders,” Charles Boyle, a spokesman for Brown’s office, said in an email Tuesday. “Governor Brown has worked directly with the White House to update this policy, with pharmacies participating in federal programs in states such as Oregon, which primarily vaccinate the workforce of educators, continue to be older. I am able to schedule reservations for. “

President Joe Biden announced on March 2 that he would prioritize vaccinated teachers by the end of March as part of a national effort to safely reopen schools. To that end, he said he would ask pharmacies participating in the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program to secure teacher reservations starting this week.

“To do this, we will prioritize pre-kindergarten vaccination by 12 educators, staff and childcare workers for the next month, or March, using the Federal Pharmacy Program.” Biden said. ..

According to the Oregon Department of Health, the new restrictions apply only to vaccination reservations at retail pharmacies participating in a federal program that was scheduled to receive 35,000 doses throughout Oregon this week. Other sites, including mass vaccination sites such as clinics and the Oregon Convention Center, continue to book for Oregon people over the age of 65 and others eligible under state guidelines. These sites will receive approximately 90,000 doses this week.

The change in the Biden administration has allowed Safeway, Albertsons, and Helsmart pharmacies to allow only teachers and child care workers to schedule COVID-19 vaccine reservations on Tuesday through an online system. Costco and Walgreens did not list the same requirements.

An individual who called Brooklyn Pharmacy, an affiliate of HellSmart in Southeast Portland, said on Tuesday that the pharmacy would set aside a specific day each week so teachers could schedule vaccination appointments. I met a voice recording.

Records show that it is not clear when older people will be eligible to sign up for COVID-19 vaccine reservations again through the pharmacy, instead older Oregons will continue to check the pharmacy’s website for changes in standards. Is recommended.

“If you’re 65 or older and you’re not a nursery school or educator, these days aren’t available to you,” said the voice recording.

HealthMart spokesman Kristen Breland said the pharmacy chain prioritized vaccine booking educators this Monday and Tuesday to meet federal requirements, but booked with other qualified Oregons later this week. He said he plans to bring it back. She said the pharmacy was evaluating an additional number of days this month to prioritize scheduling teachers for vaccination.

“As a pharmacy partner in the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program, Health Mart supports government guidance to prioritize dosages for educators, staff and nursery teachers from K to 12,” she said in a statement. .. “We apologize for the patient’s dissatisfaction.”

Safeway and Albertsons spokesmen did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

New federal guidance prioritizing the appointment of teachers at these pharmacies will be in effect until the end of March. Unless there is additional explanation requested by state leaders, it seems to be up to individual pharmacies to decide how to interpret federal guidance.

The change in guidance has again frustrated seniors and supporters who were initially anxious about Brown’s decision to prioritize teachers for vaccination at the expense of seniors. Oregon teachers are eligible for the vaccine from January 25th, but seniors over the age of 80 are not eligible until February 8th, and teachers over the age of 65 are only eligible for the vaccine on March 1st.

According to an analysis by Oregon on February 20, Oregon was ranked third from the last of the 31 states, with comparable data on the proportion of older people vaccinated.

Approximately 44% of Oregon’s older people over the age of 65 are vaccinated, according to data from the Oregon Department of Health. Similar data were not available on the proportion of vaccinated Oregon teachers.

Earlier this week, the Oregon Department of Health gave large clinic providers a weekly dose of at least 15,000 COVID-19 to vaccinate older people aged 65 and over in the counties of Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas, and Colombia. Announced that it will be available for 3 weeks.

However, many older Oregon citizens ran into problems last month trying to schedule vaccine reservations directly through the state. This was due to a flood of booking requests, urging the Oregon Convention Center’s new lottery system. Pharmacies have proven to be a welcome alternative for older people who have been able to steal limited appointments.

Oregon Health Director Patrick Allen will send a letter to Safeway and Albertsons pharmacies and others participating in federal programs on Saturday to keep reservations open for seniors. Prompted. According to Oregon Health Department spokesman Delia Hernandez, the Oregon State Health Department is also seeking further explanation from the federal government for new guidance.

“In Oregon, (teachers and child care providers) are eligible to be vaccinated from January 25th, and at this point most people think they have an appointment or are vaccinated as needed. “We do,” Hernandez said in an email. “OHA has demanded that participating pharmacies continue to ensure access to all eligible individuals in Oregon, but recognizes that pharmacies are working on this CDC guidance in a variety of ways. . “

Portland’s criminal defense counsel, Edie Rogoway, is one of dozens of official and informal volunteers who have helped seniors in Oregon sign up for COVID-19 vaccine reservations. Rogoway said older people seemed to be disqualified from receiving vaccine appointments at pharmacies on Monday.

Rogoway said he was shocked and disappointed that older Oregons, who were at greatest risk of dying from the virus, were once again locked out of their appointments when they finally began to access the vaccine.

She didn’t immediately ask Brown to explain the new guidance and accused her of working with the federal government to prevent older people from being vaccinated in pharmacies.

“At least the governor should have contacted them and said,’Listen, we prioritized teachers first,'” Rogoway said. “They have been vaccinated for weeks. We have just arrived at our seniors. We need some exemption or workaround.”