News & Stories for Oregonians
While seated in the observation area following her COVID-19 booster dose, Carolyn Smith of Park Rose used the time wisely by posting information on social media about the experience. She was, in fact, inside a former Kmart building in Gresham that had been transformed into a winter wonderland vaccination clinic located at 440 NW Burnside Rd.
For 10-year-old Alex, it has been a very long wait to get his COVID-19 vaccination. Alex has asthma and has already been hospitalized a couple of times with it in his short life. “As soon as he gets either a cold or any kind of virus it goes into his lungs and he requires two different inhalers,” said his mother Kimberly.
Demand for COVID-19 vaccination has been so high in many counties that local public health authorities have had to get creative in meeting the needs of their communities.
When word came last week that the Pfizer pediatric vaccine had been approved for children ages 5 through 11, Lori Robinson had two questions: when and where? She added her sons Rowdy, 8, and Stetson, 5, to their family doctor’s wait list, but days later when she learned the vaccine was available at the local hospital, she was on her way.
Senitila McKinley, founder and director of Seashore Family Literacy in Waldport, grew up in a village in Tonga, a group of islands located in the South Pacific Ocean. To this day, Senitila says any hesitancy she had about getting vaccinated against COVID-19 wasn’t about the vaccine, but the needle. She says her fear of needles began when she went to get her first vaccine as a child. When she saw the needle, Senitila ran home. But her father “believed in Western medicine,” and carried her back.
Eight-year-old Jasmine Van Horne is not normally keen on shots, but the promise of the fun she’ll once again be able to share in was all she needed to line up for the first pediatric vaccinations in Curry County. Her 10-year-old brother, Jordan, was right there beside her. “I was happy because my son has special needs,” […]
On a blustery day in October, Deborah “Debbie” Becker had just one mission—to get her COVID-19 booster. At 71, both Debbie and her husband Randy, 73, have underlying conditions and are committed to protecting their health. But it wasn’t looking good.
Crystal and Ron Phipps of Eugene did a lot of research and had many thoughtful discussions before making the decision to have their 13-year-old daughter, Emma, vaccinated.
From the moment COVID-19 made the news, Michelle Geltner knew she had one just one job — to protect her son, Ezra, who has Down Syndrome, from getting it.
The moment Victoria Leo learned Mercy Flights was sponsoring a drive-through vaccination clinic, she began counting the days until her appointment. On the eve of the big day, she was so excited she couldn’t sleep— And rightly so. Victoria, an author and retired psychotherapist, has an underlying condition that could make a COVID-19 infection especially dangerous.