Ways to enjoy the holiday season safely

It’s important to celebrate and be with people you care about during the holiday season. And because all adults and many children are now eligible for vaccination, safety guidance has loosened up a little since last year.

COVID-19 booster doses authorized for people 18 and older in Oregon

Everyone age 18 and older is now eligible for a COVID-19 booster dose. COVID-19 vaccines are safe, effective and free. Today, the Oregon Health Authority authorized pharmacies, health clinics and other vaccine providers in the state to begin administering boosters. The state’s orders follow actions by the federal government and the Western States Scientific Safety […]

Misconceptions about COVID-19 vaccinations for children: Q & A with Dr. Bukhosi Dube

Fighting a pandemic is hard; fighting a pandemic with bad information is like throwing oil on a fire. It just makes the problem that much worse. Here, we take a look with Dr. Bukhosi Dube at some of the common misconceptions about vaccinations. Risk of myocarditis is greater from COVID-19 than from COVID-19 vaccines Parents […]

Keeping schools safe during COVID-19: Improving airflow and circulation with outside air

Every layer matters. By improving airflow and circulation with outside air, schools can make sure that COVID-19 virus droplets are dispersed and diluted by fresh air. Also, filtration of indoor air helps remove airborne particles than can contain the COVID-19 virus.

Vaccine Voices: Alex ‘had the biggest smile’

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.

Vaccine Voices: ‘It’s not every day you get your vaccine in a livestock barn’

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.

How school COVID-19 testing supports in-person learning this school year

Every layer matters. Regular COVID-19 testing will help Oregon schools identify cases of COVID-19 infection early. Combined with cohorting, this will also help schools determine which students or staff need to isolate or quarantine to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to others. 

Vaccine Voices: ‘I have complete faith in my doctors.’

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.  

Vaccine Voices: ‘It’s about our common life together.’

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.