Oregon Changes COVID-19 Vaccination Goal

Photo: OHSU

In early July, Oregon achieved a 70% vaccination rate for Oregonians 18 years of age and older. Approaching this number in late June enabled Governor Brown to reopen the state on June 30. However, vaccination rates for Hispanic/Latino/a/x, American Indian/Alaska Native and Black/African American/African Immigrant communities are still hovering in the mid-40% range. To close the equity gap for communities of color, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) is recommitting and focusing on increasing vaccination access through a vaccination equity strategy aimed at achieving a goal of vaccinating 80% of adults of color by the end of this summer. OHA is also committed to vaccinating 80% of all adults in coming months.

“This is about doing everything we possibly can to meet that goal for our communities of color. There is potential to meet this goal by the end of August in some communities, and OHA and its partners will keep pushing until we can say that we have provided every Oregonian with the information they need about vaccines and an opportunity to get vaccinated,” said Erica Sandoval, Equity Director, Oregon Health Authority COVID-19 Response & Recovery Unit.

OHA is supporting both rural and urban areas where efforts would have a high impact on communities of color The OHA data team has been developing data to support this next milestone.

Major dashboard updates are:

• Switching to 80% goal from 65% county goal
• Switching from Population 16+ to Population 18+, keeping Total Population option as is
• Goal will be based on ALERT IIS data only, rather than on CDC data
• New race and ethnicity panel counting down total people remaining to 80% in tribal communities and communities of color statewide

Here is a link to the new dashboard that sends web viewers directly to the Race and Ethnicity tab.

Switching from Population 16+ to Population 18+ resulted in a slight reduction in the race and ethnicity vaccination rates for communities of color, this is likely because younger populations have higher diversity.

Source: Oregon Health Authority