First COVID-19 vaccines arrive in Oregon

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The first shipment of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine has arrived in Oregon.

Health care workers and nursing home residents will be among the first to be vaccinated. The Oregon Health Authority said Monday the first shipment of vaccine was delivered in Portland.

State officials have said they expect to get 35,100 initial doses from Pfizer this week as part of a broader shipment plan.

That COVID-19 vaccine was approved by federal officials last week and on Sunday got the OK from a a review board set up by Washington, Oregon, California and Nevada. The Western States Scientific Safety Review committee examined data from federal officials.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that by month’s end, Oregon’s total vaccine allotment could be between 197,500 and 228,400 doses, according to statistics from the governor’s office and the health authority.

Those totals include a yet-to-be-approved vaccine from Moderna and second treatments earmarked for people who received the first of two doses. Officials have said they expect December’s allotment should be enough to vaccinate 100,000 residents.

“The vaccine is the light at the end of the tunnel, but we will be in this tunnel for several months,” Patrick Allen, director of the health authority, said in a statement.

The Oregon Health Authority on Monday reported 1,180 new coronavirus cases and six deaths.

Since the start of the pandemic in Oregon, more than 95,000 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed and 1,161 people have died, the health authority said.

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