Eligibility for COVID-19 vaccinations is expanding widely and relatively quickly in the next few weeks. People ages 45 to 64 with underlying conditions and pregnant women 16 and older became eligible on March 29 as well as farm workers, food processing plant employees, those experiencing houselessness and others.
Starting Monday, April 5, people 16 and older with underlying conditions, as well as essential workers as defined by the Centers for Disease Control, will be eligible as well. Every Oregonian who is 16 and older will be eligible on May 1.
Check out the eligibility timeline and information from the Oregon Health Authority.
Coronavirus vaccination appointments are available each week in Benton, Lincoln and Linn counties and can be scheduled at samhealth.org/GetTheVaccine. Links to each county’s waitlist can also be found at this website, and people are encouraged to register on their county’s waitlist if the schedule is full. If you do not have a computer or smartphone and internet access, you can call 855-441-2311 to schedule or sign up for your county’s waitlist.
Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are administered at the mass vaccination events in Benton, Lincoln and Linn counties. These vaccines require two doses, and the second dose will be scheduled before you leave.
Several local pharmacies are also giving vaccinations by appointment. If you sign up for your county’s vaccination waitlist and then get vaccinated instead at one of these pharmacies, please be sure to let your county public health department know you no longer need to attend a mass vaccination event by opting out of receiving further emails. (Links for opting out are usually at the bottom of the emails you will receive.)
All of the coronavirus vaccines currently in use in the United States – Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson – have been found to be very effective at preventing moderate to severe COVID-19 symptoms, and in large-scale clinical research trials all of them have been found to be 100% effective at preventing hospitalization or death from the disease.
Anyone with questions or concerns about coronavirus vaccination is encouraged to have a conversation with their health care provider.
Meanwhile, please continue to take care and follow all coronavirus precautions such as washing your hands, physical distancing, wearing face masks when around people from outside your household and avoiding large gatherings.
For more information about local COVID-19 response and vaccination efforts visit samhealth.org/Coronavirus.