As of May 6, Samaritan Health Services was caring for 17 COVID-19 patients in its five hospitals in Albany, Corvallis, Lebanon, Lincoln City and Newport. The recent surge in cases has led to 21 hospitalizations in the past few weeks among Samaritan-affiliated hospitals.
These recent hospitalizations represent the highest peak of Samaritan coronavirus inpatients since mid-January, with the most patients between the ages of 40 and 59 since November 2020.
“Though the numbers of new cases had decreased in an encouraging way, we are seeing an average of nearly 800 new coronavirus cases every day across Oregon right now,” said Infectious Disease Specialist Adam Brady, MD, of the Samaritan Coronavirus Task Force. “This underscores the importance of vaccinating as many people as possible as soon as possible.”
If you have not yet been vaccinated for COVID-19, please make an appointment as soon as you can, or visit a drop-in location. All Oregonians age 16 and older are eligible for a COVID-19 vaccination at this point.
If you have been vaccinated, thanks for doing everything you can to help end this pandemic. Please encourage your family and friends to get vaccinated as soon as possible as well.
To schedule an appointment for COVID-19 vaccination:
- Visit samhealth.org/GetTheVaccine, where you will find scheduling links for county vaccination events when appointments and drop-in vaccinations are available.
- If no appointments are available, you are encouraged to check back often as appointments are added regularly when supply is available.
- If you or someone you know does not have internet access through a computer or smart phone, the Samaritan COVID-19 vaccine scheduling hotline is available at 855-441-2311.
- Visit local pharmacy websites. Helpful websites for finding pharmacies with appointments include vaccinefinder.org and vaccinespotter.org/OR.
For more information about Samaritan Health Services’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic, visit samhealth.org/Coronavirus.