Oregon medical leaders say they’re seeing an uptick in COVID cases across the state.
The Oregon Health Authority reports that August saw the highest COVID test positivity rates of the year—with some weekly rates that were more than seven times higher than this year's low point in January.
Lane County’s Senior Public Health Officer, Dr. Patrick Luedtke, said the virus appears to be less prevalent in Oregon than in California or Washington, based on wastewater data. But he said he's predicting another potential increase in cases this month.
“We have states above us and below us with higher volume of disease. We have just returned to school. There's rain in the schedule at about a week from now, and people are going to be inside breathing the same air," said Luedtke. "This is not rocket science.”
Luedtke said people who get sick should wear a mask in public, stay home if they can, and have a respiratory plan in place with their medical provider if they're at high-risk.
He said he expects COVID vaccines to be available in Oregon this fall, despite changing federal guidance. He's advising people to get their booster.
"I suspect there's a lot of people whose immunity has waned because they didn't get the booster last year," said Luedtke. "They probably didn't get COVID in the last 12 months, because we haven't had tons of it, and they're going to be at risk for an infection this fall. So now is the time."
Luedtke said it may be harder to locate somewhere with vaccines in stock this year, and some people may have to pay out-of-pocket if their insurance doesn't over a booster.
The Food and Drug Administration has only approved the newest vaccines for people 65-and-older, or who have underlying conditions that put them at-risk. Oregon has now joined a West Coast alliance to develop separate vaccination guidelines.
