Health & Medicine

For many it may seem that life is heading back to normal after Lane County met the vaccination metrics to move to Low risk for COVID-19 restrictions.  However, the future is uncertain for the unvaccinated.

Now that Lane County has achieved Low Risk status for business restrictions, Public Health has shifted the goal. Officials say now it’s about reaching “herd immunity” in order to protect everyone. The focus is on vaccine access.  

Lane County has met the state’s 65% metric for COVID-19 vaccinations and will now move to the Low Risk category—permanently. Changes in community restrictions will go into effect sooner than expected. 

Oregonians could buy certain cold medicines without a prescription under a bill approved Monday by the Oregon Senate.

As of today, roughly 66% of Oregonians 18 and older have had at least one dose of any COVID-19 vaccine. An expert at Oregon State University says that's not enough to help protect the less vulnerable, like children, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems. Brett Tyler also says the virus is mutating and becoming more dangerous, particularly in the unvaccinated population. And, yes, that includes children under 12.

If you’ve spent the past week sneezing, rubbing your eyes, and even suffering asthma, that’s because one of the worst allergy seasons since 2010 is upon us in the South Willamette Valley. 

HIV Alliance has launched a Medication Assisted Treatment (MET) program for people who inject illicit drugs in Lane County.

Officials say Lane County is close-- but still has not met the state’s vaccination metric to move to Low Risk for restrictions. 

Oregon State University has scheduled another round of COVID-19 prevalence testing this weekend, June 5 and 6, in Corvallis.

Warm weather is expected to beckon residents to the open water this holiday weekend. With that, Lane County Sheriff’s Office has some warnings for boaters. 

As we head into the Memorial Day weekend we learn that Oregon has hit an unfortunate milestone: 200,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic. While cases continue to decrease this figure is a reminder that people are still vulnerable. Dr. Patrick Luedtke joins us to answer listener questions and discuss where Oregon is at during this moment of the pandemic.

There are a number of vaccination clinics coming up, including the following:

Small mobiles this weekend:

Investigations in Eugene/Springfield continue over a recent rash of overdoses related to fentanyl. Some deaths are reportedly associated with fake prescription pills believed to contain the powerful drug. 

The City of Eugene is partnering with White Bird Clinic to provide a downtown location for primary care and behavioral health services to the unhoused.

Oregon lawmakers gave final approval Wednesday to a bill that would ban the sale of vaping products over the internet.

With the current rate of new COVID-19 cases, about 130 per 100,000 people, officials say Lane County is expected to remain in the High risk category for restrictions.

Governor Kate Brown announced Friday that the state will offer a lottery program to offer a $1-million grand prize which everyone 18 and over who gets the COVID-19 vaccine will be eligible to win. We discuss this with Dr. Patrick Luedtke of Lane County Public Health.

Benton, Deschutes, and Lincoln Counties are among five Oregon counties that will enter the state’s “Lower Risk” category for COVID-19 starting Friday.

This week, Eugene’s Bethel School District is holding COVID-19 vaccination clinics for 12 to 15 year old students. KLCC’s Tiffany Eckert visited a clinic at Willamette High School to see how things were going.