Lane County COVID-19 update, Oct. 21: 550 uncounted COVID deaths in Oregon due to 'computer error'
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Lane County reported two deaths and 109 confirmed or presumptive cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, raising the death toll to 297 and the countywide case count to 27,652.
There were 512 people considered infectious, down from Wednesday's 513.
There were 62 hospitalized in Lane County on Wednesday, up 7% from Wednesday's 58, with 14 in intensive care and five on ventilators, both down one from Wednesday.
Of the 62 Lane County COVID-19 patients hospitalized Thursday, 73.8%, or 46 of the 62, were unvaccinated, Lane County Public Health reported.
As of Tuesday, 251,739 people in Lane County, 66.01% of the total population, had received first or second vaccine doses with 490,857 first and second doses administered in Lane County, according to the Oregon Health Authority.
550 uncounted COVID deaths in Oregon due to 'computer error'
PORTLAND — During the coming weeks Oregon will add around 550 additional COVID-19 deaths — which had not previously been reported due to a "technical computer error" — to its registry, state health officials said on Thursday.
Currently, Oregon has the sixth lowest death rate in the nation, officials said. However, the missing fatal cases will increase the Pacific Northwest state's death toll, since the start of the pandemic, by about 13%. Officials said the additional cases are expected to push Oregon's death rate past one or two other states.
"We are taking steps to ensure that our reporting is comprehensive and transparent," Oregon Health Authority Director Patrick Allen said Thursday. "We extend our condolences to everyone who has suffered a loss to COVID-19, and we deeply regret the pain this disclosure may cause."
As a result, the Oregon Health Authority's daily reported COVID-19 related deaths will be higher than usual until the backlog is resolved, officials said. Most of the additional deaths occurred between May and August 2021.
Moderna, J&J boosters could be available by Friday
A federal committee is expected to vote Thursday on whether to allow booster shots for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines, following the Food and Drug Administration's authorization of both for certain populations on Wednesday.
Boosters for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine were OK’d in September for people 65 and older and for high-risk workers.
The Advisory Committee on Vaccine Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention meets to discuss whether to recommend a third shot after the two-dose series of Moderna and a second shot after the “one and done” J&J vaccine. If it recommends them, the CDC’s director typically signs off within a day, potentially making them available as soon as Friday.
A bigger question is whether the committee will recommend that people be allowed to mix and match booster doses. The FDA gave its approval for people to receive additional doses from manufacturers other than their initial shots.
This is especially relevant for people who got the J&J vaccine after a National Institutes of Health study found that a shot of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine after J&J provide higher levels of protection from COVID-19 than two shots of J&J. The FDA also recommended people who got a J&J shot to receive a second one after two months.
Also in the news:
►Georgia’s unemployment rate fell to an all-time low of 3.2% in September, the 17th month in a row that the state’s jobless rate has fallen. Georgia reached an all-time high jobless rate of 12.5% at the start of the pandemic in April 2020.
►Nebraska hospitals can resume lower-priority surgeries starting Friday after Gov. Pete Ricketts announced he’s ending the restrictions that have kept facilities from being overwhelmed with patients during the coronavirus pandemic.
►Unvaccinated Minnesotans are 15 times more likely to require hospitalization for COVID-19 and 30 times more likely to die from the disease than vaccinated residents, Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said Wednesday.
►Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered most Russians to stay home from work for a week beginning Oct. 30 to curb rising COVID infections and deaths.
►Eighty animals at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine created for veterinary use. The animals include big cats, great apes, giraffes, red pandas, skunks, goats, river otters, bearcats and domestic dogs and cats.
📈 Today's numbers: The U.S. has recorded more than 45.2 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 731,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Global totals: More than 242.1 million cases and 4.9 million deaths. More than 189.7 million Americans – 57.1% of the population – are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.
DeSantis promises special legislative session to ban vaccine mandates
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday said he will convene a special legislative session next month to pass bills to combat vaccine mandates enacted by businesses. The Republican outlined policy goals for the special session, including holding businesses liable for adverse reactions to vaccines, removing legal liability protections for employers with vaccine mandates and added protections for people fired for not being vaccinated.
Other states are considering anti-mandate bills. GOP Texas Gov. Greg Abbott last week issued an executive order to prohibit any entity from requiring vaccines.
“At the end of the day, you shouldn’t be discriminated against based on your health decisions,” DeSantis said during a news conference. “We want to provide protection for people, we want to make it clear that, in Florida, your right to earn a living is not contingent upon whatever choices you’re making in terms of these injections.”
Miami-Dade schools could ease mask rules soon
The mask mandate for students in Florida's Miami-Dade County could add an opt-out option coming days due to falling infection and hospitalization rates, school Superintendent Alberto Carvalho says. The number of students needing to quarantine in the district's schools has dropped significantly since school started in August, he said. The district will continue to rely on "science and data" in the community and schools to guide decision-making, adding that the district "continues to monitor key metrics," he said. Miami-Dade County Public Schools includes more than 500 schools and almost 350,000 students.
"In light of these favorable data trends both in our schools and community, @MDCPS will continue to review protocols on a weekly basis to identify opportunities for further relaxation, including adjustments to mask protocols," Carvalho tweeted.
Flu season, COVID could mean difficult winter for kids
Flu season is coming up, and no one is counting on a repeat of last winter’s reprieve from that annual scourge. Jennifer Erdahl, nurse manager of the pediatric ICU at the University of Iowa's Stead Family Children’s Hospital, said her staff is bracing for the current surge of young patients to continue deep into the winter. Many Americans hoped stories of packed hospitals would fade as the pandemic waned in early summer. The introduction of vaccines for adults was followed by plummeting case rates and soaring optimism. The late summer COVID surge deflated such hopes.
"It feels daunting and a little overwhelming that we're two months into it and we're still very busy," Erdahl said. "And we think we have months more to go."
– Tony Leys and Jessica Koscielniak
Pfizer booster shot 95.6% effective in large trial, company says
Fully vaccinated people who received Pfizer and BioNTech's booster shot in a large trial were at a 95.6% lower risk of COVID-19 infection than fully vaccinated people who received a placebo, the companies said. No safety concerns were reported from the trial that included 10,000 people ages 16 and older, the companies said. The booster shot already has been authorized for use in the U.S.
“These results provide further evidence of the benefits of boosters as we aim to keep people well-protected against this disease,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement.
US has donated 200 million doses
The U.S. has donated 200 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines globally as of Thursday morning, the White House announced.
The United States Agency for International Development and COVAX, a world initiative to deliver vaccines globally, plans to deliver more than 1 billion U.S.-made vaccine doses globally to low-income countries in the next year, USAID Administrator Samantha Power said.
"Today, Americans have 200 million reasons to be proud," Power said in a White House statement. "USAID is honored to be at the forefront of this global vaccination effort unprecedented in scale, speed, and complexity, to counter the worst pandemic in modern history."
US surgeon general and Hinge team up for pandemic dating advice
Mask up or make out? Dating is tricky during the pandemic, but according to a new video by U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy and the dating app Hinge, it's possible to make connections and still avoid COVID-19.
"Dating during the COVID-19 pandemic: It's not simple, but it's definitely possible," Murthy says in a video released Tuesday by Hinge. “Recognize that getting vaccinated is the single most important thing we can do to reduce our risk."
Follow a risk assessment checklist to decide whether to go in for a kiss: Consider whether the person is fully vaccinated, has interacted with anyone who isn't and has taken precautions such as wearing a mask.
– Keira Wingate, USA TODAY
Unions warn pilots to stay focused on flying, not vaccine mandates
Pilots at American and Southwest airlines are being warned to keep vaccine mandate issues out of the cockpit because of potential flight safety concerns.
The Allied Pilots Association, which represents American's 14,000 pilots, sent a memo to members Tuesday about an increase in distractions because of looming deadlines to get vaccinated and sharply divided views on the topic.
The subject line: "Distractions cannot affect safety.''
"We are seeing distractions in the flight deck that can create dangerous situations,'' the memo from the union's safety committee said.
The number of pilots self-reporting vaccine mandate talk or concerns to the Federal Aviation Administration as a distraction on the job has spiked, union spokesman Dennis Tajer said.
– Dawn Gilbertson, USA TODAY
NBA legend Charles Barkley sounds off on vaccine and Nets star Kyrie Irving
Charles Barkley has never had a problem speaking his mind.
The Hall of Famer and Suns legend reminded the nation of that again in talking about Kyrie Irving's situation and his own personal feelings about the COVID-19 vaccine.
"First of all, you don't get for yourself, you get it for other people," Barkley said during TNT tip-off show Tuesday afternoon. "I got vaccinated. I can't wait to get the booster. You don't get vaccinated just for yourself. Like (NBA commissioner Adam Silver) said, you get vaccinated for your family, first. You get vaccinated for your teammates second, things like that."
Silver was a guest on the show after saying at a news conference Monday "roughly 96%" of the NBA players are vaccinated.
– Duane Rankin, Arizona Republic
Contributing: The Associated Press
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