All Oregon health care workers, K-12 school employees and volunteers, will have to be fully vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus to continue working, Gov. Kate Brown announced on Thursday.
Brown said health care workers will be required to be fully vaccinated by Oct. 18 or six weeks after full (Food and Drug Administration) approval, whichever is later.
Oregon Health Authority Director Patrick Allen warned that the situation in Oregon hospitals has become “increasingly dire.” He asked unvaccinated people to avoid any non-essential activities.
Last week, Brown reinstated a mask mandate for all indoor public spaces. She emphasized that masks will also remain part of the state’s strategy to combat the spread of the coronavirus at a time when infections are surging, especially in schools.
According to the OHA, there are more children hospitalized with COVID-19 in Oregon than at any point in the pandemic. They’re also making up a larger proportion of the total cases – 12.7 percent. And despite the availability of vaccines, more cases are spreading in 12- to17-year-olds than any other group of children.
Brown did not say if she might mandate vaccines for school children older than 12 once the COVID-19 vaccines receive full approval from the Food and Drug Administration, but added all options are on the table.”
