Oregon is once against scrambling its priority list for COVID-19 vaccinations, with some seniorsâ priority pushed from next weekend to March.
Gov. Kate Brown and health authorities blamed the whipsawing schedule this week on unreliable numbers and statements from the Trump administration as it wraps up its final days in office.
âThis is a deception on a national scale,â Brown said on Friday, Jan. 15.
Brown announced just a few days earlier that the vaccine would be opened up to those 65 and older beginning Saturday, Jan. 23. Educators and child care providers would also start receiving inoculations that day.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Jan. 12 that it would expand the distribution of vaccine it was holding, creating a possible windfall for states that were worried about scarcity in coming weeks. Federal officials also recommended opening up vaccine availability to those over 65 once the first group of health workers and people in long-term care facilities were vaccinated.