Federal officials told Brown and Oregon Health Director Pat Allen that there had been a miscommunication.
Actually, no additional vaccine at all would be on its way. I thought I was losing my mind, Allen said, I went back and reviewed the actual C-SPAN video of Secretary Azar, and the words he used were releasing the entire supply. He talked about physical inventory. It was incredibly clear.
In response, Brown on Jan. 15 said the state would have to revise its priority list for the second time in one week.
The new rollout also underlined an already controversial decision by the governor to place teachers and staff above the elderly on the priority list.
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-te
Federal officials told Brown and Oregon Health Director Pat Allen that there had been a miscommunication.
Actually, no additional vaccine at all would be on its way. I thought I was losing my mind, Allen said, I went back and reviewed the actual C-SPAN video of Secretary Azar, and the words he used were releasing the entire supply. He talked about physical inventory. It was incredibly clear.
In response, Brown on Jan. 15 said the state would have to revise its priority list for the second time in one week.
The new rollout also underlined an already controversial decision by the governor to place teachers and staff above the elderly on the priority list.