Vaccine, Urges Patience Vaccinations for the General Public Residents Will Have the Opportunity MONIQUE MERRILL Are Still Months Away
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Business Students do relief Shakespeare Page A2 Page A3 Wednesday, .50 December 16, 2020 $1 TheThe ChronicleChronicle thechronicleonline.com Serving Columbia County since 1881 State receives vaccine, urges patience vaccinations for the general public residents will have the opportunity MONIQUE MERRILL are still months away. to be vaccinated, Oregon Health [email protected] “As we wait for wide distribu- Authority (OHA) Director Pat Allen tion of the vaccine, one of our most said. The first shipment of COVID-19 important challenges is to remind “The challenge is we’ve been vaccines arrived in Oregon on Mon- Oregonians to keep your guard up,” given no distribution schedule or any day, Dec. 14. The shipment is from Brown said in a press conference idea of how many doses to expect Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE and Friday, Dec. 11. “We all need to on any regular basis, so it’s really was given emergency use authoriza- keep wearing masks, limiting get impossible for us to put a specific tion from the Food and Drug Admin- togethers and maintaining social timeline on that,” said Allen. istration on on Thursday, Dec. 9. distance until we achieve community About 70% of the state needs to “The first shipments of the Pfizer- immunity.” be vaccinated to achieve community BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine have immunity, Brown said. To accom- arrived in Oregon, the first of many plish that, she said more than 10,000 that will be distributed across the Fast Fact residents will need to be vaccinated state,” Gov. Kate Brown said on COVID-19 vaccinations may per day. Monday. “Starting with the front- be available at no cost to the “It’s a tall order, and we can’t do line health care workers who have general public by late spring it without federal resources to deliver been our first line of defense against 2021. the doses and support our distribution COVID-19 since the beginning of and outreach efforts,” she said. the pandemic, and the long-term care facility residents who are among the The question of when community Vaccine details most vulnerable, each day, more and immunity will be possible is still more Oregonians will be vaccinated uncertain, and depends largely on Both the Pfizer and Moderna vac- against this disease.” how many additional doses of vac- cines require two doses to be effec- Legacy Health’s Portland and cines the state will receive after this tive. The Pfizer vaccine doses need Tualatin hospitals were the first to month. What is known is that by the to be administered 21 days apart and receive the vaccines, each receiving end of December, the state is slated the Moderna vaccines need to be a package containing 975 doses. The to receive 147,000 doses of both the administered 28 days apart. remainder of this week’s allocation Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Public health officials anticipate of 35,100 doses are expected at hos- The first round of vaccine re- there will be enough of the two vac- pitals around the state throughout the cipients will be certain hospital staff cines to provide first doses to about week. Skilled nursing facilities will and longterm care facility staff and 100,000 people this month, with receive 10,725 doses for vaccinations residents. There are around 360,000 second doses to follow in January. that start next week. healthcare workers who will need the The Pfizer vaccine requires ultra Metro Creative Connections / The Chronicle Despite the deliveries, public vaccine and no information yet from cold storage (-94 degrees) and is The shipments follow a U.S. Food and Drug Administration decision on Friday to health officials and government lead- the federal government on future vac- issue an emergency use authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which was ers still advise residents to continue cine dose allocation. The uncertainty found in Phase 3 clinical trials to be 95% effective and, in most people, cause only to practice prevention measures, as makes it difficult to predict when all See VACCINE Page A2 mild to moderate, short-lived side effects. St. Helens growth challenges fire district district has employed several lance has assisted our fire person- JEREMY C. RUARK programs to meet the increase nel on treatments and transports to [email protected] demand and maximize our ability area hospitals. The day-car covers to respond to emergency incidents the time where we see the most With construction well un- within our communities. CRFR demands for service occurs. derway for the new St. Helens has a grant-funded community This additional unit is designed Grocery Outlet along Highway 30, paramedic who visits clients fol- to ensure we have fire personnel new apartments and new hous- lowing post hospital treatment available for either fires or other ing development, Columbia River plans, chronic disease processes, EMS related incidents. CRFR has Fire & Rescue (CRFR) officials and high frequency users in an exceeded 5,500 emergency inci- are looking closely at the overall effort to improve their recovery. dents per year and the trend con- economic growth impact. The community paramedic works tinues to increase. We anticipate In the following conversation, with hospitals and doctors offices additional requests for service as CRFR Division Chief of Opera- to assist patients in following their our population increases over the tions Eric Smythe provides insight Jeremy C. Ruark / The Chronicle medication regimen, answer ques- next several years. Multifamily into how the increasing growth The walls of the new Grocery Outlet store are going up adjacent to Legacy Clinic tions, and act as an in home visit occupancies, such as apartments, will impact current and future fire along Highway 30 in St. Helens. The development is part of the overall area growth for patients on their road to better will increase the population in a district services. that Columbia River Fire & Rescue is now planning for. health. smaller geographical area com- CRFR also has implemented pared to houses/subdivisions. We The Chronicle: What have on those volumes does your Eric Smythe: Columbia River an emergency medical services been the average call volumes in agency see with the additional Fire & Rescue has seen a steady (EMS) only day car that is staffed the St. Helens area and what im- apartments, housing and commer- increase in requests for service with EMT’s and paramedics. This pact (projected percent increase) cial development? over the last several years. The 12-hour peak utilization ambu- See GROWTH Page A6 Who We Are: Christmas car highlights holiday spirit that to Ryan Drake. “It has about 150,000 miles on it, breaking, so hopefully this will make Each year, Drake, who owns but it runs good,” he said. “It’s a clean a difference,” he said. Drake’s Towing in St. Helens, looks car that will be great for a needy fam- Once the car is fixed up, Drake for a way to give back to the commu- ily and I thought, ‘This would be a said he will select a name from the nity, especially during the Christmas perfect car to donate.”’ nominated families to receive the car holidays. Last year, Drake teamed Drake placed a photo of the Ford as a surprise Christmas gift. up with Tony Cole’s Giving Tree on the towing company’s Facebook “We’re going to have each sponsor donations campaign as a secret Santa, page and asked other businesses to pick a nominated family, put that selecting five families and presenting help sponsor the Christmas car give- name in a hat and choose one,” he $100 in gifts selected specifically for away. Dr. Auto in Warren and David’s said. “We would like to deliver the each family from a wish list. Automotive in Scappoose joined the car to the family before Christmas.” Cole unfortunately passed away effort offering to help check out the For more information, visit earlier this year, but his spirit of Ford to make sure it was ready to go. Drake’s Towing on Facebook. giving continues throughout the com- Other individual donors offered new Photo courtesy of Ryan Drake munity. Drake has joined Cole’s sister tires, a full tank of gas and even auto If you know of someone, an This 1998 Ford Escort will be a Christmas present for a local needy family. in continuing the giving project. insurance. agency or business, or a group, that In looking for something different Drake appreciates the community is making a positive difference in You might not have thought a used to give this holiday, Drake found a support because it is important to help our community and would like to see JEREMY C. RUARK car would be the focus of the Christ- [email protected] used 1998 Ford Escort for sale and he those in need, he said. them featured in Who We Are, email mas spirit in St. Helens, but don’t tell purchased the vehicle. “Some of their stories are heart details to [email protected]. 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