Welcome news on vaccine eligibility: What you need to know

Today, we are excited to announce changes to Oregon’s vaccine eligibility schedule based on new information about increased allocation from the federal government. 

As of now, about 58 percent of Oregonians age 65 and older have been vaccinated. We are on a trajectory to vaccinate more than seven out of 10 older adults by March 29, which is the next date that new groups become eligible statewide.

There is more good news: Some counties are ready to move on to the next eligibility groups. We don’t want appointment slots to go unfilled if areas have reached critical mass on currently eligible people. Next week, we will offer counties the opportunity to confirm that they are ready to move on to Phase 1B, Group 6 to ensure available vaccine doses are reaching Oregonians. In addition, next week we will begin vaccinations for migrant and seasonal farmworkers who are currently out in the fields working.

On April 19, more people become eligible for vaccination in Oregon. If we receive the promised 250,000 or more prime doses per week, we expect to have enough to begin to make vaccinations available to everyone 16 and older in Oregon by May 1. 

We expect to see bottlenecks as each group becomes eligible. Again, not everyone will be able to get vaccinated right away. But if the doses come through, we’ll get through it. We will still ask for your patience.

Don’t forget to go to covidvaccine.oregon.gov, sign up for notifications in the Get Vaccinated Oregon tool, and make your plan to get vaccinated.

You can view the news conference here. Click on the graphic below to see all eligibility groups. For more details, including definitions of increased risk and frontline workers, see the full infographic.

This bulletin was provided by The Oregon Health Authority and Department of Human Services on 03/19/21