On March 1, 2021, all Oregonians age 65 and older will be eligible to get vaccinated against COVID-19. No later than March 29, people living in low-income senior housing, including senior congregate and independent living, will be eligible.
There are more than 766,000 people in this group, at this stage in our roll-out among older adults approximately 156,000 Oregonians age 70 and above have received at least one vaccination. That’s 31 percent of all currently eligible seniors. Approximately 45 percent of people 80 or older have been vaccinated. 194,565 persons age 65 or older have had at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine (as of February 25th). That’s 1 in 4 seniors.
The state remains on pace to administer first doses to 75% of all older Oregonians, by March 29th with first vaccine doses. We are making extra efforts to ensure every older Oregonian can get vaccinated. Here is where and how older Oregonians can get vaccinated:
Mass vaccination events
• Hospitals
• Local public health authorities
• Pharmacies, including at long-term care sites
• Federally Qualified H
Call 211 or 1-866-698-6155. There will be high wait times over the next few weeks.
• Make appointments directly at retail pharmacy websites. You can also call the pharmacies that are offering vaccinations:
– Costco: costco.com/covid-vaccine.html
– Health Mart: healthmartcovidvaccine.com
– Safeway/Albertsons: safeway.com/pharmacy/covid-19.html
– Walgreens: walgreens.com/findcare/vaccination/covid-19
• Find vaccine contact information in your county: https://www.oregon.gov/oha/covid19/Pages/vaccine-information-by-county.aspx
• If you live or work in a long-term care site that is part of the federal pharmacy partnership, attend one of three scheduled onsite clinics.
Oregonians in long-term care sites that are NOT getting vaccinated through the federal pharmacy program CDC didn’t partner with every long-term care facility in Oregon. So the state is working to make sure Oregonians who live or work in a long-term care setting that is NOT part of the federal program can get vaccinated against COVID-19 another way.
The following agencies are working with local public health authorities (LPHAs) and Coordinated Care Organizations (CCOs) to connect facilities not enrolled in the federal pharmacy program to a vaccine opportunity:
• ODHS Office of Developmental Disabilities Services (ODDS) and its Community Developmental Disabilities Programs (CDDP) and Brokerages;
• The ODHS Office of Aging and People with Disabilities (APD) and its Area Agencies on Aging (AAA); and
• OHA Behavioral Health
The goal is to make sure every eligible Oregonian who wants a COVID vaccination can get both doses.
Older Oregonians with mobility and/or transportation barriers
We recognize that many older Oregonians face barriers to vaccine access, including mobility and transportation barriers. If you are enrolled in Oregon Health Plan (OHP) either with a Coordinated Care Organization (CCO) managed-care plan or under an OHP Open Card (fee-for-service) plan, you can use Non-Emergent Medical Transportation (NEMT) to get to a vaccination site and get back home.
To access this resource, go to this website for a map of NEMT brokerages: https://www.oregon.gov/oha/HSD/OHP/Tools/Transportation%20Brokerage%20Map.pdf. Then, call the brokerages directly to schedule a ride.
If you are an older adult or an adult with a physical disability, there may also be other services in your community to assist with transportation.
To learn more, contact the Aging and Disability Resource Connection of Oregon (ADRC) at the following link to see what community-based transportation and other services are available to assist you: https://www.adrcoforegon.org/consumersite/index.php.
If you receive in-home services through the Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) Office of Aging and People with Disabilities (APD), you may ask your Medicaid-funded in-home provider to take you to a clinic and to wait with you at the clinic.
Sequencing timeline for all Oregonians
Document accessibility: For individuals with disabilities or individuals who speak a language other than English, OHA can provide information in alternate formats such as translations, large print, or braille. Contact the Health Information Center at 1-971-673-2411, 711 TTY or COVID19.LanguageAccess@dhsoha.state.or.us.
OHA 3597 65+ Vaccine Info for older Oregonians_v2.0[2] (PDF) PRESS RELEASE