Oregon Gov. Kate Brown is sending an additional 17,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the Portland region.
She announced the additional doses Wednesday in response to concerns from Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties about vaccine shortages.
Health professionals from Kaiser Permanente, Legacy, OHSU, and Providence prepare for the opening of a COVID-19 vaccination clinic being held at the Oregon Convention Center, Jan. 27, 2021. The clinic will run at least through this week and aims to give 2,000 vaccinations per day to pre-registered recipients.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
The three Portland-area counties had expected to receive 15,000 first doses of the vaccine this week, with all but about 3,000 earmarked for educators as the governor pushes to get schools reopened.
Health officials in the Portland region warned that they were at risk of not being able to vaccinate other people high on the priority list — possibly leaving adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, home health workers, dental workers and others in the medical field waiting weeks or months.
The additional doses will help speed efforts to vaccinate those populations, while allowing school employees to continue to receive doses so schools in the region can move ahead with reopening plans.