I worked with @SeveranceTVnews on this explainer about the COVID-19 vaccine in Oregon. Check out this thread for a few things we know so far. 1/7 https://www.kgw.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/vaccine/what-we-know-about-the-covid-19-vaccine-in-oregon/283-6299c441-0432-48b8-9431-7fb175c39ca7

Following emergency use approval, Oregon will receive doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine -- both of these require two doses.

We will receive 147,950 first doses in mid-December and 119,450 second doses later in the month -- these will largely go to health care workers. 2/7

A major challenge? Ultra-cold storage for the Pfizer vaccine. It needs to be kept at minus 70 to 80 degrees Celsius.

Oregon has some ulta-cold freezers and is competing with all other states to get more. The vials may also be kept in their ulta-cold shipping containers. 3/7

After health care workers, vaccines will go to people in long-term care facilities, then other essential workers, people over 65 and others disproportionately affected by the virus.

OHA says the general population could get the vaccine at the end of March, at the earliest. 4/7

A few reasons they will be safe?

They are going through all the normal review processes, and Oregon will review it independently before distributing.

They are both over 90% effective. Trials went so fast because the studies had thousands more participants than usual. 5/7

One word: anti-vaxxers (or is that two?)

As of November, a Pew survey showed that 39% of US adults probably or definitely won't get the vaccine.

And Oregon is a hotspot for the anti-vaxxer movement, with some of the highest vaccine exemptions rates in the country. 6/7

Have more questions? Email [email protected] and check out the full article above. 7/7