Just over one in four Oregonians eligible for a dose of the relatively new COVID-19 vaccine booster have opted to get the jab, state data released Wednesday show.

That amounts to about 764,000 people out of the more than 2.9 million who already got a full course of vaccines at least two months ago. Health officials have touted the booster dose, designed to build immunity against the omicron subvariants that have dominated for about a year, as a key measure to ease the pressure on the health care system this fall and winter as multiple respiratory viruses hit the population.

Demand for the booster, first available in September, peaked in mid-October at more than 11,000 shots a day on average. While uptick remains relatively high, with about 4,100 new doses administered per day — compared to about 360 first vaccine doses administered per day — demand for shots has apparently slowed down to the point that the state last week shut down an online resource for people trying to find where to get one.

Since at least February of last year, a state-run website helped Oregonians track down pharmacies and other locations that administered COVID-19 tests and vaccines. The Oregon Health Authority shut the site down Dec. 9, citing the wide availability of vaccines, the pandemic’s “less-urgent phase,” the fact that federal and local health officials provide similar resources, a reduction in federal funds and a dramatic drop in demand for the site.

The vaccine locator “was intended as a temporary resource to support the COVID-19 pandemic,” OHA spokesperson Jonathan Modie said in an email. “It is closing to align with the less-urgent phase and is being integrated into existing health care systems.”

The health authority on Wednesday reported 3,981 new coronavirus cases in the past week, an 11% drop from a week earlier that mirrors a 10% drop in testing. The one wastewater testing site statewide that recently showed a sustained increase in COVID-19 levels is in Tillamook, with results dating back six days. Modie said the health authority expects infections to drop “dramatically” after the holidays.

Hospitalizations continued to fall from a late November peak of 370 occupied beds, though at a slower clip than the previous week, with 315 people who have tested positive for the coronavirus occupying a hospital bed as of Wednesday.

The health authority provided several resources for finding somewhere to get the COVID-19 vaccine:

• Using the federal government’s vaccine locator: https://www.vaccines.gov/.
• Calling your local health agency: https://www.oregon.gov/oha/ph/providerpartnerresources/localhealthdepartmentresources/pages/lhd.aspx.
• Calling 211 or 1-866-698-6155 or visiting https://www.211info.org.

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Since it began: Oregon has reported 933,108 confirmed or presumed infections and 8,935 deaths.

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Hospitalizations: 315 people with confirmed coronavirus infections are hospitalized, down seven since Wednesday, Dec. 7. That includes 36 people in intensive care, up six since Dec. 7.

Vaccinations: As of Dec. 12 the state has reported fully vaccinating 2,986,318 people (70% of the population) and partially vaccinating 333,018 people (7.8%). 763,758 people have received a dose of the bivalent booster, which is designed to target the BA.4 and BA.5 coronavirus strains in particular. The Oregon Health Authority publishes updated vaccination numbers monthly, with the next release expected Jan. 11.

New deaths: Since Dec. 7, the Oregon Health Authority has reported 43 additional deaths connected to COVID-19.

— Fedor Zarkhin

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