Oregon health care workers will have to vaccinated or get tested

(The Center Square) – Oregon health care workers will have to get a COVID-19 vaccination or submit to weekly tests to stay employed, Gov. Kate Brown has announced.

Per the governor’s request, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) will write new rules to that effect by the end of the week, according to Brown’s office. They will be enforced starting Sep. 30 and apply to anyone working directly or indirectly with patients or infectious materials.

Under Oregon law, health care workers cannot be required to be vaccinated as a condition of employment. Democratic state lawmakers have voiced interest in amending the law, the only one of its kind nationwide. In the meantime, Brown hopes her directive is a legal workaround that the state can live with as a new wave of COVID-19 cases hits, primarily among the unvaccinated.

“The more contagious delta variant has changed everything,” Brown said. “Protecting our frontline health care workers through vaccination will also enhance the safety of the patients in their care.”

On Tuesday, the OHA reported 1,575 new COVID cases or the highest number in at least the past year in Oregon. The agency also reported hospitalizations rose from 39 to 379 in the past week. That’s the highest number since last winter. In addition, the OHA reported nine new deaths attributed to the disease on Tuesday.

Combined with 1,213 more cases and five more deaths reported on Wednesday, Oregon’s total case count stands at 223,364. The death toll now stands at 2,877.

The Oregon Nursing Association (ONA), which doesn’t support a flat-out order for its members to get jabbed, described Brown’s order as a critical compromise.

“This is a reasonable and sensible approach which respects the individual choices of health care workers while also protecting public health,” Scott Palmer, ONA’s communications director, said. “Vaccination is a critical tool to keep Oregonians healthy and safe and Governor Brown’s announcement today will help close the gap in vaccination rates for Oregon’s valuable health care workers.”

Brown, who issued some of the fewest executive orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic of any Democratic governor last year, has not committed to issuing more statewide lockdowns or face mask orders. So far, her response to the rising cases has been reiterating the Center for Disease Control’s guidance mask usage in indoor settings regardless of vaccination status.

The OHA reports that just over 69% of adults are half-vaccinated and 64% have completed the vaccination process in Oregon. The state’s daily average of new doses is hovering around 5,000 per day.

To date, the OHA has reported 260 cases of the more infectious delta variant of COVID-19. The variant is believed to be much more contagious than the original strain of the virus. Fully vaccinated individuals exhibited more resiliency against the delta variant trials “after the receipt of two vaccine doses,” according to one study published to the New England Journal of Medicine in July.

Brown has expressed her concern about rising cases in the state, which remains lower than most other states in the nation. She’s faced considerable criticism for taking Oregonians in and out of lockdown since last year. Pandemic mitigations have been a lightning rod for violent civil unrest, particularly in Salem.

Oregon municipalities and businesses retain the right to enforce their own mask mandates and other health rules. Cities like Portland have required public employees to get vaccinated or tested. The state’s schools will also resume their mask mandates this fall in hopes that remote learning will not be necessary.

The Oregon Legislature adjourned in June. If state lawmakers decide a flat-out vaccination mandate is in order, a majority in both chambers is required to call themselves into session.

Disclaimer: This content is distributed by The Center Square