Hi Families and Clients,
On Jan. 5, 2021, Oregon Health Authority notified Local Public Health Authorities (LPHAs) that vaccines can be offered to anyone in any of the Phase 1a, Groups 1 – 4. This includes all people with I/DD in ODDS services, family members or members of the person with I/DD’s household, provider agency staff, personal support workers and other workers who provide direct service to people with I/DD and other high-risk populations. ODDS has created a fact sheet with Phase 1a group information. There is also a separate fact sheet about supporting people with I/DD to make a decision about vaccination.
We have been working closely with our local CDDP and LPHAs for all four counties that we serve to ensure the information that we are providing is the most up-to-date information. As of now, there are still several appointments available to our clients and families.
Deschutes County Health Department Clinic:
This is the final push to fill the remaining appointments for tomorrow’s (Friday)Courtney clinic: https://sugeni.us/WT58
As of late morning, today’s schedule was full. As of now, tomorrow’s schedule has 71 available slots. We’d like to get them filled up tonight before appointments get released to other groups. If you’ve got folks kind of on “standby” have them register now.
Redmond Expo Center and Fairgrounds Clinic:
I’ll also include the Fairgrounds link for tomorrow again: 01/22/2021 (-Fri) Deschutes County Fairgrounds, Redmond. (age 16+). https://www.stcharleshealthcare.org/form/phase-1a-group-scheduling
Additional things to note:
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- People need to be prepared to stay 15 minutes after they get their shot to be observed for any side effects. This could be challenging for some individuals, so bringing things to keep warm, water bottle and something to do during this wait may be helpful.
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- Caregivers and/or family members can accompany the client and get registered to receive their vaccination during these clinics as well for efficiency purposes. Keep in mind, some people do experience adverse effects for a day or two after the shot which for the caregiver might make it difficult to be responsible to care for the individual. Might think about some back-up caregiver(s) getting theirs 1,2 or 3 days later.
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- Questions about whether it’s medically safe for an individual to get the vaccine, should be directed to the individual’s PCP.
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- If you or your caregivers miss this clinic, more opportunities will be available to in the future. This specific vaccine clinic is being tailored to best support I/DD individuals and their caregivers wanting to get the vaccine.