COVID-19 Vaccines
(Updated March 3, 2020)
We all want to return to normal life as soon as possible. Safe and effective vaccines are the key to how we will slowly but surely achieve community immunity from COVID-19 and making that return to normalcy a reality.
- How Do I Get a Vaccine?
- Vaccine Sequencing - Who's Eligible?
- Stay Safe Until You're Vaccinated
- Vaccine Safety and Effectiveness
Lane County Vaccine Registration
Pre-register to receive the vaccine when available. This is a preregistration form that will help Lane County Public Health reach out and schedule you to receive the vaccine when you are eligible and when supply becomes available. The registration is a centralized database for all vaccinating Lane County health partners. Please remember that vaccine availability remains limited even among those that are currently eligible.
Also from Lane County
- Sign up to receive email updates from Lane County Public Health about vaccine availability and distribution
- How do I get vaccinated?
- COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions
Federal Retail Pharmacy Program
The Federal Retail Pharmacy Program is designed to increase access to COVID-19 vaccination across the country.
This program offers locations in 27 of Oregon’s 36 counties. The retail partners in this program will screen for the appropriate age range per Oregon’s vaccine plan.
Eligible Oregonians can make appointments at these retailers’ websites but note that each site is currently only scheduled to receive limited doses. That means there will not be enough vaccines to immunize all eligible Oregonians at these locations.
The chain pharmacies’ websites are as follows:
Oregon Health Authority
- Get Vaccinated Oregon
Sign up to be notified when you become eligible and receive alerts with important vaccine eligibility updates. Please note this information is statewide and is NOT a registration for Lane County. See frequently asked questions about Get Vaccinated Oregon. - 211
Text ORCOVID to 898211 English or email ORCOVID@211info.org for vaccine information from the Oregon Health Authority. If you can't find the answers to your COVID-19 questions on the OHA website, or by text or email, you can call 211 or 1-866-698-6155 (open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, including holidays). Wait times may be longer due to high call volumes. - Frequently Asked Questions about the COVID-19 Vaccine in Oregon
Vaccine Distribution Process
The federal government (Centers for Disease Control) and state government (Oregon Health Authority) are responsible for distributing vaccines to local agencies. State government (Oregon Health Authority) is responsible for prioritizing who gets the vaccine. Local hospitals, clinics, public health departments, and pharmacies are responsible for receiving their allotment and vaccinating people based upon the State's established criteria.
Information from Lead Agencies
- Oregon Health Authority - COVID-19 Vaccine in Oregon
- Lane County Public Health – Vaccine Information, Preregistration and Scheduling
Vaccine Sequencing in Oregon: Who’s eligible and when?
It will take some time before every Oregonian who wants to get the vaccine can get their two shots. Oregon, like other states, currently does not have enough vaccine to immunize everyone against COVID-19.
Learn when you'll be eligible for a vaccine:
- Oregon Health Authority’s eligibility plan and timeline
- List of CDC-defined underlying health conditions and industries with frontline workers
*While the Oregon Health Authority has set dates of eligibility, actual distribution to any and all phases and groups is based on vaccine supply and Lane County’s ability to move through the eligible phases.
Where do I receive my second vaccine dose?
- You should plan to receive your second dose from the same place you received your first dose.
- If you attended a Lane County Public Health event, Lane County will contact you via the information provided when you received your first dose to schedule your second dose.
- The second dose should not be administered earlier than recommended.
- CDC guidance allows for second doses to be administered in the following date windows:
- Pfizer-BioNTech: 3-6 weeks after the first dose
- Moderna: 4-6 weeks after the first dose
Vaccinations To-date
COVID-19 Vaccine Advisory Community
OHA established a COVID-19 Vaccine Advisory Community that represents a diverse group of community members to help ensure they distribute the vaccine in a fair and equitable way for all the people of Oregon. Read the committee’s final recommendations for vaccine sequencing that would follow the vaccination of K-12 educators and staff, childcare providers and adults 65 and older.
As vaccines become more widely available, the fastest way to get our schools, businesses and communities back open is to keep working together.
Continue to Practice the 4 Ws
- Wear a Face Covering – indoors and outside when you can’t maintain 6 feet of space, it’s a statewide requirement.
- Watch Your Distance – stay 6-feet apart from those outside your household and limit your gathering size.
- Wash Your Hands – often with soap and water for 20 seconds throughout the day.
- Wait It Out – stay home if you are sick.
Why would we continue wearing a mask, keeping distance, avoiding large gatherings and frequently washing our hands even after vaccines are available?
- We anticipate that federal and state requirements for the four basic public health measures (the 4 Ws) we are currently practicing will likely remain for the foreseeable future because it will take time for 70%t of our population to receive both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.
- While individuals who receive a vaccine will be protected from contracting the disease, experts project that (based on the reproductive number for this virus) we need 70% of the population to receive the vaccine before we will reach herd immunity. In Lane County, 70% of the adult population is 203,000 people (which means 406,000 shots need to be administered).
- Scientific research indicates that the vaccines being developed are highly effective at protecting people from contracting the disease, but it is still unknown whether the vaccines prevents transmission of the virus.
- So, it’s going to take time for us to safely and comfortably take our masks off.
Vaccines undergo rigorous scientific testing to ensure their effectiveness and safety.
Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine has received an Emergency Use Authorization from the federal government, making it the third COVID-19 vaccine available for use in the United States including Pfizer and Moderna.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is the first single-dose vaccine against COVID-19. It can be stored in a refrigerator for months, making it easier to distribute without the need for ultra-cold storage.
Due to the global pandemic, all three vaccines were tested in many more people than a typical vaccine trial: the Pfizer vaccine was tested in 43,000 people and the Moderna vaccine was tested in 30,000 people. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine was tested in 43,000 participants in the United States, Latin America, Brazil and South Africa.