FEMA vaccination sites demobilize; OHA sites continue

Closure of the FEMA sites caps a year-long deployment in Oregon for the federal agency that involved providing staff, planning, logistics and supply support at numerous mass vaccination sites around the state. Among them were sites at the Oregon Convention Center and Portland International Airport, which was in partnership with a collaborative of four Portland-based health systems known as All4Oregon, and at the Jackson County Expo Center in partnership with Jackson County and the state.

“Oregon is so incredibly appreciative of the FEMA partnership and these invaluable resources that we have received to support vaccination efforts in Oregon,” said Akiko Saito, deputy director of Oregon’s COVID-19 Recovery and Response Unit. “As FEMA completes its mission in Oregon, OHA will continue promoting its high-volume vaccination and testing sites as demand dictates, as well as the Get Vaccinated Oregon vaccine and testing finder tool.”

Saito also recognized the work of Peace Corps volunteers who helped promote the FEMA mobile vaccine units between mid-May and mid-August last year.

During its time in Oregon, FEMA provided an estimated 60,000 COVID-19 vaccinations, with chartered buses and large, drive-through tents serving as centerpieces of the events. With a focus on providing vaccines to communities lacking adequate vaccine access, including rural communities, the mobile vaccine units served 27 counties in Oregon.

The FEMA- and White House-initiated site in Medford administered an additional 35,000 vaccine doses.

OHA’s high-volume vaccination sites, which launched in November 2021, have so far provided more than 110,000 COVID-19 vaccinations and more than 10,000 tests, according to the press release.

OHA will continue to provide limited high-volume sites in the state, it said.