April 14, 2022
Benton County: New Cases: 125, Cumulative Cases: 15,296, Cumulative Deaths: 69
Oregon: New Cases: 2,704, Cumulative Cases: 708,521 , Cumulative Deaths: 7,404
Over the last week, there have been 180 new deaths from Covid in Oregon. One of those deaths was in Benton County
Mask Mandate Extended
The federal government has decided to continue the mask mandate on airplanes, trains, and buses until May 3. It was set to end April 18. This 15 day extension is due to increased cases through the U.S. despite the fact that most communities still have relatively low levels of infection rates.
A statement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention read in part: “”In order to assess the potential impact the rise of cases has on severe disease, including hospitalizations and deaths, and health care system capacity, the CDC order will remain in place at this time.”
Masks have been required on mass transit since 2020.
By Sally K Lehman
April 7, 2022
Benton County: New Cases: 91, Cumulative Cases: 15,171, Cumulative Deaths: 68
Oregon: New Cases: 1,665, Cumulative Cases: 705,817 , Cumulative Deaths: 7,224
Since our last reporting, there have been 80 more deaths from Covid in the state of Oregon. Two of those deaths were in Benton County.
“Covid Season”
The vaccines currently being distributed in the U.S. to prevent Covid are based on a variant of the virus that was in circulation at the beginning of the pandemic. This means that they are less effective against more recent variants such as Omicron or the subvariant known as BA.2.
The Food and Drug Administration recently came out saying that there is a need for a vaccine tailored to different variants, and that they will look at Omicrom-specific vaccine production. They also began discussions for a framework to be used for deciding what variant to gear future vaccine toward. The ultimate goal is to have a system in place – much like the management used for flu vaccines – to address the Covid strain we can most likely expect each year.
In studies done in Israel, the fourth shot of Pfizer was seen to offer longer protection from severe symptoms rather than from becoming sick in the first place. As the world turns the focus toward dealing with the endemic Covid rather than the pandemic Covid, the hope is to follow the evolution of the virus to better protect citizens each fall as what we can only assume will be called “Covid season” comes.
By Sally K Lehman
April 4, 2022
United States: Cumulative Cases: 81,832,612, Cumulative Deaths: 1,008,198
World: Cumulative Cases: 491,746,291, Cumulative Deaths: 6,176,144
Over the last week, there have been 9,887,136 new cases of Covid reported worldwide, and an additional 210,724 new cases in the U.S.
Worldwide, last week saw an additional 28,266 reported deaths from Covid. The U.S. reported 4,731 new deaths.
Covid Cases in Vaccinated People
Just under half of the latest Covid-19 cases in Oregon involve people who’ve had at least one vaccine dose, according to the latest Oregon Health Authority report. Read the full story here…
By Lynne Terry of Press Partner Oregon Capital Chronicles
Do you have a story for The Advocate? Email editor@corvallisadvocate.com