SALEM — State health officials could distribute the first doses of COVID-19 vaccinations as early as the end of this month if it’s approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

But those vaccines will most likely be reserved for health care and other essential workers, who will be the first to receive them, according to a plan submitted by the Oregon Health Authority to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Nationwide, states were required to submit their vaccination plans by Friday, Oct. 23, according to the CDC. States have about two weeks to establish distribution systems to meet a CDC Nov. 1 deadline. It is unknown when the vaccines will be approved, said Jonathan Modie, Oregon Health Authority spokesman.

State health officials assume that vaccine supplies will be limited at first and “should be focused on individuals critical to the pandemic response, provide direct care and maintain societal function, as well as those at highest risk for developing severe illness,” Modie said in an email.

Umatilla County Public Health Director Joe Fiumara said Monday, Oct. 19, that local health departments will likely have little say in who the COVID vaccine will be available to, but the state has indicated there will likely be a three-tiered distribution plan.

“Those are things the states are negotiating about, the feds are negotiating about, and we kind of just get told,” he said. “We kind of get told who it can go to, and then we have to find a way to do it.”

Topping the list of who will receive the vaccine are medical professionals, essential workers, long-term care facilities, people with underlying health conditions, people older than 65, ethnic and racial minorities, tribal communities, prisoners, homeless, colleges and universities, people living in group settings, people with disabilities and people without insurance, according to the OHA plan, which was obtained by The Bend Bulletin on Oct. 19 by filing a Freedom of Information Act.

The second tier will likely be an expansion on individuals like teachers or those who meet other criteria that ele vates their risk to COVID-19 and aren’t covered in the first tier, according to Fiumara. The third tier would be for any member of the public who wants the vaccine.

“How long it takes us to get from one all the way through two and to three, we don’t know,” he said. “And that second tier is really going to be the tricky one.”

The Food and Drug Administration has authorized the use of two vaccines under an Emergency Use Authorization, but it is unknown if both drugs or just one will be approved.

In the 136-page Oregon plan, the state outlines its preparations for two main scenarios for vaccine release: One would be if the state receives a minimal order of 1,000 doses or a large volume comes through.

Expanded face-covering rules

Until the vaccine is widely distributed, Oregon officials on Oct. 19 expanded the state’s face-covering guidance to include private and public workplaces, classrooms, offices, meeting rooms and workspaces, unless someone is alone in an office or in a private workspace, according to health officials.

The revised guidance requires that people wear face coverings in outdoor and indoor markets, street fairs, private career schools and public and private colleges and universities. Wearing a face covering instead of a face shield is recommended with the exception of limited situations, such as communicating with someone who is deaf or hearing impaired and needs to read lips.

The best way to ward against the spread of COVID-19 is to wear a face covering, maintain a 6-foot physical distance from others, avoid large gatherings, frequent handwashing and limit social gatherings.

When the vaccine is available, much of the state’s plan will follow procedures put in place in 2009 during the H1N1 pandemic, according to the plan.

Umatilla County was planning to use public distribution of this year’s flu vaccine as a test run for eventually distributing the COVID vaccine. But Fiumara said the county is still awaiting the arrival of the 2,500 flu vaccine doses it asked the state for last month.

“We were hoping to use some of the flu (vaccine) as some practice for how these methods and procedures are going to work,” he said.

In September, Umatilla County approved the purchase of three canopies for $20,660.10 and the expansion of a nursing position from part time to full time for a cost of $62,562.

Those purchases were made with the idea that the canopies can be used for large-scale public vaccination events, even during inclement weather, while the expanded nursing position gives the department another set of hands to help with any and all immunization events.

Fiumara said the county is also considering hosting other immunization events that could be used to prepare for an eventual coronavirus vaccine.

“We might be doing a couple of events where it’ll be all of the school-required immunizations, and hopefully the flu if we get it, as a way for us to work some kinks out of the process and get some vaccines out there,” he said.

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East Oregonian reporter Alex Castle contributed to this report.