HEPPNER — Fewer than 250 people were vaccinated against COVID-19 this week in the first two of eight clinics scheduled in Morrow County this month, raising concerns as officials push to use more than 2,000 doses in April.

Morrow County Commissioner Melissa Lindsay said officials are hoping to use 400 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at each of the eight clinics. She said it’s unclear what might have led to the low initial turnout, but said populations now eligible may be more skeptical about the shot.

Lindsay said that, with cases rising across much of Oregon and nationwide, it is especially important that people get vaccinated.

“It’s scary,” Lindsay said of the recent statewide case spike. “I don’t think we’re going to sidestep it if it continues.”

Over the last week, Oregon has averaged more than 420 cases per day, according to state health data. And on Monday, April 5, the state reported 177 Oregonians were hospitalized with COVID-19. Both totals were the highest in seven weeks, according to The Oregonian/OregonLive.

The increase comes as Gov. Kate Brown announced on Tuesday, April 6, that all Oregonians over the age of 16 would be eligible to get a COVID-19 vaccine as of April 19 — two weeks earlier than the state’s previous plan.

The change comes as new variants of the virus are spreading across the state, prompting what Brown has called “a race between vaccine distribution and the rapid spread of COVID-19 variants.”

“Today, Oregon will pass the threshold of 2 million vaccine doses administered,” Brown said on April 6. “And yet, in communities across Oregon, COVID-19 is spreading at concerning rates.”

Lindsay said although the county has reported fewer cases lately, surges in Morrow County in the past have typically been delayed by a few weeks.

“I can see the ball rolling at us, and this is our opportunity,” she said. “We’ve got some great help. We’ve got federal and state help. And as a small county that’s so important. And if we can’t get people to realize (the vaccine is) safe and come get it, then we’re back to high and extreme and shutdowns” more quickly.

County officials are now reaching out to local media outlets to bring more people to the clinic, Lindsay said. Health officials have also been focusing outreach efforts at the Hispanic community — who have been hit hardest by the pandemic — by using Spanish radio stations and social media platforms to inform them of the clinics, Lindsay said.

The county has also been reaching out to local food processing facilities and agricultural workplaces, where infection has been known to spread rapidly, to encourage workers there to get the shot. Lindsay said getting the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine is especially important for workers who cannot take time off from work.

“That’s who we wanted to get to with the one-shot opportunity,” she said.

The county is one of the few in Oregon that have received large shipments of the Johnson & Johnson vaccines due to the company’s recent distribution issues, Lindsay said. She added that the “one dose option may see some delays over the next few weeks to a month.”

This month’s clinics are being run by county health officials, the Oregon Health Authority and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The federal agency has provided support in the form of staffing and facilities to prepare vaccines at the clinic.

The Morrow County clinics are one of three that are receiving assistance from FEMA nationwide, and the only one happening on the West Coast, Lindsay said.

Anybody over the age of 18 is eligible to receive a free shot at the clinics, Lindsay said, and appointments are not required. She described operations as “quick and easy and we have had minimal lines.”

The first effort in Boardman concluded on April 6 at the SAGE Center.

The second effort will be held at AC Houghton Elementary School in Irrigon on Friday, April 9, from 1-7 p.m. and Saturday, April 10, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The third will be at the Morrow County Fairgrounds in Heppner on Monday, April 12, from 1-7 p.m. and Tuesday, April 13, from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.