PENDLETON — Umatilla County’s reported COVID-19 vaccinations more than tripled last week now that residents can receive booster shots, according to data from the county health department.

A series of well-attended clinics over the weekend spurred the sky-high immunization numbers. In all, more than 2,000 people received shots last week, said Joe Fiumara, the county’s public health director.

“This did exceed expectations,” he said.

The health department held clinics Friday, Oct. 29, and Saturday, Oct. 30, in Pendleton and Milton-Freewater. The Pendleton clinics saw 452 people receive boosters on the first day and 359 the second. But only 10 people received first or second doses on Oct. 29. (The health department did not yet have data for Oct. 30.)

The Milton-Freewater clinics saw 152 people vaccinated on Oct. 29 and 127 people on Oct. 30. The health department did not yet have data showing how many people received boosters, but Fiumara said he expected trends to be similar to Pendleton’s clinic.

“We knew there was going to be some demand, but it won’t have an impact on the pandemic,” Fiumara said.

The week of Oct. 17, the county reported just 626 immunizations total.

Before last week, health officials had estimated they would deliver just 200 booster doses daily. Seeing the high demand for boosters “felt like February,” Fiumara said, when vaccine eligibility had expanded and the county at times didn’t have enough doses to go around.

But Fiumara noted it will be more important for unvaccinated people to receive their first doses than for hundreds of people to receive boosters. That’s because the virus spreads predominantly among the unvaccinated, he said.

Locals on both days packed the parking lot at Pendleton Convention Center for a drive-thru clinic. Several people who received boosters at the Oct. 29 clinic there said they sought out the extra protection because they know people personally who have been severely infected or have died from COVID-19. Fiumara confirmed that was a trend among patients who wanted boosters.

“It’s unfortunate that that seems to be the biggest driver,” he said. “Because we don’t want them all to have that story.”

Death toll rises

The county health department on Nov. 2 reported two new COVID-19 deaths. That brings the county’s death toll to 155 since the pandemic started. One of the victims, who fought COVID-19 for two-and-a-half months, was just 29 years old, health officials reported.

The county’s 154th victim is a 29-year-old man who tested positive on Aug. 3 and died Oct. 21 at Good Shepherd Medical Center, Hermiston. He had unspecified underlying health conditions.

The county’s 155th victim is a 79-year-old man who tested positive Oct. 29 and died Oct. 29 at Good Shepherd. He had unspecified underlying health conditions.

Nearly 30 Umatilla County residents who contracted COVID-19 have died since the beginning of September.

Positive signs among cases, vaccinations

Fiumara said the high rate of immunization rates coupled with falling infection rates has him feeling cautiously optimistic. For more than a month, case counts have declined on-average. As of Tuesday, Nov. 2, the county was reporting just 24 cases per day. That’s the lowest daily total since mid-July, and marks the fifth consecutive week of declines.

Last week, the county reported 182 COVID-19 cases. During the week ending Oct. 1, the county reported 510 cases.

Fiumara said the low totals would have placed the county close to the high risk categories in recent months.

“We’re in a good place compared to where we’ve been,” Fiumara said.

And with vaccine eligibility likely coming soon for youths over the age of 5, Fiumara said his optimism is only growing, but residents should continue to protect themselves against.

He said, “We’re not out of this yet.”

The county has reported 14,727 confirmed and presumptive cases since the pandemic started.

• The disease claimed two more lives, increasing the county’s death toll to 155.

• COVID-19 has led to the deaths of nearly 30 county residents since the beginning of September.

• Cases in the county are declining. The county last week reported 182 cases. During the week ending Oct. 1, the county reported 510 cases.

• The county’s total number of cases stands at 14,727.