Health and Medicine

Oregon passes 4,000 COVID-19-related deaths

Oregon Public Broadcasting | By Alex Hasenstab

Published October 12, 2021 at 6:01 PM PDT

Staff prepare to perform a surgical procedure on the ICU floor. Every bed on this intensive care unit at Oregon Health and Science University was filled with a patient critically ill with COVID-19 in Portland, Ore., Aug. 19, 2021.

In just two months, Oregon's pandemic death toll went from 3,000 to 4,000.

It took just two months for the number of deaths related to COVID-19 in Oregon to grow from 3,000 to 4,000 after the Oregon Health Authority reported 20 more deaths over the weekend.

OHA Director Patrick Allen said in a statement: “These two milestones tell the story of how swiftly and severely the delta variant has moved through our communities.”

He added that many the latest deaths were preventable, as vaccines are widely available throughout the state.

“The vaccines are our best protection against serious illness and death from this virus,” Allen said. “My message to Oregonians today is simple: The delta variant has changed everything. Please, get vaccinated as soon as you can.”

Last Thursday, the OHA reported a record-high 59 deaths in its daily report on coronavirus in the state.