Medford Senior Living facility becomes latest to receive coronavirus vaccine

Jackson County, OR — A Medford retirement home became the latest senior living facility to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, in another example of progress made in the fight against the coronavirus.

Barnett Woods in Medford describes itself as a 'radiant' senior living community. That was certainly true on Saturday, when the latest vaccine shipments brought a ray of hope directly into the arms of its residents.

"96% percent of our residents signed up for the vaccination, and when I got here at 8:15 this morning they were all gathered down there waiting for me and the clinic didn't even open until nine! So, they're very excited," said Barnett Woods Executive Director Charlie Parker.

Long-term care facilities in 'extreme risk' counties like Jackson and Josephine are only able to conduct outdoor visitations. Parker says they're thrilled to start getting back to normal.

"Definitely. They're ready to be able to get back out and do things like going to the beauty shop and getting their nails done and that kind of thing. It's very positive," Parker said.

Health officials will be back in exactly three weeks to administer the all-important follow up shot needed to reach peak effectiveness.

"I am so excited and so relieved and so glad that so many of our people took this vaccine. I think it makes us feel a little safer," Parker said.

Oregon's plan to vaccinate all seniors 65 and older took a hit on Friday, when it was revealed that a federal stockpile of doses they had been promised access to did not actually exist. They will now begin with Oregonians 80 and older in early February.

"We're working as hard as we can as efficiently as we can and as safely as we can to vaccinate our most vulnerable Oregonians," said Gov. Kate Brown at a press conference on Friday.

Nonetheless, drive-up vaccination events for people within priority tier 1-A will go on with assistance from the National Guard. Over 30 guardsmen will be at the Jackson County Expo from January 21st to the 23rd to provide logistical support. Some guardsmen will be helping with traffic control, some will be screening paperwork, and some will be actually helping administer the vaccines. They will have a similar presence at the Josephine county fairgrounds on the 24th and 25th for that vaccination event.

The National Guard has already been present at tier 1-A vaccination events in Salem and they say it has dramatically increased the number of doses they can administer.

"It's our understanding, that effort has allowed them to pretty much double their capacity and throughput there," said Maj. Gen. Mike Stencel.