Nancy Staten

Although COVID-19 cases have dropped for four straight weeks in Baker County, to near the lowest weekly total since July, health officials across the state and nation are bracing for a projected rapid rise in cases due to the new omicron variant.

Nancy Staten is among those worried about the possible effects.

Staten, director of the Baker County Health Department, encourages residents to be vaccinated.

And for those who already are vaccinated, Staten recommends a booster dose, which experts say can increase protection against the omicron variant, which has proved to be much more resistant to the two-dose vaccination compared with the still-dominant delta variant.

“Our case count is staying low, and we may get through Christmas with low counts, but they’re anticipating a spike in cases after the first of the year,” Staten said on Monday morning, Dec. 20. “Our best protection is being vaccinated and getting boosters.”

A forecast from the Oregon Health & Science University projects that omicron will replace delta as the dominant variant by the last week of December.

Data from other countries where omicron is already the main variant show that it causes fewer severe cases and deaths than delta and earlier variants.

But Oregon officials fear that omicron, due to its greater infection rate, will still strain hospital capacity.

During a three-day drive-thru vaccination clinic Dec. 12-14 in Baker City, about 310 residents received a booster dose.

Staten said county residents who want a booster dose can call the Health Department at 541-523-8211, or their health care provider. She noted that people who received the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine are now recommended to have a booster dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.

She said county officials are talking about having another drive-thru vaccination clinic during January.

According to Oregon Health Authority (OHA) statistics, 38.1% of Baker County residents 65 and older have had a booster dose.

About 19.4% of residents ages 50 to 64 have had a booster dose.

Case counts

Baker County reported 22 new cases for the week Dec. 12-18. It was the fourth straight weekly decline, following weekly totals of 25, 35 and 37.

The total of 22 cases is the fewest in any week since Oct. 31-Nov. 6, when there were 20 cases, and the second-fewest since late July.

Daily averages have dropped since reaching a record-high of 15.5 cases per day during September.

The daily average dropped to 5.4 during October, and to 4.8 during November.

The daily average for the first 19 days of December was 3.4 cases.

That’s well below the rate during December 2020, when the county recorded a then record high of 196 cases, an average of 6.3 per day.