A Letter to Our Patients: Omicron, Vaccines, and Tests; Oh, My!

We are experiencing our biggest surge yet of pediatric patients with COVID-19 infection and COVID-19 exposures. Here is the letter we emailed today.

Dear EPPC families,

As you may know, COVID19 with the Omicron variant is very active in our region. Due to the number of patients who are either ill or have been exposed, we are very busy! Therefore, we are requesting parents and guardians to consider rescheduling well visits for children over the age of 2 who are not due for vaccines. For now, we are only rescheduling those who have visits scheduled in January. Should this change, we will let you know. Please send us a portal request or call us if you are willing to do so. We know this may be difficult for those of you have have waited a long time for a scheduled check-up, and we appreciate your understanding.

Also be aware that our testing supplies are limited and we will require a discussion with a physician prior to any COVID19 testing. Some urgent cares have COVID19 testing, but please avoid going to the ER for testing or mild symptoms as they are also overwhelmed. Many of the answers to your testing questions can be found on our website, www.eastportlandpeds.com.

Please be patient with our staff as they are handling a large influx of phone calls in addition to busy patient volumes. They come to work every day because of their commitment to caring for your children, and they appreciate your kindness.

CDC has updated the guidelines for isolation and quarantine but not all schools have the same guidelines. Please check with your district what they are requiring. There are also new CDC guidelines for presumptive COVID19 which do not require testing.

The best way to protect yourself from severe disease is vaccination. We recommend that all eligible patients 5 and up be vaccinated against COVID19. Boosters are now approved down to age 12, and can be given 5 months after the second dose. Call us to get on the waitlist or visit getvaccinated.oregon.gov.

Best wishes for 2022!

Your EPPC medical home