Current COVID-19 Wave and Boosters for 5 – 11 Year-Olds

f you have children in school, work in a school, or know a teacher, you are already well aware that we are seeing another COVID wave. Cases have been increasing steadily both in schools and the community since the mask mandates were lifted, and most Oregon counties have been at a High Level of Community Transmission.

Daily student and staff isolation reports from Portland Public School’s COVID-19 Dashboard.

Community Transmission Levels in Oregon Counties as of May 15, 2022.

In addition to COVID, we have seen a small increase in influenza cases, and other assorted upper-respiratory viruses and stomach bugs. All together, this is leading to many sick kids (and parents!), many phone calls, and fewer available appointments.

We appreciate your patience with longer response times; our staff is working very hard to meet everybody’s needs. At times we do have to prioritize urgent situations, which may make your time waiting for an appointment or an answer to your question take longer.

Here are some things we can all do to help:

• Wear a high quality mask indoors, especially at school.
• Choose surgical, KN94 or KN95 masks over cloth masks.
• Keep your child home if they feel sick.
• Test often for COVID if someone is sick. Your insurance will pay for eight COVID tests per person per month; check with your pharmacist.
• Get vaccinated and boosted, if eligible.

And now for the good news… children ages 5 – 11 are eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine booster!

We are scheduling those appointments now. You can call to schedule or request an appointment over the portal. Being fully vaccinated and boosted helps protect against more contagious variants, as well as prevent severe infections and long-term complications. And there is significant benefit to vaccination even if your child has had a COVID infection. We are also anticipating vaccine being approved for 6 month to 4 year olds, hopefully in June.

See if your child is eligible for a booster below.