The World Health Organization (WHO) Director, Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus is saying COVID is here to stay promoting wearing masks and to get booster shots. Ask any Oregon legislator about the current COVID warnings, and they have a universal answer as if scripted, “I am unaware of any upcoming mask mandates, plans for vaccine passports, or social distancing orders.”

The executive director of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme, Dr. Michael Ryan, used the emergence of COVID-19 cases to advocate for the controversial “pandemic treaty,” which, if accepted, would give WHO the power to directly impose restrictions on countries during a pandemic, allowing him to determine what constitutes a “pandemic.” The Biden Administration ended the COVID public health emergency, but supports WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme.

The Oregon legislature passed SB 1554 in 2022 for a comprehensive study done by the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), which is titled Public Health Response To The COVID-19 Pandemic In Oregon. The report was to outline recommendations for improving and strengthening Oregon’s public health system capacity and resiliency for responding to future public health emergencies.

The final evaluation, findings and recommendations was released September 1, 2023, produced by Rede Group, a social impact company through an allocated $899,573. What did ‘We the People’ get for our money? We didn’t get a seat at the table. The 728 participants all represented groups related to managing or providing aspects of health care engaged in responding. Some areas appear to be a self-evaluation. There were no interviews or surveys provided to those on the receiving end - no patients, no parents, no seniors, no individual interviews or surveys were included.

The report is broken down into the legislation subject areas with findings and recommendations:

Resources – Oregon’s public health system was underfunded and needs an additional $143,000,000 annual funding to rebuild and keep the public health system modernized. That's on top of the $21 billion a year new taxes needed for universal health care to be paid by employers and individuals, in place of existing health insurance premiums.

Health Equity - It is evident that COVID-19 exacerbated already existing health inequities in the state. In particular, Tribal Nations and Communities of Color were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately in comparison to White communities. This is attributable to systemic inequities that influence the Social Determinants of Health, rather than personal choices related to virus protection. To resolve inequities, they suggest:

• Improve equitable communication by ensuring information is timely and accessible for all Oregonians. OHA should be hiring, recruiting, and retaining bilingual, and preferably bicultural, staff into various departments - as opposed to hiring that is done solely in response to a critical need.
• Ensure that timely, accurate morbidity, hospitalization, and mortality data about historically marginalized communities (those most likely to experience health inequity) are collected and available to those communities and partnering organizations.
• Continue to fund public health-focused CBOs serving communities experiencing historical and contemporary health inequities.

Emergency Management + Coordination - lacked role clarity causing confusion affecting overall responses. Recommended:

• Explore the concept of a fully resourced, flexible, and scalable Unified Command (UC) Structure between Oregon Department of Emergency Management (OEM) and OHA in support of future public health emergencies.
• OEM and OHA should work together to establish an equity specialist team that is formally adopted into the response structure, included in the Multi-Year Training and Exercise Plan (MYTEP) training and exercises, and integration into the state's emergency plans and procedures.

Enforcement of Public Health Mandates – found to be inconsistent and a widespread misinformation campaign marred compliance, or was it really misinformation as the truth is still coming out. The report suggests that local and state agency partners convene to determine if the enforcement mechanisms used to protect the public's health from COVID-19 in 2020-2022 are the best fit for Oregon. If changes are necessary by OHA, the Oregon State Legislature should work to enact necessary statutory or regulatory changes.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Secondary findings attributed to increased strain on hospitals and health system caused disparities in health care equity. There were other side effects to the strain on the health care system, such as:

• Increase in opioid overdoses and deaths, but suicides decreased slightly.
• Some sexual transmitted diseases increased and some decreased.
• Immunizations in general decreased, and prenatal care declined.
• The number of those receiving SNAP benefits increased substantially.
• Education enrollments dropped 30,000, bouncing back except for Regions 1 and 2, which continue to decline.

The majority of School Districts and Education Service Districts reported their districts were highly or moderately prepared to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, but a third of the School Districts reported their districts were minimally or not at all prepared to respond. At the school level, results were less positive. Principals felt their schools were unprepared having outdated or non-existent Emergency Operations Plans. The recommendations are for training, partnerships, funding for emergency operations, involve schools in mandate decisions, coordinated messaging, and accessibility.

Other non-government community recommendations suggest funding and flexibility of funding, and prioritize public health emergency responses to equity practices. The report also included similar recommendations for Tribal Nations, migrants and seasonal farmworkers. The COVID pandemic was the first time that government considered farmworkers as essential workers growing and processing food.

Hospitals and long-term care facilities are recommended to develop guidance and maintain relationships. The public health workforce needs better plans and protocols for a surge that is large scale and long-term. Cooperation with city and county emergency programs. Improve epidemiological data systems with sustainable capacity and develop standards that can support multiple counties.

The report is superficial on some of the areas the study is required to cover in SB 1554, but it is heavy on equity. It documented what most of us already know, and lacks contribution from end-users impacted by critical decisions. It did, however, accomplish the legislature’s goal of having enough information to justify spending more taxpayer dollars in the name of preparedness and universal health care.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2023-09-08 17:30:04

Last Update: 2023-09-08 21:33:49