138. Encouraged

This week and last, Covid numbers in Wallowa County are down significantly from the daily 5-20 cases registered in September and early October weeks. 

My first thought was that the tourist season is winding down, and there are fewer Florida, Texas, and Idaho license plates on Main Street in Joseph than there were just two weeks ago. We’re also further away from Josephy Days and the Pendleton Roundup, two big-crowd events in Eastern Oregon. 

When I read my new favorite New York Times columnist, Zeynep Tufekci, on Saturday, more good news. In “The Unvaccinated May Not Be Who You Think,” the Turkish-born sociologist says that we have not paid enough attention to who is getting and not getting Covid vaccinations. My tribe has been fixated on anti-vaxxers; Tufekci focuses on the vaccinated, and the “vaccine resistant.” Who they are and why.

Her first bit of data is that 95 % of people over 65 in the United States have had at least one shot. Our older Wallowa County population helps us. And—the biggest factors in predicting who, overall, gets vaccinated are health insurance and regular—and trusted—health care providers. She notes that “low vaccination rates in rural areas may be that they are ‘health care and media deserts.’” 

That’s not us! And we consequently now have over 65% of eligible adults vaccinated, gradually adding a few more each day. When the vaccines are approved for children, our numbers and percentages will climb. 

We might even get a boost from the mandates. Although there is a lot of moaning and groaning with police unions and southern state governors, research shows that most of those not yet vaccinated who are in the “vaccine hesitant” group will comply with the mandates. Some because they need their jobs; many, including those with needle phobia—a category I had not considered—Tufekci argues, will obey they mandates because they can “cross the line… in a face-saving manor.”  

Taken all together—Wallowa County’s older population on Medicare; our robust health care system; the 65 % and growing vaccination rate; the 675 residents who have acquired immunity by getting the disease (almost 10% of our population!), and a quieter Main Street—I feel encouraged going into winter. 

Winter, that long-ago time when Wallowa County—and Oregon—were relatively Covid-free. 

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