In response to expanding eligibility in Oregon, the Malheur County Health Department has lengthened the hours of its weekly COVID-19 vaccine clinics starting this Thursday. Throughout the month of April, clinics will take place every Thursday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. First and second doses of Moderna vaccine will be available throughout.

“With eligibility opening up to most adults in Malheur County, we felt that an all-day clinic was the best approach. People can stop by at their convenience, whether it’s before or after work, at lunch or during a break in activities,” said MCHD Communicable Disease Coordinator Angie Gerrard, RN/BSN. “I know we’re all eager to put this pandemic behind us, and vaccination of a large percentage of the community is what will allow us to do that. We know these vaccines are safe and life-saving, and we want make the process of getting the vaccine as easy for people as possible.”

Once inside, the vaccine process takes anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to complete. The last few clinics have had little to no wait time to enter. To speed up the process, people can print and fill out the two required forms – Vaccine Screening & Consent English/Español and Pre-Vaccination Checklist English/Español – and bring them to the clinic. No other paperwork or documentation is required.

COVID-19 vaccine eligibility opened last week to the following groups:

• All adults 45-64 with underlying health conditions
• Migrant and seasonal farm workers
• Seafood and agricultural workers
• Food processing workers
• People living in low-income senior housing, senior congregate and independent living
• Individuals experiencing homelessness
• People currently displaced by wildfires
• Wildland firefighters
• Pregnant people 16 and older

On Monday, these groups will be added:

• Frontline workers as defined by CDC
• Individuals living in a multigenerational household
• Adults 16–44 with one or more underlying health conditions with increased risk

For more information about each of these populations and a full list of eligible groups, click here for English, or here for Español.