Staff during the Center for Human Development's vaccination clinic in January 2021 in La Grande administer the COVID-19 vaccine. 

LA GRANDE — Union County has received approval to start vaccinating people in Phase 1B Group 7 immediately.

The Oregon Health Authority on Wednesday, March 31, announced Union County was among 20 counties that submitted attestation letters, signaling their intention to immediately offer COVID-19 vaccinations to expanded eligibility groups.

The phase includes all essential frontline workers as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, everyone age 16 and older with an underlying condition considered at higher risk from COVID-19, and people in multigenerational households.

The CDC’s list of frontline workers includes employees whose work requires regular contact with the public or coworkers for a prolonged period of time or within 6 feet, who are working in essential industries, such as food service, energy, construction, news media, manufacturing, law and banking.

The list of qualifying underlying health conditions includes cancer, chronic lung disease, chronic kidney disease, dementia, diabetes, Down syndrome, heart conditions, HIV, immunocompromised state, liver disease, obesity, pregnancy, sickle cell disease, smoking, solid organ or blood stem cell transplant, stroke and substance abuse disorders.

Multigenerational households are defined as households with at least three generations living together, or individuals residing with and caring for a relative who is not their own child, such as a grandparent raising their grandchild.

The date set for those groups to become eligible statewide is Monday, April 5, followed by all Oregonians becoming eligible by May 1. But the state has been allowing some counties to move ahead on their schedule if they can show they have been able to “largely complete” vaccinations for the previous group.

“Moving up vaccination in these counties will enable us to vaccinate our frontline workers more quickly while enabling counties with adequate supply to fully utilize their allotment of COVOD-19 vaccine,” said OHA Director Patrick Allen.