KWSO News for Wed., Mar. 3, 2021

More COVID-19 vaccinations are planned for tomorrow and Friday in Warm Springs.  To get an appointment you need to be 18 or older and either be Indian Health Service eligible or Live or Work in Warm Springs.  The appointment line is open 8am – 4pm at 541-553-2610.  Appointments are available for a first dose are still available for tomorrow and Friday.

Not everyone has chosen to get the vaccine at this point.  Jaylyn Suppah who works with the Tribes’ Health and Human Services Branch  is approaching vaccination cautiously.

More than 150 Bend hospital workers plan to stop working Thursday morning. Yesterday federal judge decided NOT to intervene on behalf of St. Charles Health System. Emily Cureton reports that the planned strike leaves the future of surgeries, respiratory therapy and many essential diagnostic services up in the air. St. Charles tried to get a restraining order to keep its medical technicians and technologists working.   But federal Judge Michael McShane wasn’t on board. He said the request exceeded his authority.  The judge deferred to the National Labor Relations Board, an independent federal agency that reviews labor practices.   Union leaders claim the hospital has intentionally delayed negotiations over wages in order to weaken collective bargaining efforts, while at the same time, St. Charles significantly raised pay for non-unionized technical staff.  In written statements hospital leaders say they are preparing for the strike to happen, and are recruiting replacement workers nationwide.

The 2020 National Drug Threat Assessment, the DEA’s annual publication is out.  DEA Special Agent in Charge Frank Tarentino said, “The DEA Seattle Field Division, which includes the Pacific North West states of Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Alaska is primarily focused on the opioid threat, more specifically the illicit manufactured fentanyl that many drug trafficking and transnational criminal organizations are smuggling into communities”   While fentanyl and fentanyl analogues from China have decreased since 2018, the opioid threat remains at epidemic levels. Meanwhile, the stimulant threat, including methamphetamine and cocaine, is worsening both in volume and reach, with traffickers selling increasing amounts outside of traditional markets.  According to the assessment – the Pacific Northwest is under siege by the Mexican based Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) cartel who is flooding the region with clandestine produced synthetic opioids in the form of prescriptions pills.  This transnational criminal organization (TCO) is taking advantage of the readily available and extremely dangerous, in fact lethal, synesthetic opioid; Fentanyl. These transnational criminal organizations are mixing illegally and clandestinely made fentanyl into most illicit narcotics, to include cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and pills, resulting in a significant increase in non-fatal and fatal overdose deaths.   The National Drug Threat Assessment is available at www.dea.gov/documents/2021/03/02/2020-national-drug-threat-assessment

Officials say the University of Oregon will return to predominately in-person instruction for the fall term. The Register-Guard reports President Michael Schill says the decision was made following an announcement Friday from Gov. Kate Brown that higher education will be included in the state’s next phase of vaccinations. Employees of the state’s public and private colleges and universities will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccination beginning May 1.