Secretary of State puts the fight in Friday Night Lights vaccination at Wahtonka Field
Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan (center) poses with High School Student Volunteers, Amy Hernandez, Jasmine Elías, and Angel Avilar.
The Oregon Secretary of State returned to her roots on Friday, April 23rd, when she attended a Pfizer vaccine clinic for 16-18-year-olds and their families hosted by North Central Public Health District (NCPHD) and The Dalles High School on Wahtonka Field.
“We got our first shipment of Pfizer vaccine, which is approved for 16 and 17-year-olds, so we decided to do a fun event for 16 and 17-year-olds and their families,” said Kristen Slatt, COVID Vaccine Coordinator at NCPHD. “We filled up 240 spots for tonight. So it’s going great."
The socially distanced vaccine clinic ran from 4 PM to 8 PM. Music played from loudspeakers across the field and tents were set up to protect vaccination areas. Once vaccinated, youth and families could enjoy pizza and snacks while waiting in the observation area to be cleared to leave. People who came to register to get their vaccine could enter their name to win raffle prizes that included Dutch Brothers' coffee cards, and water bottles.
Nicole Bailey, Environmental Health Specialist at NCPHD and Avery Ringer, local carpenter, handing out free pizza to those who registered to get a vaccine.
High School Volunteers point the way to NCPHD’s pop up Friday Night Light’s Vaccine Clinic
Over 15,200 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in North Central Public Health District’s three-county service area of Wasco, Sherman, and Gilliam counties.
“About 38% of Wasco County has been vaccinated. In the beginning, we had a waiting list of over 500 people. Now we have vaccinated our waiting list, and we’ve gone beyond that now. We have openings for our vaccine clinics, so anyone can now sign up to get vaccinated,” said Interim Director of NCPHD Shellie Campbell “Check us out at NCPHD.org.”
“We know that in the rural counties we’re dealing with a little vaccine hesitation, so we’re trying to address that and educate people and show them it’s safe and important,” said Campbell. “People have all different reasons. To someone who is hesitant about getting the vaccine, I would just like to ask them: How we can answer their questions and just listen to them and understand where they’re coming from and not try to shame them or push them into getting the vaccine. We want people to feel comfortable and confident about the vaccine, so we’re trying our best to do outreach and education.”
Pictured: NCPHD Interim Director Shellie Campbell and Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan.
NCPHD’s vaccine rollout has been so efficient that there are now lots of openings available at NCPHD vaccine clinics.
Campbell told CCC News that the vaccine rollout was going very well. “I’m so incredibly proud of our community and our NCPHD team and all our volunteers. It has been a monumental task to set up contact tracing, testing, vaccine clinics, but again we’ve had so many people in the community just stepping up and helping us along the way, this lady here included,” said Campbel, referring to Robbie Denning of Immense Imagery, who designed the NCPHD websites and vaccine clinic booking systems.
Volunteers were a core driver of making the vaccine clinic event at Wahtonka field a success. Volunteers included high school students, staff, Spanish language interpreters, and 11 Medical Reserve Corps, volunteers. MRC volunteers are retired medical professionals who now serve on a volunteer basis.
Shemia Fagan elbow bumps Medical Reserve Corps volunteer and Wasco County Commissioner Kathy Schwartz.
The Oregon Secretary of State, Shemia Fagan also came out to support the vaccine clinic.
CCC News caught up with the Oregon Secretary of State as she made the rounds on the Wahtonka field, meeting, greeting, and thanking volunteers and staff for their hard work
Fagan had arrived with Dufur School Superintendent Jack Henderson in almost matching Dufur Rangers gear. Fagan was wearing a Dufur Rangers Jersey with a The Dalles T-shirt underneath.
“These are my two hometowns,” said Fagan. “Jack coached my brothers in football. It’s little known that Dufur has won more state championships than any high school in Oregon,” said Fagan.
So did Secretary Fagan play football in school?
Not officially, but she knows how to tackle.
“No, I was too little then. But we would play tackle-the-man-with-the-ball up on the hill during high school football games,” said Fagan. “My brother still goes to all the Dufur championship games. His high school friend’s kids are playing now.”
A Medical Reserve Corps volunteer introduced Fagan to NCPHD’s Dr. Mimi McDonald, who was responsible for making the vaccine clinic event run smoothly along with Bridges to Health First Responder Josh Sendejas of Mid-Columbia Housing Authority who works to alleviate houselessness in The Dalles.
MRC Volunteers Nate Stice and Kathy Schwartz at the Friday Night Lights Vaccine Clinic.
Secretary Fagan told them about her own experience as someone who had experienced houselessness.
“One of the life stories I told a lot when I was running for Secretary of State was that my family experienced homelessness in The Dalles. The summer before we moved to Dufur we’d been evicted. My Dad didn’t have anywhere to take us. We ended up just camping out at 8-mile Creek in Dufur. My Dad just took us on a camping trip to give us some kind of stability, and then a church took us in, and we ended up finding a trailer in Dufur. That’s how we ended up attending second grade in Dufur,” said Fagan.
The Secretary of State extended her gratitude to Josh Sendejas for his work with Bridges to Health. To read more about Josh’s work click here.
Secretary of State Shemia Fagan, Dufur School Superintendnet Jack Henderson, and Josh Sendejas of Mid-Columbia Housing Authority.
“So I really appreciate the work you’re doing. It’s really personal to me to know folks that are trying to close that gap here because I was literally one of those families. My dad was a single parent, had three kids and you know just fell between the cracks that one summer,” said Fagan.
“I got sworn in in January, and I did it at Dufur school because it’s so important to me to just be in the community that provided that wraparound support. I don’t think I would be Secretary of State and be in a position to turn around and then give back to the community and serve again without the support I received then,” said Fagan.
The Secretary of State on Wasco County Going up in Risk Assessment
“Wasco County is going up in risk assessment, it’s tough, it’s exhausting I know that,” said Fagan.
Fagan’s interview with CCC News was cut short when she was called to speak at the clinic from the crow's nest above Wahtonka field.
“I’m here for two reasons, One is that I have the honor of being your Secretary of State here in Oregon. And that’s cool and everything, but really I’m here because I’m a 1999 graduate of The Dalles High School and I’m so excited about this event,” said Fagan to the cheering crowd.
“I was in high school here in the 90s and there was not a pandemic, fortunately, but there was the great flood of 1996...if you can imagine in downtown The Dalles folks were literally in canoes...because it was so flooded,” said Fagan. “And what they asked high school kids to do in 1996 was to come out and throw sandbags all over town to try to prevent this flood from destroying our community. And that is what y'all are doing tonight by getting vaccinated,” said Fagan to another round of cheers from the socially distanced Medical Reserve Corps volunteers, frontline workers, high school students, and families in attendance at the vaccine clinic
“If you are being part of a solution. One sandbag and one person could not have saved The Dalles back in 1996. And just one person doing one thing can’t protect this community from COVID-19. But with everybody coming together, just like we did in 1996 with our sandbags, can and will stop this pandemic from destroying our community here in The Dalles,” said Fagan
“So I want to thank you for being part of a solution. I want to thank you for doing your part and throwing sandbags around this community tonight and continuing on as we continue to encourage folks to get vaccinated. I got vaccinated a couple of weeks ago. I'm happy to be part of a solution, and I'm so proud of my community of The Dalles and Dufur and for you, students and you, families, for also being part of the solution tonight,” said Fagan.
Fagan signed off with “I’m Shemia Fagan, Secretary of State but most importantly, a product of Dufur School and The Dalles High School, and thank you all for being here tonight.”
