Oregon hospitals experiencing COVID surge

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — As coronavirus cases continue to spike in Oregon, health officials describe the dire situation they are seeing play out in hospitals — especially among unvaccinated people. Officials say they are seeing younger and sicker people be hospitalized due to COVID-19 than during previous surges. Currently, 496 people are hospitalized in Oregon due to COVID-19. Based on data from the health authority, the state’s record of people hospitalized was 622 during November’s surge when vaccine doses were not yet available. As COVID-19 cases continue to climb in Oregon, some counties — most where less than half of the area’s adult population is vaccinated — are experiencing their highest hospitalization numbers during the pandemic.