Oregon declares success on Hispanic vaccinations -- after "revising" population numbers

The Oregon Health Authority in July 2021 announced a goal that 80% of adults of color would be at least partially vaccinated by the end of last summer, as part of the state’s efforts to close long-known equity gaps.

But that didn’t happen.

Wednesday’s announcement isn’t the result of a huge increase in the number of Latino adults who have been recently vaccinated. Instead, it’s because state health officials this week said they are using updated population figures that indicate fewer Latino adults live in Oregon than originally estimated, with the latest population about 333,000 people.

Because of that decrease in population estimates, the share of Latino adults vaccinated with at least one shot increased to 80.7% from 68.6%, the state said.

Using that new population estimate, Latino adults reached the 80% threshold on May 17 – eight months after the state’s initial target.