[HealthyTribes] IMPORTANT: Vaping case demographics to be released

[Wylie Sarah A]

Good evening, all –

Please see below for an important message on tomorrow’s release of vaping case demographic data. All counties with cases were notified last week through the Oregon Health Authority – Public Health Division Acute and Communicable Disease Prevention Section. All Local Public Health Administrators, Local Health Officers, and Tribal Health Directors also received this message last week.

We encourage you to refer media or other inquiries about the investigation to us. Please contact the Public Health Division epidemiologist on call (971-673-1111, option 3) for questions about the investigation, and please refer media to Jonathan Modie (jonathan.n.modie at state.or.us<mailto:jonathan.n.modie at state.or.us>, 971-673-1102).

Thank you,
Sarah Wylie

---
Sarah Wylie, MPH
Health Promotion Strategist
p: 971-673-1051
c: 971-200-9887
e: sarah.a.wylie at dhsoha.state.or.us<mailto:sarah.a.wylie at dhsoha.state.or.us>


From: Drum Danna K
Sent: Tuesday, November 26, 2019 6:05 PM
Subject: IMPORTANT: Vaping case demographics to be released
Importance: High

Dear Oregon Local Public Health Administrators, Local Health Officers and Tribal Health Directors,

The Oregon Health Authority continues to investigate Oregon cases in the nationwide outbreak of vaping-associated lung illness<https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/e-cigarettes/severe-lung-disease.html#latest-outbreak-information>. As of today, 19 cases have been reported statewide since the outbreak began, 2 of which were fatal.

While recent studies have suggested a link with vitamin E acetate, evidence is not yet sufficient to rule out other potential causes. CDC and FDA continue to investigate many different substances and product sources, and there may be more than one cause of this outbreak. OHA continues to urge Oregonians to stop using all vaping products until federal and state officials have determined the cause(s) of serious lung injuries and deaths linked to vaping.

Our epidemiology team has determined that, given the current case total and in the interest of transparency and public awareness, it’s time to publish more of the basic demographics of our cases, as we do routinely for other reportable diseases. Starting Tuesday, December 3, we will report on our vaping illness investigation webpage<https://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/DISEASESCONDITIONS/COMMUNICABLEDISEASE/Pages/vaping-illness.aspx> aggregate case counts by age group, gender, county, and type of product vaped (nicotine, cannabis, or both). We will not release any cross-tabulations (e.g., county case counts will not include age group or gender or race) so the risks to individual confidentiality are minimal. These numbers will be updated weekly. To preserve confidentiality, we will not, of course, release information about individual cases.

OHA will contact local public health authorities who have had cases in their jurisdictions early next week to confirm LPHA awareness prior to releasing these numbers.

We would like to emphasize that OHA remains the lead on this investigation. We encourage you to refer media or other inquiries about the investigation to us. Please contact the Public Health Division epidemiologist on call (971-673-1111, option 3) for questions about the investigation, and please refer media to Jonathan Modie (jonathan.n.modie at state.or.us<mailto:jonathan.n.modie at state.or.us>, 971-673-1102).

Sincerely,

Tom Jeanne, MD, MPH
Deputy State Health Officer
Deputy State Epidemiologist
OREGON HEALTH AUTHORITY
Public Health Division
Desk: 971-673-0233
Cell: 503-679-8735



Danna Drum, MDiv
Strategic Partnerships
OREGON HEALTH AUTHORITY
Public Health Division
Office of the State Public Health Director
danna.k.drum at state.or.us<mailto:danna.k.drum at state.or.us>
Phone:  503-957-8869
http://www.oregon.gov/OHA<http://links.govdelivery.com:80/track?type=click&enid=ZWFzPTEmbXNpZD0mYXVpZD0mbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTYxMjIwLjY3OTEyMDUxJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDE2MTIyMC42NzkxMjA1MSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE2ODYxMTMwJmVtYWlsaWQ9bWlrYXlsYS5tYXJjb3R0QGRoc29oYS5zdGF0ZS5vci51cyZ1c2VyaWQ9bWlrYXlsYS5tYXJjb3R0QGRoc29oYS5zdGF0ZS5vci51cyZ0YXJnZXRpZD0mZmw9Jm12aWQ9JmV4dHJhPSYmJg==&&&110&&&http://www.oregon.gov/OHA>

Pronouns:  She/her/hers

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