SALEM — Oregon Gov. Kate Brown says she “would fully expect” for the Pendleton Round-Up to go forward as planned this year, with guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention like wearing masks.

Brown’s statement came during a press conference on May 11 where the state set new reopening goals pending vaccinations.

When 70% of Oregonians over the age of 16 receive at least their first dose of the vaccine, Brown announced, COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings and commerce will be lifted. The state also announced that counties with 65% of residents 16-and-older at least partially vaccinated can move to lower risk starting May 21.

When asked whether moving to lower risk and lifting restrictions would allow for major events like the Pendleton Round-Up, Brown said, “There may be some CDC guidelines around masking that we will want to align with as we’re meeting Oregon’s needs, but I would fully expect that we will be able to Let ‘Er Buck, so to speak, in September.”

Umatilla County Commissioner George Murdock said he wants to take Brown at her word because he “cannot fathom taking another $65 million hit by not having Round-Up.”

“I hope she also understands that the Round-Up can’t operate at half mast,” Murdock said. “They have to go full bore, in terms of no crowd limitations. But she’s confident that by September we’re going to have it, and I like to take her at her word.”

For the state to progress and for events to be held safely, officials say that regions must have high vaccination rates.

But in Umatilla County, the least-vaccinated county in Oregon, vaccination rates have declined rapidly in recent weeks, leaving a greater vaccine supply than there is demand.

Nearly 25% of Umatilla County residents have received at least one shot, according to an Oregonian/OregonLive database, though the county has the second-highest COVID-19 case rate. That’s compared to the approximately 46% of all Oregonians who have received at least their first dose. 

“I understand people’s individual rights not to get a shot if they choose not to,” Murdock said. “I just hope they consider the fact that might have an impact on events like Round-Up if they choose not to.”

He added: “If they’re going to use vaccination rate as a standard to determine whether or not these things are going to occur, then I think a vaccination is a small price to pay to make sure these things go on and get back to normal.”

The Pendleton Round-Up is currently scheduled for Sept. 15 through Sept. 18.