Tulsa County could be the site of a new mass vaccination site for individuals to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, according to local, state and federal officials.
"Tulsa County will soon be the site of a mega POD [point of distribution], in partnership with state and federal officials, which will further increase access to vaccine," Tulsa Health Department Executive Director Dr. Bruce Dart said at a Thursday press briefing held virtually. "That POD will have a goal of at least 6,000 vaccines administered per day."
"The planning is underway right now," said Dart. "We're in the process of selecting a site. We don't have a timeframe for when it will actually start. We have a meeting Monday, and hopefully that timetable will be solidified on that day."
Dart said the effort would be in partnership with the Oklahoma State Department of Health and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, and the site would be staffed by members of the military and federal employees.
In a statement, OSDH Deputy Commissioner Keith Reed said talks are in early stages.
"These are very preliminary conversations, but yes, we are discussing and evaluating the options presented by FEMA that would include additional vaccines through federal allocations. We are considering all options that will result in more vaccine and resources for Oklahoma," Reed said.
FEMA spokesperson Lauren Lefebvre confirmed Reed's account, noting the proposal was only received Wednesday and a timeline for any sort of site opening is too early to predict.
According to Dart, the most recent state data indicated that more than 77,000 vaccine doses had been administered in Tulsa County to date. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, as of Thursday at 4:00 p.m., 462,440 doses had been administered in Oklahoma, the 8th-best rate of vaccines administered per 100,000 residents out of all 50 states.
