Vaccines

The average of new COVID-19 cases is up 93% since the day before Thanksgiving. Hospitalizations are up nearly 50% over the past month, though they remain lower than during COVID surges in the summer and last winter.

Sen. James Lankford said between people who are fully vaccinated and those who recovered from COVID-19, 92% of U.S. adults have some level of immunity.

Health officials advise unvaccinated Oklahomans to get their COVID shots and fully vaccinated individuals to get a booster.

Gov. Kevin Stitt argues Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin overstepped his constitutional authority by subjecting the National Guard to the mandate, which applies to active-duty military members.

A directive says National Guard members who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 will be barred from required training and not paid. Lankford submitted an amendment to the annual defense spending bill to cancel out Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's order.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin suggested Guard troops who refuse the shots could lose their federal status, which could impact their pay and future benefits.

All adults who are six months past their second dose of Pfizer or Moderna COVID vaccines can now get a third shot to boost immunity.

Attorney General John O’Connor said Oklahoma has a shortage of nurses as it was, and the mandate would worsen the situation.

A dispute between Oklahoma’s governor and the Pentagon over the COVID-19 vaccine mandate is setting up the first critical test of the military’s authority to require National Guard troops to get the shot and laying the groundwork for potential protests from other states.

Their rhetoric included misleading or false claims about COVID vaccines and the efficacy of masks, as well as repeated comparisons of the present-day United States to the political climate in Germany before the Nazis took control.