Vaccines

Exemption rates during the 2022-23 school year rose to 4.7% of Oklahoma kindergartners, which is 1.2% more than the year before.

After its recent FDA approval, the CDC recommended everyone six months and older get an updated COVID vaccine. But insurance snags and supply issues are giving some Oklahomans trouble accessing it.

The Tulsa Health Department is now offering the Novavax vaccine to those wanting to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

"Outstanding.... Garcia's book uses rich storytelling and insightful reporting to uncover not only the long history of how autistic people have been mistreated but also how they continue to be ignored.... [This] is exactly the book we need to lead the way in changing the autism conversation. It belongs on the shelf next to 'NeuroTribes' as essential reading on autism and neurodiversity." -- The Washington Post

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.