Vaccines

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — A coronavirus vaccination site in Tulsa operated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency with state and local officials and the Oklahoma National Guard will provide vaccinations for all eligible, from any state, a FEMA official said Tuesday.

“The goal here is to get as many people vaccinated as possible, wherever they come from,” said FEMA Region 6 Regional Administrator Tony Robinson.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health said Thursday it was investigating an alleged incident in Logan County where a trans woman was denied a COVID-19 vaccine.

Advocacy group Freedom Oklahoma tweeted, "Hey [OSDH] why is Logan Co Health Department turning away a trans woman trying to get a vaccine and telling us to take it up with the state?"

Public health experts and state officials said Tuesday they hope the news of the federally recommended pause in administration of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine increases the public's confidence in the safety of the vaccines, given the low incidence rate of the possible adverse side effect of blood clots and the rapid response from regulators.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health on Tuesday asked all vaccine sites across the state to immediately stop giving doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.

Earlier Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended pausing use of the single-dose vaccine while an investigation is conducted into reports of apparently rare, potentially dangerous blood clots.

The White House announced Friday that the Tulsa Community College Northeast Campus has been chosen to host a federally supported COVID-19 vaccination site in partnership with state and local agencies.

"The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will lend support to the vaccination site, in partnership with the Tulsa Health Department, Tulsa Area Emergency Management Agency, Oklahoma State Department of Health, Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, the Oklahoma National Guard and state and local partners," the White House said in a news release.

With the Oklahoma State Department of Health announcing Wednesday that non-Oklahomans are now eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccines through the state system, the Tulsa Health Department said Thursday they're up to the job.

"We are happy to be administering the vaccine, really, to anybody who wants it, whether they are Oklahoma residents or those that are residents of another state but for some reason are in Oklahoma," said Ellen Niemitalo, THD clinical services manager.

"We're just excited to be able to administer the vaccine to anyone who is wanting it," she said.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma will begin providing COVID-19 vaccinations to residents of any state as Oklahoma’s vaccine supplies and vaccinations administered increased, deputy state Health Commissioner Keith Reed said Wednesday.

Until now, Oklahoma had limited vaccinations to only its 4 million residents.

Now, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Oklahoma has received more than 2.9 million vaccine doses and administered more than 2.1 million vaccinations. So, residents of any state will become eligible for vaccination in Oklahoma starting Thursday.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced just under $64 million in funding will be divided and awarded to 21 community health centers in Oklahoma as part of President Biden and congressional Democrats' American Rescue Plan COVID-19 relief package.

The Tulsa Health Department announced Wednesday that individuals seeking to be vaccinated against COVID-19 now have three additional locations to choose from.

The department's James O. Goodwin Health Center, Central Regional Health Center and North Regional Health and Wellness Center are all now taking appointments via the state's vaccinate.oklahoma.gov portal, with vaccinations beginning there on Monday.

While Oklahoma appears to be trending well in terms of COVID-19 infection and vaccination rates, public health experts and officials are warning that things could change without vigilance.

"Listen, everyone -- the pandemic is not over yet," said Dr. Aaron Wendelboe, an epidemiologist and professor at the OU Health Sciences Center who formerly served as Oklahoma's state epidemiologist, on a Tuesday press briefing held virtually by the Healthier Oklahoma Coalition. "We have not dropped to levels of transmission that are sustainable, that we can control."

With COVID-19 vaccinations now open to all Oklahomans 16 and older, public health experts say doctors will play a vital role in overcoming remaining hesitancy among patients. 

"Every survey we do, the most trusted individual is a physician or their medical provider," said Mendy Spohn, administrative director for the Oklahoma State Department of Health's District 8, which covers parts of southern Oklahoma. 

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Several universities in Oklahoma say that for now they will not require their students to get a COVID-19 vaccine before coming back to campus in the fall.

Rutgers University in New Jersey was one of the first universities in the nation to put in place a vaccination mandate for its students when it made the announcement last week.

The Muscogee (Creek) Nation Department of Health is now offering first doses of COVID-19 vaccinations on a first come, first served basis at a drive-thru clinic in Tulsa.

The clinic is Friday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the River Spirit Expo Center at Tulsa's Expo Square, 4145 E. 21st St. Muscogee (Creek) Nation has 4,000 doses available.

About two-thirds of Oklahoma prison workers and just under half of the inmates have opted not to receive the COVID-19 vaccine from the state Department of Corrections, a sign that vaccine hesitancy remains high and some facilities may not reach the immunity threshold necessary to prevent future outbreaks. 

Following in the footsteps of some other Oklahoma tribes, the Cherokee Nation announced Thursday it will now schedule vaccination appointments for anyone who wants one, regardless of their Tribal citizenship status or even what state they live in.

“Our Cherokee Nation health team was extremely successful in ensuring we reached our most vulnerable populations, including Cherokee elders and first responders, when our first COVID-19 vaccines arrived in December,” Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said in a statement.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The mayor of Oklahoma’s largest city publicly received his first dose of the coronavirus vaccine on Monday and urged others in the state to do the same.

“With most Oklahomans now eligible, I want our residents to hear the message that there is no need to delay your pursuit of the vaccine any longer,” Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt said in a statement after receiving his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine at the Oklahoma City-County Health Department.

The Oklahoma Department of Corrections says COVID-19 vaccines are beginning to arrive at the state's prisons, but some advocates for the incarcerated say the state's rollout for that population is lacking.

The Osage Nation is among the latest Oklahoma tribes to begin offering the COVID-19 vaccine to all adults who want it, Native and non-Native alike.

"We want to ensure our Native people are vaccinated, but we have a lot of neighbors that we live side-by-side -- community members, friends, family members, coworkers that are non-Native," Osage Nation Health Services chief operations and compliance officer Laura Sawney said. "So in order to ensure that we're saturating all of our Native communities, that includes non-Natives."

Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum celebrated receiving his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at the Tulsa County Fairgrounds Friday morning by quoting a notable historical figure in a statement.  

"'If you wanna keep an eye on me don’t look behind you, don’t look to the sides, look straight up, because I’m right on top of ya - Oh yeeeeeaaah!' -Randy 'Macho Man' Savage, OR my immune system to COVID-19 after getting vaccinated this morning!" Bynum wrote on Facebook.  

A coalition of state health care groups and organizations on Wednesday launched a new public service messaging campaign to encourage Oklahomans to receive the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as it's made available to them.

"Doctors have done their part -- it's time to do ours," a narrator says in the 60-second ad from the Oklahoma Alliance for Healthy Families, which will be appearing on broadcast and digital platforms. The campaign is titled "United for Good – Vax For Good."