Name: Additional priority group to get COVID-19 vaccines through Phase Two in Oklahoma
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Additional priority group to get COVID-19 vaccines through Phase Two in Oklahoma

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Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily.Please subscribe to keep reading. You can cancel at any time.Loading&amp;hellp;{{title}}{{description}}{{banner}}(renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax){{tagline}}{{special_title}}{{html}}You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.© 2022 Lee EnterprisesShare ThisAdditional priority group to get COVID-19 vaccines through Phase Two in OklahomaShare thisThis story was edited after publication to clarify the specific groups who would be included in Phase 3 through vaccinations for those in education settings.OKLAHOMA CITY — The state’s COVID-19 vaccination plan has been revised with a new category on the list of priorities: adults younger than 65 who are at a higher risk from infection due to comorbidities.In revisions announced Friday by state health officials, the group was added to the four-phase plan along with at-risk Oklahomans age 65 and older. Younger adults with comorbidities — underlying conditions such as hypertension, obesity, heart disease, diabetes, chronic lung, liver or kidney disease, and cancer — are now included among those who can get COVID-19 vaccinations in the second phase of vaccine administration.Deputy Health Commissioner Keith Reed said people with comorbidities are at risk of poor outcomes if they become infected with COVID-19.Reed said officials wanted to give primary care physicians a chance to get their patients who meet the criteria the ability to receive the two-dose vaccine along with those age 65 and older in the second phase.The first phase will vaccinate residents and staff in long-term care facilities and health care workers providing direct inpatient COVID-19 care. It also includes public health staff doing front line COVID-19 mitigation, as well as emergency medical technicians and paramedics.By the end of the year, Oklahoma health officials expect to have received enough doses for at least 166,550 people. That figure does not include vaccine doses being distributed among tribes.The Cherokee Nation has announced that will receive and begin distributing 975 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine starting next week, with first priority going to its frontline health care workers, emergency responders, speakers of the Cherokee language, Cherokee National Treasures — people who have made significant contributions to the preservation of the tribe’s art, language, and culture — and those over the age of 65.Dr. Douglas Drevets, chief of infectious diseases and medical professor at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, said that although age is powerful risk factor, there are others.Phase 2 also includes first responders, staff at congregate locations such as prisons, and health care workers providing direct COVID-19 outpatient care. Senior state, county and city leaders and elected officials “critical to maintaining government operations and services” also will receive vaccinations through the second phase.Phase 3 involves those in educational settings and critical infrastructure personnel. The group includes teachers, some students and administrative staff at pre-K-12 schools, child care facilities, early childhood facilities, colleges, universities, vocational and technical schools, and other post-secondary institutions. The vaccine is not approved for anyone under 16 years old.The last phase will be open to all residents as vaccine shipments allow.The general public is expected to have access to the vaccine throughout 2021, Reed said.Health Commissioner Lance Frye said some phases may be going on simultaneously.“The vaccine distribution plan has to be very fluid,” Reed said. “Many unknowns lie ahead.”Drevets said that as with all vaccines, there will be some side effects, such as pain at the injection site. But both Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccines have few side effects, he said.Drevets is hopeful that the state will see the numbers of new infections drop in February and March.It is important that the vaccination process be complete because the state does not want to see a resurgence in the fall, he said. He said he doesn’t believe, though, that people will have to get a COVID-19 vaccination each year.Phase 1, December, 157,900 people62,000 from long-term care centersListen now and subscribe: | | | | |84,000 high-risk health care workers500 high-risk public health workers11,400 medical first-respondersPhase 2, January, 725,000 people5,000 emergency first-responders67,000 health care workers635,000 at-risk adults and people age 65+18,000 from prisons, homeless shelters and high-risk critical workers2,000 officials and public health workersPhase 3, 2021, 2.52 million people1,022,000 from Oklahoma schools1,500,000 critical infrastructure personnelPhase 4, 2021565,000 Open to all Oklahomans as vaccine shipments allowVideo: Stitt discusses vaccine timing for OklahomaSign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily.{{title}}{{summary}}You don't have any notifications.Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.Topics

Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily.Please subscribe to keep reading. You can cancel at any time.Loading&amp;hellp;{{title}}{{description}}{{banner}}(renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax){{tagline}}{{special_title}}{{html}}You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.© 2022 Lee EnterprisesShare ThisAdditional priority group to get COVID-19 vaccines through Phase Two in OklahomaShare thisThis story was edited after publication to...

Additional priority group to get COVID-19 vaccines through Phase Two in Oklahoma

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