OSDH: COVID-19 Vaccine Arriving In Oklahoma In December

The Oklahoma State Department of Health said some Oklahomans may start getting a COVID-19 vaccine in a little more than a week.

Officials said the first vaccine units could arrive in Oklahoma as early as December 11th which is next Friday, but it's more likely they'll get here a couple of days later on the 13th or 14th.

Commissioner of Health Dr. Lance Frye said the state will initially receive 33,000 units of the Pfizer vaccine, which still has to formally be approved by the FDA.

After that initial shipment, the state will then receive weekly or bi-weekly shipments.

The Pfizer vaccine requires two shots about 3 weeks apart, and this first shipment will just be the first dose.

Frye said the state will get about 10-thousand doses of the Moderna vaccine, which should be approved and on the ground in Oklahoma by about December 30th.

The state is following a phased approach to distributing it, with frontline healthcare workers and long-term care staff and residents getting the vaccine first.

Frye said the general public will probably not have access to it until early 2021.

"Though we are very enthusiastic about the arrival of the initial doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in our state, it won't be a solution,” said Frye. “It's vital Oklahomans continue to take precautions to slow the spread."

There are four phases as part of their distribution plan.

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