State Health Department Opening Vaccine Access To Non-Residents

Starting Thursday, anyone can come to Oklahoma from other states to get their COVID-19 vaccine because the state says it has enough supply.

Wednesday, April 7th 2021, 8:41 pm



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Starting Thursday, anyone can come to Oklahoma from other states to get their COVID-19 vaccine because the state says it has enough supply.

The state said they have a very good supply of the COVID vaccine and said if they have the resources, they want to share them with our

surrounding states.

More than 2 million vaccines have been given in Oklahoma, and Deputy Health Commissioner Keith Reed said the state is still getting about 200,000 doses a week.

"It makes sense if we have the capacity to administer the vaccine, we should do it for some of our neighbors," Reed said.

Reed said about 1,000 providers are offering the shot and say if people are having trouble getting it in other states, Oklahoma is open and ready to distribute the vaccine.

He says the demand has been steady over the past two weeks with about 28 thousand people a day getting the shot and says people are choosing pharmacies and smaller sites.

"We're not seeing a gravitation toward large public pods, it's more personal health settings," he said.

The news comes as a relief for some people who live out of state and even the country.

Ashley Colpitt is from Tulsa but lives in Norway and tells me she will get the shot when she's home this summer since Norway is still only vaccinating the elderly.

But Bob Deaver from Owasso says he's still struggling to schedule his second dose and said sharing with people from other states may be too soon.

"I applaud Oklahoma for being a partner to step up and help, but let's make sure we take care of Oklahomans first," Deaver said.

Reed said this is just another way to make sure everyone coming into Oklahoma has a chance to be protected.

"We want them to come in with immunity to COVID, not COVID itself," Reed said.

The change goes into effect Thursday and Reed said you can use the statewide vaccine portal or schedule your shot at other places.

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