Medical Professionals Prioritize Testing Due To Shortage Of Coronavirus Kits In State

Doctors at OU Medical gathered Tuesday morning to give an update on the status of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Oklahoma. They said the 17 positive cases in Oklahoma are about five to seven days behind the actual infection and there’s nothi

Tuesday, March 17th 2020, 1:26 pm



Doctors at OU Medical gathered Tuesday morning to give an update on the status of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Oklahoma. 

 They said the 17 positive cases in Oklahoma are about five to seven days behind the actual infection and there’s nothing they can do to stop it. It’s going to be up to all of us.

The briefing started off with an announcement that OU Medical is working with two separate researchers on a vaccine. But doctors then said that will do nothing to stop the current crisis.

Specialists pointed to a graph that showed the current spike in cases in the U.S. 

“Right now, we’re on a path that’s not particularly good,” said Dale Bratzer, DO, Enterprise chief Quality Officer, OU Medicine.

Oklahoma health officials said testing supplies are still in short supply. So, doctors are having to prioritize who gets tested.

“It’s very important to get testing, that we have the ability to test large numbers of people,” said Dr Douglas Drevets, MD Chief of Infectious Diseases, OU Medicine.

So, in the absence of testing health experts are having to make decisions to stop the spread and right now that means the only thing, they can do is plead with the public to make the right choices.

“It’s really the public at large that’s going to have the most control over what is going to happen, particularly in a state like Oklahoma where we’re just on the front of this. This is the power of the people moment in a sense of where it lies” said Dr. Dave’s.

In China, Dr. Bratzer said if they would have put the strict restrictions in place, they would have reduced the number of cases by 66%.

If you do believe you are sick, CALL your doctor and they will screen you to see if you qualify to be tested. And stay home and isolate yourself.

","published":"2020-03-17T18:26:57.000Z","updated":"2020-03-17T18:46:33.000Z","summary":"Doctors at OU Medical gathered Tuesday morning to give an update on the status of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Oklahoma. They said the 17 positive cases in Oklahoma are about five to seven days behind the actual infection and there’s nothi","affiliate":{"_id":"5c784a0c4961cb23ad330098","callSign":"kotv","origin":"https://www.newson6.com"},"contentClass":"news","createdAt":"2020-03-23T19:15:23.950Z","updatedAt":"2020-03-31T17:28:19.137Z","__v":1,"show":true,"link":"/story/5e790acb57ef223f31423c7f/medical-professionals-prioritize-testing-due-to-shortage-of-coronavirus-kits-in-state","hasSchedule":false,"id":"5e790acb57ef223f31423c7f"};
logo

Get The Daily Update!

Be among the first to get breaking news, weather, and general news updates from News on 6 delivered right to your inbox!

More Like This

March 17th, 2020

April 20th, 2020

April 14th, 2020

April 13th, 2020

Top Headlines

March 28th, 2024

March 28th, 2024

March 28th, 2024

March 28th, 2024