OSDH Backs Off Plan To Launch Large Vaccine Distribution Sites

The state health department said it is holding off installing two FEMA mega pods, or points of distribution, for COVID-19 vaccines. One of those was planned for Tulsa.

The state health department said information they got from the federal government changed on this.

Deputy Commissioner of Health Keith Reed said they were originally told they would be given a separate federal allocation of COVID-19 doses.

That would have meant the state could have given out an additional 6,000 doses per day at separate locations in both Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Reed said now, they've learned they will not get an additional federal allocation.

In order to continue with the two pods, Reed said they would have to re-allocate doses within the state and take them away from local health departments, something they're not willing to do.

"We were told that the fact that there was federal allocation coming with that was pre-decisional and I can only assume that pre-decisional means that they had the option to change their minds," said Reed.

Reed said despite this, Oklahoma continues to outperform many other states with its vaccine rollout.

According to the state registry, 43 percent of Oklahomans 65 and older have now received at least one vaccine dose, but Reed said that number is likely much higher since it does not include nursing homes and other facilities given separate doses.

Reed also said they are getting much closer to moving to the next priority group for vaccines, but not quite yet.