Cherokee Nation Officials Stress Importance Of Tribe Members Getting Vaccinated

The Cherokee Nation is urging tribal citizens to get vaccinated as COVID-19 cases skyrocket across the tribe.

Tribe leaders said the tribe has taken a step back as COVID-19 cases climb back to numbers not seen since last winter.

Cherokee Nation chief of staff Todd Enlow said the tribe is now on the defensive by reimplementing its surge plan.

"We stopped some of our elective procedures that may not be as critical as the care people need to come in due to COVID," Enlow said. 

The tribe’s registration office will also be closed through the end of September. 

Roger Montgomery is the tribe's chief medical director. Montgomery said COVID cases have increased more than 10 times compared to June.

"The total number of cases in the last week --- we had 784 and yesterday, a single day total, was 240, to give you an idea that we're seeing significant, steady increases,” Montgomery said. “And the number of cases and trends do not suggest anything is leveling off or getting better yet.”

The tribe is now testing up to 1,000 citizens per day. Due to the high demand, they have reopened drive-thru testing sites. So far, the tribe has been averaging 120 new cases each day.

Montgomery said 95 percent of tribal members hospitalized for COVID-19 are unvaccinated. 

"It boils down though to an individual making the decision to not only protect themselves, to protect their families and to protect the rest the tribe and the rest of Oklahomans," Montgomery said.

The Cherokee Nation hopes to eventually get 70 percent of the tribe vaccinated. If COVID cases keep climbing, Enlow said the next step is to cancel and reschedule public events.

"Honestly, it doesn't feel like déjà vu,” Enlow said. “It feels like another chapter in the book, and we want to make sure that we're here for the next couple chapters.”

The tribe has several vaccination sites across Green Country. 

You can find those locations by clicking here.