{"id":8330,"date":"2021-02-26T15:27:33","date_gmt":"2021-02-26T20:27:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=8330"},"modified":"2021-02-26T15:40:51","modified_gmt":"2021-02-26T20:40:51","slug":"gaylord-news-covid-19-vaccine-efforts-include-tribes-and-indian-health-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/02\/26\/gaylord-news-covid-19-vaccine-efforts-include-tribes-and-indian-health-service\/","title":{"rendered":"Gaylord News: COVID-19 vaccine efforts include tribes and Indian Health Service"},"content":{"rendered":"\"cherokeenation\"\r\n
Cherokee Nation citizens and those from federally recognized tribes eligible for services with Cherokee Nation Health Services receive COVID-19 vaccines at the new Cherokee Nation office, located at 402 West Locust Street in Stilwell, Oklahoma, on February 23, 2021. Photo: Anadisgoi \/ Cherokee Nation<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n
Oklahoma works with tribes, Indian Health Service to distribute vaccines despite storms<\/div>\r\n
Friday, February 26, 2021<\/div>\r\n
By Jessie Christopher Smith and Nancy Marie Spears<\/div>\r\n
Gaylord News<\/div>\r\n
gaylordnews.net<\/a><\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nOklahoma is pushing ahead with its COVID-19 vaccination drive despite severe winter storms that left thousands of people stranded in their homes and many without electricity and running water.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe state continues to lead most adjacent states in getting the first dose into residents\u2019 arms, in spite of early opposition to the vaccine.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nDespite single-digit temperatures, subzero wind chills and heavy precipitation that plunged all of Oklahoma\u2019s 77 counties into a state of emergency, state officials said they are prepared for the challenges that may arise in vaccine distribution efforts.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe shipment of 6 million doses has been delayed nationwide by the storms that swept from West to East coasts.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cI really am not worried about our ability to catch up with that within the next week, two weeks at most probably,\u201d said Keith Reed, deputy commissioner of the Oklahoma Department of Health.\r\n

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Despite challenges posed in remote regions of Indian Country, the Indian Health Service is outpacing many states with its #COVID19 vaccination efforts, working with tribes to reach as many people as possible. #Coronavirus @IHSgov https:\/\/t.co\/I2OmDat193<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

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<\/P>\r\nReed acknowledged that the weather interfered with the vaccination timeline but said \u201cwe\u2019ll be able to make up for lost time pretty easily.\u201d\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe intense winter storms and power outages have slowed the administration of vaccines at more than 2,000 sites nationwide, and more than a third of states are experiencing shipment delays.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nSome people are worried about the effectiveness of the vaccine if their second-dose appointments get pushed back because of the weather.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nReed said that according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is no evidence of a decrease in the vaccine\u2019s effectiveness as long as the second dose is within 42 days of the first.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThere is no data on its effectiveness after 42 days, but if a second-dose appointment gets pushed beyond that, the CDC recommends getting the next dose as soon as possible, and not repeating the first dose.\r\n

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UPDATE: Over 1 million COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in Oklahoma, according to CDC. The CDC\u2019s online vaccine tracker recently added federal doses administered to each state\u2019s total count, allowing OSDH to have visibility into this data for the first time. (1\/2)<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

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<\/P>\r\nSince the first coronavirus vaccination in the state in December, thousands of Oklahomans have received the completed series of vaccine doses.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nAs of February 18, the latest data available, 22.7% of Oklahoma adults had been vaccinated with at least the first dose. Reed said the state is expecting to receive 110,000 doses any time and an additional 137,000 next week.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cWe\u2019ve (already) probably vaccinated 45 to 50% of our population of patients 65 and older with at least one dose of the vaccine,\u201d said Dr. Dale Bratzler, a leading infectious disease expert at the University of Oklahoma hospitals. \u201cThey account for more than 70% of the hospital admissions in Oklahoma, and they account for more than 80% of the deaths from COVID-19.\u201d\r\n

<\/p>\r\nBased on the Census Bureau\u2019s 2019 population estimate, Oklahoma\u2019s adult vaccination rate of 22.7% is better than in some adjacent states.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nIn Texas \u2013 where severe weather compelled the state to implement rolling power outages to reduce stress on the electric grid \u2013 about 19.86% of the state\u2019s adult population has been vaccinated.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nKansas has vaccinated 14.66% of adults, and Arkansas about 19.68%.\r\n

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