Oklahoma will receive about 11,500 more doses of the COVID-19 vaccine next week as the federal government begins shipping to pharmacies.
The expanded shipment is part of the Biden Administration’s plan to distribute 1 million doses to 6,500 pharmacies nationwide, Oklahoma Deputy State Health Commissioner Keith Reed said Wednesday. The pharmacies will be part of the federal distribution program and will not be part of the state’s allotment.
“We anticipate there’s probably going to be around 75 total pharmacies that will receive some level of vaccine inventory,” Reed said. “They’re going to have limited vaccine and should see maybe 100 doses or so (next week).”
However, Reed cautioned those allotments do not impact the state’s weekly delivery from the Federal government and will not significantly increase the number of people receiving first and second doses.
Pharmacies selected to get the COVID-19 vaccine will only get a hundred doses at the most, Reed said. He also warned just because a pharmacy location like Walgreens or CVS is selected for vaccine distribution in one of its stores, it doesn’t mean that all of its stores will suddenly have the COVID-19 vaccine on hand.
Reed said the pharmacies must follow the state’s vaccine distribution plan which currently is only vaccinating Phase 2, many of whom are age 65 and older. Those vaccine doses also will not be listed in the state’s vaccination portal website, but those organizations will set up distribution on their own. It’s unclear at this point how to find the specific pharmacies the vaccines will be going to.
Reed hopes extra doses and more vaccine clinics will help push through the current vaccine group comprised of people 65 and older. Reed has acknowledged seniors have had issues with technology, which has limited their access to the state’s vaccine portal.
“I wish we could get them all vaccinated today. Every one of them,” Reed said.
The technology issue is leaving some Oklahomans aged 65 and over unable get an appointment for the vaccine and frustrating other Oklahomans waiting for their group to become available, namely those under 65 with comorbidities.
The technology issue and supply from the federal government is slowing the process, keeping health officials from moving on to the next groups within Phase 2 of the state’s vaccine plan, said Lance Frye, Oklahoma Health Commissioner.
Many people younger than 65 with comorbidities are anxious to get the vaccine, but before the state progresses to a younger group, officials want to make sure elderly recipients who may not be as tech-savvy have plenty of time to get an appointment for the vaccine before possibly being overrun by younger people who will an easier time navigating the state’s vaccine portal.
“When we will open things up to more people is a constantly changing plan,” Frye said. “We would like to hit around two-thirds of that population before we move on, but even that could change in a day or so depending on how we see things playing out.”
Another push state health officials is making to reach the 65-and-over group is by sending vaccines to schools. Those vaccines will be allocated for teachers and staff aged 65 and over, said Reed.
“We also recognize the importance of vaccinating our education staff who are working so hard right now to keep students engaged and in school,” Reed said. “To that end, we’re partnering with school districts across the state to host vaccine clinics for 65-plus teachers and education staff. We want to make it easier for educators who are currently eligible to get the vaccine and do their work safely.”
