The Oklahoma City-County Health Department announced that in an effort to continue to vaccinate residents ages 65 and older, the department is partnering with Mercy Health System to make about 5,600 appointments available outside the state’s scheduler portal this weekend.
By: Ryan Welton
OKLAHOMA CITY -
The Oklahoma City-County Health Department announced a weekend vaccination event that could help 5,600 Oklahomans get their COVID-19 vaccine.
The event is a partnership between OCCHD and the Mercy Health System, and it makes 5,600 appointments available outside the state s portal this weekend.
The first vaccination event will take place Friday, Feb. 5 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Mercy Meinders Neuroscience Institute, 4120 W. Memorial Rd. The second POD will take place Saturday from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the same location.
OCCHD made the link to sign up for Friday s POD available at 6 p.m. Tuesday. The department said 3,000
The age range for Oklahomans most affected by new cases of COVID-19 is between 18 and 35, but health experts remain cautiously optimistic because the state’s case count is trending down.“The numbers are looking better from a positivity perspective,” said Dr. David Kendrick, the CEO of My Health Access Network.“We can’t let up just because those numbers are coming down,” Dr. Jean Hausheer, the chair of the Healthier Oklahoma Coalition, added.The number of new COVID-19 cases in the Sooner State is declining, but positivity rates remain high.“Right at 20% positivity rate in communities without a masking policy and 15.3% positivity in communities with a masking policy,” Kendrick said.While the overall case count is slowing, experts say they’re seeing more new cases in school-aged kids.“Typically, when we see a rise in a population like that, a few weeks later we’ll see a rise in the parent-age adults as well as grandparent-age adults, eventually,” Kendrick sa
As Oklahomans wait for the state’s limited COVID-19 vaccine supply, more than 62,000 doses allocated for long-term care residents and staff remain in freezers.
OKLAHOMA CITY -
Some people are very hesitant to get the COVID-19 vaccine, and it includes minority groups in the Oklahoma City area.
The Oklahoma City-County Health Department is trying to get essential vaccine information to these specific communities. There s still a lot of fear in getting vaccinated, said Erica Herrera.
Herrara told News 9 that s what she hears when she talks and works with other Latino families in the metro. She said her and her daughter are already registered through the state s portal but she thinks many in her community are planning to hold off. We need to know why it s important to get vaccinated and how the vaccine works, said Herrera.