With a third of eligible Oklahomans vaccinated, effort transitions By: Paul Monies Oklahoma Watch May 3, 2021
Janene Stewart, director of operations at Norman Regional Hospital, administers a COVID-19 vaccine. About one-third of the state’s population older than 16 is fully vaccinated. (Photo by Whitney Bryen/Oklahoma Watch)
Oklahoma’s early success in providing COVID-19 shots has waned in recent weeks, with appointments at mass-vaccine events slowing and public health officials making targeted pitches about the importance of the vaccine.
The two-week pause in administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after concerns over a rare blood clot linked to that vaccine contributed to the slowdown, officials said. Despite that, all three approved vaccines – the two-dose Pfizer and Moderna and the one-dose Johnson & Johnson – are available again across the state.
By: Barry Mangold
NORMAN, OKLAHOMA -
Two Norman Regional Hospital security guards, Dennis Brewer and Justin Bishop were stationed outside the emergency department entrance as Wednesday night’s hail storm approached the city.
“You could hear the hail coming half a mile to three-quarters of a mile away because it was sounding like a cattle drive, and just getting louder and louder and louder and louder,” Brewer said.
“You could hear it coming towards you like a stampede,” Bishop said.
Becky Husted was in the parking lot to visit her son in the hospital. Bound to an electric wheelchair, Husted said she was stuck outside when the hail moved in because of an issue with her car.