Local Health Departments in Oklahoma are making COVID-19 vaccination atop priority to protect community health.

“We are excited to start providing the vaccine to community members,” said Mendy Spohn, Regional Administrative Director for Oklahoma State Department of Health District 8 (Pontotoc County is in District 8). “We are viewing this as our light at the end of the tunnel with the pandemic. We urge all eligible Oklahomans to get the vaccine as soon as it is available to them.”

There is a limited vaccination event scheduled for first responders and healthcare workers starting next week on Tuesdays at the Ardmore Convention Center, Wednesdays at the Pontotoc County Agri-Plex in Ada, and Thursdays at the Stephens County Fair and Expo Center in Duncan. Hours will be. Anyone from Phase 1 can attend, as well as first responders and healthcare providers from Phase 2. The following populations can receive the vaccine at this event.

PHASE #1

1. Long Term Care residents and staff

• Nursing homes, skilled nursing facilities, longterm care facilities

• Assisted Living, Intermediate Care Facilities, Group Homes

2. Health care workers providing direct inpatient care

• Emergency Rooms, hospitals, Intensive Care Units, and other workers inherent to the care of patients as determined by the inpatient facility (e.g. janitorial, food service, etc.

3. Public health staff conducting front line COVID-19 pandemic mitigation and control activities

4. Oklahoma, state licensed, Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics

PHASE #2

1. First responders, paid and unpaid, to include support staff

• Fire departments, law enforcement, dispatchers, homeland security, emergency managers, medical examiners, court system

2. Health care workers, including support staff:

• Workers providing care primarily for adults 65 and older, and/or adults of any age with comorbidities • Workers directly treat

• Workers directly treating or screening for COVID-19

• Workers in high-risk outpatient settings such as those performing aerosolized procedures or close examinations of the nasopharynx, dentists, speechlanguage pathologists, optometry/ophthalmology, chiropractors, etc.

• Workers in urgent care, outpatient facilities, primary care, federally qualified health centers, community health centers, rural health centers, pharmacies (not involved in the federal allocationplan), home health, hospice, rehabilitation services, occupational/physical therapy, etc.

• Death care workers, involved in the handling of deceased COVID-19 persons

• Home health, hospice, surgery centers, and mental health providers

District 8 plans to conduct weekly, ongoing vaccine events in Ardmore, Ada, and Duncan, as we work through all four phases of the vaccine rollout. Smaller events and strike teams will be scheduled in all District 8 counties as supplies and staffing allow. We do not have waiting lists or scheduled appointments at this time, but expect to have an electronic scheduling tool available soon. Future announcements will be sent to local media about who will be eligible at the vaccination events each week. Updates will also be posted on each County Health Department’s Facebook page.

“We definitely have a sense of urgency based on what our medical partners are seeing in the hospitals due to this virus.” Spohn said. “Please help our healthcare system by continuing to wear a mask, wash your hands and watch your distance as these are still key components of minimizing the spread of COVID at this time.”

For more information about the COVID-19 vaccine, visit oklahoma.gov/covid19/vaccine-information or call 211.

Chickasaw Nation and the COVID-19 vaccination distribution

The Chickasaw Nation is preparing to assist the state of Oklahoma with the distribution of vaccines once they are available to targeted, high-risk priority groups, as well as the public.

The new Emergency Multi-Use Facility (EMU) in Ada will be pivotal for vaccine distribution in the area once vaccines are publicly available.

The new facility will serve as a unified incident command center as well as a COVID-19 drive-thru testing and vaccination site for the community.

Because it has such a big parking lot, the Chickasaw Nation will be able to manage 16 lanes of traffic to drive through and get vaccines.

When planning the facility, care was taken to ensure adequate storage capacity and the ultralow temperature freezers needed to get vaccines out to the public quickly.

The facility will serve as a mass immunization site when a vaccine becomes readily available. It will also be a communitybased distribution point for additional services such as emergency rations, water and PPE.

Expansions to the Chickasaw Nation Ada South Campus will also play a role in the response to COVID-19.

New space was needed for the five new laboratory instruments purchased for COVID-19 diagnostics, including state-of-the-art rapid testing and antibody machines.