Department of Health announces vaccine distribution changes

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – The Oklahoma State Department of Health announced new vaccine changes coming straight from the White House.

The state says Oklahoma will be getting 48,000 more vaccine doses within the next week. And with new guidance from the white house, the importance to quickly get vaccines distributed is now even higher.

“This updated plan means vaccine doses will be available at a level they haven’t been so far,” said Keith Reed, Oklahoma State Department of Health Deputy Commissioner.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health announced big changes for federal vaccine distribution.

“Due to a recent announcement by the Trump administration, Oklahoma is anticipating increased vaccine supply in the coming days,” Reed said. “Basically, their instructions to us were in two weeks they’re gonna start providing allocations of vaccine based off of burn rates by the states.”

This means the faster a state administers vaccines, the more quickly they will receive them.

The news comes nearly a week after the Oklahoma State Department of Health rolled out its vaccine distribution portal.

Reed says as of Wednesday morning, nearly 400,000 Oklahomans have registered to get the vaccine by using the portal.

“226,270 are currently in a phase 2 eligibility group,” Reed said. “Of those 10,239 are eligible within phase 1.”

The state also addressing concerns with some Oklahomans not having access to the online portal.

211 will be taking down their information.

“If somebody does not have access to technology to be able to access the portal and to get connected that way, they are collecting contact information, finding out the county residence and communicating that back to the county health department,” Reed said.

Reed emphasizing patience with the portal and overall vaccine rollout. Saying the state continues to make changes as needed.

“We’re happy with what’s happened so far but we’re not satisfied that we’ve done everything right,” Reed said. “There’s no time to waste. Our focus remains on getting the vaccine to Oklahomans as quickly and efficiently as possible.”

The Oklahoma State Department of Health also warning of vaccine scams. Saying any advertisements or offers for early access to a vaccine in exchange for payment are entirely fraudulent.