LAWTON, Okla. – As health departments anticipate the FDA is issuing an emergency use authorization of the COVID-19 vaccine, they’re beginning to sharpen their plans to get it out to the people.
Right now, the state is expecting to receive more than a hundred thousand doses of Coronavirus vaccines within the next week.
Those doses are expected to go to hard-hit areas first.
“When we start talking about priority populations obviously we want to vaccinate those health care providers who are taking care of COVID positive patients in the hospital setting, they’re going to be first. There’s the long term care facilities we’ve talked about them a lot during this whole pandemic because we see what the virus can do if introduced into a facility like that,” Regional Director Brandie Combs said.
Combs said once they are taken care of, first responders, outpatient health care workers, and the 65-years and older population will then get the vaccine.
“We’re thankful that we are not in a situation where the vaccine is going to be limited. It may be trickling in at a rate that we can’t just open it up and vaccinate the population all at once,” Combs said.
Combs expressed they will need additional help getting out the vaccines.
