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We'll be hearing from leaders in Oklahoma's medical community here in a few minutes. I'll start the thread here. Below are the speakers and agenda for the briefing.
Dr. Aaron Wendelboe: There is a lag in reporting and testing is down. So although the numbers are high, they should be higher. Multiple labs in the state have either reduced or stopped testing. The last report showed a 30% drop in testing. "My fear is that drop is even greater."
Wendelboe: It's worth repeating that COVID-19 is now the third leading cause of death in Oklahoma. Only heart disease and cancer are beating it.
Wendelboe: Fortunately, our influenza season continues to be light. We haven't had any deaths. We recognize the flu season isn't over yet, but this puts into focus that mitigation efforts for Covid also protect people from the flu.
Wendelboe: This also highlights that the coronavirus spreads, hospitalizes and kills at a rate significantly higher than the flu.
Dr. Jean Hausheer: As we move forward in the vaccination program, misinformation spreads more quickly. I'm going to start on our portion that aims to dispel some of those myths and rumors.
Dr. Hausheer: mRNA vaccines do not contain live virus, so it is impossible for them to infect people with the coronavirus.
Hausheer: The emergency authorization that these vaccines got undergo the same strenuous trial requirements. The expedition comes in the form of paperwork and other bureaucratic processes.
Dr. George Monks: Is there anyone who shouldn't get the vaccine? There have been severe allergic reactions among people who have, in the past, had severe allergic reactions to previous vaccinations. This doesn't apply to general seasonal allergies.
Monks: You should not receive a flu vaccination within two weeks — before or after — the coronavirus vaccine. Spread them out.
Monks: You want to wait 90 days from the time you've had covid, especially if you underwent treatment for it.
Monks: Side effects, which tend to be mild and transient, tend to me more common in younger patients and after the second vaccine
Monks: I've gotten questions about whether trials covered diverse populations. Moderna and Pfizer phase 3 trials were very diverse and inclusive. They had 10s of thousands of people enrolled. These probably had many more patients enrolled than most other typical vaccine studies.
Dr. Amy Hutchens: People need to continue wearing their masks after getting vaccinated. It takes several weeks to build up immunity from the vaccines.
Hutchens: These mRNA vaccines do not use fetal tissue.
Hutchens: There is a misinformation campaign online that argues the vaccine is causing miscarriages and infertility. "That is completely untrue. There is no evidence to support that."
Hutchens: There are no egg-related ingredients in their vaccines. Those with egg allergies can take this vaccine safely. That guidance is outdated and based on older flu vaccine recommendations. There is no egg component in modern flu vaccines, even.
Dr. Jennifer Clark: The vaccine does not mean we need to let up on precautionary measures. "If anything, we need to increase significantly." Think of each layer as Swiss cheese. The more layers, the better our chances. We need to continue 3Ws. Up testing, ventilation, education.
Clark: We need to manage expectations. This is going to be with us for the foreseeable future.
Dr. Bruce Dart on Tulsa's vaccine rollout: We have, for the most part, finished phase 1. We're in phase 2: First responders, outpatient covid care providers. Smaller counties can run through the phases more quickly.
Dart: "We get vaccine allotments weekly, and we don't know what those allotments are going to be beforehand." That makes scheduling difficult. But we're going to get vaccines in arms.
Dart: After complete our age 65, we'll start on people with comoribidities and teachers. Of course, we'll finish with staff and residents in other congregate settings. In phase 3, we'll get to critical workers. Everyone is anxious for us to get to phase 4: the general public.
Dr. Jason Benn is an emergency medicine specialist at Integris SW Medical Center. He'll talk about his experience on Oklahoma City's frontline.
Benn: Two of our biggest resource needs are inpatient beds and the staff to take care of those patients. "Those resources have been pretty much maxed out." There's no bed, and if there is, there is no staff. This affects not just ERs but the whole system.
Benn:If I can't get a patient into an inpatient bed, we have to either spend time transferring them (taking time from other patients) or keep them in the ER (taking time and resources away from those who really need the ER). EMS is taking transfers farther, hurting their capacity
