Thread by @CathJSweeney

Oklahoma's coronavirus vaccine update has started. We're hearing from Commissioner of Health Lance Frye. "We have an appointment set for every single dose we have in Oklahoma." (As of this weekend, the state had administered about a third of its doses on hand.)

Frye: We will have an appointment app, which will go live on Thursday. We will have more information on that then.

We're now going to hear from Deputy Commissioner of Health Keith Reed, who has been overseeing vaccines.

Reed: The past few weeks have been busy. We were focusing on Phase 1, which was long-term care facilities and frontline health workers. We're starting Phase 2, which is an expansion of health care workers and 65+. We do not have inventory for those under 65 with comorbidities.

Reed: We're using vaccination sites and other resources to move into phase 2. "This marks our transition to a higher through-put model." This will begin moving more quickly. We find out on Tuesdays how much vaccine we have coming that week.

Reed: More than 13,000 doses weekly are diverted to CVS and Walgreens partners so they can continue vaccinating long-term care facilities.

Reed: As soon as we know how much vaccine we get next week (tomorrow), then we find out how we're allocating those vaccines to PODS (Points of Dispensing Sites) across the state for administration next week.

Reed: Until we have better, more consistent information from the federal government and its vaccination officials, "We really have to do this one week at a time."

Reed: Our appointment app will pertain to PODS and vaccine sites that the state administers. It will not pertain to vaccination sites administered by health systems and private providers.

@KOCODillon We're seeing county health departments going on their own with this. Will we have a statewide plan to make this more uniform?
Reed: Different areas have different local resources. So we are allowing them to leverage this. (continued)

Reed: We got vaccines to counties before our app went live. We didn't want to let those doses sit in freezers, so we let the counties begin issuing them. "Later this week, we transition into that statewide appointment app."

@KassieMcClung How are we getting word to people who don't use social media? That is the avenue we've been seeing the most.
Reed: We will use more messaging, but we would encourage families to help with apps
"Our phone lines, quite frankly, are experiencing a pretty heavy burden"

@ReporterJanelle How many vaccines did we get into Oklahoma by the end of 2020?
Reed: 174,000 by the end of 2020. 6,000 through federal allocation.

@ReporterJanelle How are we ensuring equity in appointments for those who have no access to internet?
Reed: "It's a legitimate concern." We could limit the number of appointments allowed to be booked through the app.

@pmonies We're coming up on the time where people are coming in for the second doses and we're still having supply issues. How is the state working to prevent that bottleneck? And also how to we prevent people who are traveling across county or even state line for vaccines?

Reed: We're not limiting to county residents but we are trying to limit it to Oklahomans only. We did have people who work in OK health systems but live elsewhere come in for our vaccines, but that makes sense.

Reed re: second doses: We have to recognize that large-scale clinics have to repeat themselves in 28 days. We call the first dose prime doses, and the second boost doses. We will start getting supply designated specifically for boost doses.

Reed: "The reality is it's not going to be as simple as 'everyone is going to get an appointment in the next few weeks.'"

@CarmenMForman Why are some PODS in some localities vaccinating those who are 65 and older while others aren't? And why wasn't the app ready yet?
Reed: Different parts of the state are at different stages in the vaccine rollout. Some are moving through the phases more quickly.

Reed: Vaccine in the freezer doesn't do any good. For us to have a system that would require everyone to move to that next step in lockstep with each other, that would create inefficiency and leave vaccine in the freezer.

Reed: We were planning on using a CDC vaccine app. When they actually came to the point of rolling it out, it didn't meet our needs. So we engaged Microsoft to develop this otters app for us. As you can imagine, you have delays. And we've been moving quicker than we expected

Sorry, got drawn away for a little bit. Back on here.

Frye on priority groups for vaccination within schools: "That's something we're letting them do individually." They know who needs it most.