OSDH Weekly Briefing Recap: State to partner with Muscogee Nation to offer antibody treatment

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma State Department of Health held a media briefing today, August 26, to provide updates on the state’s response to COVID-19, including the announcement of a new partnership with the Muscogee Nation and Indian Health Service (IHS) to help facilitate antibody treatments for COVID-19 patients.

Below, please see highlights from the discussion. A recording of the briefing can be found here.

• OSDH Commissioner of Health Dr. Lance Frye and Sec. of Health for Muscogee Nation Shawn Terry announced a partnership, along with IHS, to administer monoclonal antibody treatment for COVID-19 in the new Council Oak Healthcare facility located in Tulsa.
  • This treatment is another piece in Oklahoma’s pandemic response efforts that will hopefully lessen the burden on our hospital systems by preventing vulnerable Oklahomans from having severe cases of COVID-19.
    • The three monoclonal antibody treatment drugs that have received EUAs from the FDA have been shown to reduce the risk of hospitalization and death when administered early on in the treatment of mild to moderate cases of COVID-19 in nonhospitalized patients who are at high risk.
    • Factors that may place patients at a higher risk for severe symptoms, and therefore qualify them for antibody treatments, include common comorbidities seen throughout the pandemic. This includes but is not limited to individuals who are 65+ and/or experiencing conditions such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, chronic lung diseases and others.
  • These treatment services will be available in the coming weeks at the Council Oak Comprehensive Healthcare facility to any Oklahomans whose conditions qualify them to receive it.
• Thank you to everyone who has stepped up to get their COVID-19 vaccine.
  • As of today:
    • 3,730,118 total doses have been administered
    • 1,689,971 Oklahomans have completed the full series; this includes:
      • 42.7% of the total population
      • 53.6% of the adult population
      • 77.2% of the 65+ population
    • 2,063,610 Oklahomans have received at least 1 dose; this includes:
      • 52.2% of the total population
      • 64.7% of the adult population
      • 87.9% of the 65+ population
• This week, the FDA announced full approval of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine.
  • This approval won’t have any impact in the way we distribute or administer the Pfizer vaccine in our state.
    • In our state’s vaccine portal, this vaccine will still be listed as “Pfizer.” However, it’s possible that some pandemic providers may refer to it by its new brand name, “Comirnaty.”
  • With the Delta variant surging, we encourage anyone who is unvaccinated at this time to make your appointment for a free COVID-19 vaccine as soon as you are able.
    • We know that many people preferred to wait until the vaccine received full FDA approval to get vaccinated.
    • Our hope is that this approval further reassures Oklahomans of the safety and efficacy of these vaccines.

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