As hospitals are sounding alarms about rising patient counts and losses in staff, Oklahoma health officials on Thursday reported the second-highest single-day rise in new COVID-19 cases of the pandemic.
The seven-day rolling average of new cases, 3,742, is also approaching the record high of 4,255 from last January, before vaccinations were widely available. Despite the difference in Oklahoma’s vaccination rate, this year is showing the same trend as 2021: The holidays come with a surge of COVID-19.
“Today’s case numbers reflect what (the Oklahoma State Department of Health) has anticipated occurring due to holiday gatherings and trends seen elsewhere in the country,” a statement on Thursday’s state virus response update says.
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“We encourage those who have symptoms or believe they have been exposed to COVID-19 to get tested and complete the recommended isolation and/or quarantine period based on test results.”
In addition to the 6,280 new cases reported Thursday, the State Health Department noted that 34,559 COVID-19 infections remain active.
Earlier in the week, MyHealth Access Network CEO Dr. David Kendrick noted that his real-time dataset indicated that Oklahoma was seeing numbers similar to those in January 2021 but that this third surge is “the most rapid rise ever.”
Kendrick said among his concerns is a big difference between January 2021 and this year: the availability of at-home tests. He said people who use them likely are finding many more COVID-19 infections that never make it into public health reporting systems.
“It’s concerning to me that we’re having the highest reported case counts even with the understanding that very likely a good proportion of the tests that are positive are happening at home,” Kendrick said Tuesday during a Healthier Oklahoma Coalition COVID-19 update.
He also expressed concern about the testing rates among the youngest Oklahomans being “the highest they’ve ever been on a positivity scale.”
Compared to the state average of 28%, the positivity rate among those age 18 to 35 is at a record 36%, Kendrick said, with school-age children at a 29% positivity rate. Those 36 to 49 are seeing 31% positivity, according to MyHealth data.
Immunity from vaccination is said to be the difference with this surge, which so far is seeing about half the level of COVID-19 hospitalizations as the delta surge.
But Oklahomans’ immunity appears to be waning since the surge that started showing up in the data in September. State officials urge people to get fully vaccinated, which includes booster doses.
On Wednesday, State Health Commissioner Keith Reed said four out of five breakthrough cases were in Oklahomans who were eligible for booster shots.
“Moving forward, one of the best ways to keep yourself and those around you protected is vaccination,” the State Health Department said in the Thursday update.
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Where you can find COVID testing
Households may order free at-home tests from USPS.com. Limit of one order per residential address (each order includes four individual rapid antigen COVID-19 tests); shipping free starting in late January.
The Tulsa Health Department is offering free COVID-19 testing to those who are uninsured. All local health care systems also offer testing to the community with additional sites.
Schedule a test through THD’s website, tulsa-health.org, or call 918-582-9355.
- Walmart locations
- CVS locations
- Access Medical Care
- Morton Comprehensive Health Services, 1334 N. Lansing Ave.
- Med Express, 2140 S. Yale Ave.
- MedWise Urgent Care Center | Walk-In Clinics
- Community Health Connection, 12020 E. 31st St.
- Regional Medical Laboratory, 9330 E. 41st St.
- Tulsa Mobile COVID Testing
- NOHS Medical Clinic
- 6732 E. 41st St.
- Call ahead to schedule: 918-794-4777
- Arc Diagnostics
- Curative
- Drive-thru testing in Tulsa County
Saint Francis Health System — Warren Clinic Elm in Broken Arrow has a drive-through clinic in the southwest parking lot that is open seven days a week during urgent care hours, with no appointments required. Stay in your car and follow the pink signs.
Ascension St. John — COVID-19 testing for the public is handled through Regional Medical Laboratory by appointment, mostly from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. There are multiple RML locations in Tulsa County, with a high-capacity drive-through facility at 9330 E. 41st St: rmlonline.com
Axis HealthCare System — Locations in Bixby, Bartlesville, Inola, Pryor and Sapulpa offer drive-through testing with no out-of-pocket cost. PCR tests are done in-house, with results in 24-48 hours. Go to axishealth.net or call 918-943-3790.
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Most updated mask guidance from CDC, WHO
Breakthrough cases are occurring in vaccinated individuals, who in a small percentage of cases are requiring hospitalization for those infections.
The World Health Organization and CDC agree: Unvaccinated individuals should keep wearing face masks in public places.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends fully vaccinated people in areas of high transmission wear a mask in public indoor settings.
Cloth masks are not recommended due to ineffective prevention of omicron variant transmission.
Incidence of severe or fatal COVID in children similar to adult rate, Saint Francis doctor says
Who is mandated to receive a COVID-19 vaccine?
Health care employees, like with many other vaccine-preventable illnesses, are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The Supreme Court on Jan. 13, 2022, allowed the mandate for workers at federally funded health care facilities to take effect nationwide.
The same decision blocked a federal vaccine-or-test requirement for large workplaces. Oklahoma had joined attorneys general in six other states in asking for a stay of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration rule requiring that employees in workplaces of 100 or more be vaccinated.
Oklahoma's AG also filed a lawsuit that resulted in a temporary restraining order to prevent Ascension St. John from suspending or firing employees who refuse to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and whose religious exemption has been denied.
Attorney General John O’Connor also has sued in other courts in efforts to stop federal vaccination mandates, including one for federal contractors.
The Secretary of Defense has said members of the Oklahoma National Guard would not be given an exemption from a federal vaccination requirement. Oklahoma Air National Guard members risk their pay if they drill without having been vaccinated.
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Does your child age 5-11 really need a COVID-19 vaccine?
The arrival of child-sized doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine has Oklahoma pediatricians fielding a new, common question: Does my child really need this?
“Children are not supposed to pass away,” said Dr. Donna Tyungu, pediatric infectious disease specialist with Oklahoma Children’s Hospital-OU Health. “COVID is now one of the 10 leading causes of death for children in this country — and now it has become a vaccine-preventable illness.
“We know from adult cases the chance to get reinfected is three times lower for those who are vaccinated than for those who have already been infected. With the delta variant, the virus was much, much more transmissible among children, which is what led to thousands of children being hospitalized and hundreds of deaths in this age group.”
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Can schools mandate masks?
Senate Bill 658 bars school districts from imposing mask mandates unless a public health emergency is declared — something Gov. Kevin Stitt has said he wouldn’t do amid a sharp rise in COVID-related hospitalizations.
State leaders have been told by federal officials it is within a local school district's discretion to use stimulus funds for implementing indoor masking policies aligned with CDC guidance. Oklahoma plans to appeal a judge’s Sept. 1 ruling that mandates are legal if exemptions are allowed.
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Post-COVID infection expectations
Nearly one-quarter of patients had at least one post-COVID condition 30 days or more after their initial diagnosis.
Patients with more severe cases of COVID-19 have more post-infection health conditions, but 19% of asymptomatic cases also suffer long-hauler symptoms.
The five most common post-COVID conditions across all ages (from most to least common): pain, breathing difficulties, hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol/triglycerides), malaise and fatigue, and high blood pressure.
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