Saturday the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) approved the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.
State Commissioner of Health Dr. Lance Frye said the approval of Johnson & Johnson proves the safety of the vaccine.
The approval of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for emergency use provides an exciting opportunity for our state as we continue to get Oklahomans vaccinated as quickly and efficiently as possible.
This vaccine, like the previously approved Pfizer and Moderna options, is safe to use and will protect Oklahomans from severe cases of COVID-19. It has gone through extensive testing that has shown it will limit hospitalizations and prevent deaths from COVID-19.
We are excited about this vaccine’s high level of efficacy and accessibility, as it only requires one dose to be effective and doesn’t need to be stored at ultra-cold temperatures. This means we can continue to reach our most at-risk individuals across the state, while also minimizing some barriers to completing the vaccine series,” Frye said.
Frye also said the FDA’s Emergency Us Authorization of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine provides Oklahoma with more options for vaccine distribution.
“Any new vaccine allotment provides us with more options to distribute the vaccine and open up new access points across the state. This is great news both for Oklahoma’s vaccine plan and for our nation’s ongoing fight against COVID-19.
Now that the vaccine has been authorized for emergency use, we’re looking forward to updates from the manufacturer and federal government on how many doses we will receive and when. We will share this information as it becomes available,” Frye said.
Oklahoma also has administered 1 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control,” Frye said.
“This is an extraordinary milestone for our state — more than 1 million doses of this life-saving vaccine have been administered to Oklahomans. It is reassuring to see this progress made, but we know the job isn’t done until we have provided the vaccine to every Oklahoman who needs it. With the upcoming EUA authorization of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, we are excited about the opportunity to get more supply in the state and to Oklahomans,” Deputy Commissioner of Health Keith Reed said.
The Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) is reporting 91 active COVID-19 cases for Custer County.
There is one additional death, which leaves the county at 70 COVID-19-related deaths.
Washita County has 32 active COVID-19 cases and nine total deaths.
In Custer County, Clinton has 53 active cases. Weatherford has 34 active cases. Arapaho has no active cases, Butler has two active cases, Custer City has no active cases and Thomas has one active case.
In Washita County, Bessie has one active case and Burns Flat has four active cases. Colony has no active cases, Cordell has nine active cases and Corn has one active case.
Dill City has three active cases, Foss has two active cases, Rocky has one active case and Sentinel has three active cases.
Hydro, which sits in Caddo County, has four active cases.
The State of Oklahoma has 12,745 active cases of COVID-19 and 4,478 total deaths.
Additionally, 546,004 prime doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, and 293,397 vaccine series have been administered, according to OSDH.
For more information, visit www.oklahoma.gov/covid19.html.