State receives shipment of Moderna vaccine

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  • Below, Oklahoma received its shipment of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine Wednesday, bringing the state total 66,000 doses. Provided
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Oklahoma received its last shipment of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for the week.

“This week we did receive the Modnera vaccine, which was approved by the Food and Drug Association and the Center for Disease Control. We received the last 2,200 doses of Moderna for the week which concludes our allocation for this week, which puts us at 66,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine,” Deputy Commissioner at the Oklahoma State Department of Health Keith Reid said during a conference Wednesday.

Storage capabilities for the Moderna vaccine is said to be much easier than storing the Pfizer vaccine

“The Moderna vaccine is much easier logistically to distribute compared to the Pfizer, it has to be stored in cold temperature, but not ultra-cold temperatures. Once it’s thawed it still has a 30-day shelf life, unlike the Pfizer vaccine which only has 6 hours. It is certainly easier to distribute the Moderna vaccine, Reid said.

Both the Moderna and the Pfizer vaccines are above 90 percent effective at fighting against COVID-19 according to officials. During a conference Wednesday Vice Chairman and Medical Director of OU Health Physicians and Family Medicine Dr. Rachel Franklin spoke about the chances of getting COVID-19 after obtaining the vaccine.

“The current mRNA vaccines are some of the most effective vaccines that we've seen against contracting the vaccine. On a good year the flu vaccine is 60 percent effective against contracting the virus. Both the Pfizer and Moderna have a 90-95 percent efficacy rate at fighting against contracting COVID. This is a game changer for this pandemic. We hope this will become a game changer for future viruses. You are very unlikely to get COVID after having the vaccine and are very unlikely to have a serious response if you do get the infection due to the efficacy rates of the vaccine," Franklin said.

As front line health care workers are receiving the vaccine the state is looking to distribute to more priority groups within phase one.

'With increasing supply of vaccines arriving in the state, we're able to offer the vaccine to more Oklahomans in priority groups," said Deputy Commissioner Keith Reed. "Supply is ultimately what aUows us to progress through our dist:tibution plan and begin vaccinating additional priority groups. We expect to provide vaccinations to first responders and healthcare workers outside the hospital setting very soon," Reid said.

The state now expects to see close to 175,riXJ total doses of the Pfizer and Modema COVID-19 vaccines by the end of December 2020.