Wintry weather closes coronavirus vaccine sites in Oklahoma

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Wintry weather across Oklahoma that has left roads slick and hazardous statewide on Wednesday has led to the closings of some coronavirus vaccination sites, including the state’s two largest.

Both the Oklahoma City-County Health Department and the Tulsa City-County Health Department were closed Wednesday because of inclement weather and say they are notifying people who have appointments by phone and email to reschedule their vaccinations.

“We’re following up with them … to let them know when their new appointment will be,” said Leanne Stephens, spokesperson for the Tulsa department. “We did not feel that road conditions were safe” as freezing rain fell in the area.

Tulsa County had 2,000 appointments scheduled, Stephens said.

Oklahoma County had 700 appointments that have already been rescheduled for March 10, according to spokesperson Molly Fleming.

Some hospitals in the two cities that had vaccination appointments remained open, including Mercy Hospital in Oklahoma City.

“We’re leaving it up to how the people (with appointments) feel” about driving to the hospital, said spokesperson Meredith Huggins.

Integris Baptist Medical Center and OU Medical both had no vaccinations scheduled Wednesday, but are planning inoculations on Thursday with no plans to cancel, spokespersons for the two hospitals said.

Those who are awaiting their second, and final, dose of the vaccine also should have no concern about the dose being later than recommended by the federal Centers for Disease Control — three weeks for the Pfizer vaccine and four weeks for Moderna, said OU Medical Chief Covid Officer Dr. Dale Bratzler.

“There is no maximum interval between dose one and dose two… it’s important to get the second dose because that’s the booster dose,” Bratzler said. “It’s acceptable to be late, just don’t forget the second dose,” even if it’s six weeks later.

The state health department on Wednesday reported 30 additional deaths due to COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus and 1,660 more cases for totals of 3,900 deaths and 407,724 cases since the pandemic began.