Oklahoma City-County Health Department's Mobile Vaccine Events Roll On As Demand Slows

As demand for the COVID-19 vaccine slows, the Oklahoma City-County Health Department is taking their clinics to the streets.

The department is shifting from large-scale mass vaccination clinics to smaller and more mobile micro-clinics.

This is its way of removing any potential inconveniences. 

“People don’t really have a reason not to get it at that point,” OCCHD public information officer Molly Fleming said. “’Hey, I am already here. I am going to be here for the next hour or so. I might as well take the time to sit down and wait those 15 minutes.’”

Last week, the OCCHD propped up a clinic at Supermercado Morales where 55 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine were distributed.

Adding up all of OCCHD’s different micro vaccine events together allows the state to chip away at its goal of getting most Oklahomans vaccinated.

“Really just see us pop up,” Fleming said. “That is why they are called pop up clinics because we will get a request and we will try, you know, if we can move staff around and have the vaccine available, we will try to make that happen.”

As of now, one million Oklahomans have been fully vaccinated.

The OCCHD will be bringing a pop up unit to One OKC this weekend. The department is also planning a vaccine event during Juneteenth.

The OCCHD is also partnering with local churches and other organizations to be at events in order to provide ample opportunity to be vaccinated.

When you are ready for your second shot, there are still a lot of different options. You can always go to vaxokc.com to look for vaccine clinic options.

Some patients have had a reaction to the second shot. The department said patients can take some time off from work, if necessary. 

“As they are approaching that second dose, talk to their employer about their time off policy,” Fleming said. “You have something that could have a reaction and its COVID-related and there are times built in from the federal government that talks about having that time off from your employer.”