Majority Of COVID Hospitalizations In State Are Unvaccinated Oklahomans, Health Officials Say

As hospitalizations and cases have increased daily, local health officials said those who are deciding to be unvaccinated are rolling the dice.

About 8,500 Oklahomans and about 613,000 Americans have died from COVID-19, said OU Health's Chief COVID-19 Officer, Dr. Dale Bratzler.

“It is unprecedented the death rate we have seen,” he said.

Of the people who have been hospitalized with COVID-19, most have been unvaccinated.

The state department of health released new numbers breaking down the number of those hospitalized in the past 30 days. The data is broken up into vaccination status and age group.

In the age group 18 to 35, four fully-vaccinated Oklahomans ended up in the hospital. As for unvaccinated Oklahomans in that age group, the number jumped to 70.

The bigger jump though happens in the ages 50 to 64 where 28 fully-vaccinated Oklahomans were admitted compared to 150 who were unvaccinated.

For those who have been vaccinated, health officials don’t think boosters are needed right now, but they could be in the future.

All three vaccines are operating under an emergency use authorization (EUA) but that could soon change for Pfizer.

“By the end of September or sometime in the fall, hopefully they will get full approval from the FDA,” said Dr. James Papin, a virologist with the OU College of Medicine.